The first hospitality facility in the Kobe foreign settlement was the Global Hotel , which opened in 1868 , though its location and the date of its closure are unknown . Various other facilities followed . The most famous among these was the Oriental Hotel , which opened sometime before August 3 , 1870 , in Lot 79 . The Oriental Hotel was home to the office of the social Union Club from 1870 until around 1881 , when Club Concordia took over the space , and on September 23 , 1870 , the KRAC 's founding meeting was held there . The Oriental Hotel purchased Lot 80 in 1888 and moved its main building there , and at this time enjoyed critical acclaim for the culinary efforts of its French chef Louis Begeux . After the settlement 's return , the Oriental Hotel 's operation continued unbroken despite its relocation . It was destroyed by the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 but reopened in 2010
Great Hanshin earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
Kobe foreign settlement