Church of the Wind by Tadao Ando

After visting a cool local hardware shop and  Shigeki Tanaka in Miki, we left for Nishimoniya, as we are having a dinner at a local restaurant named Sushi-sen there. On the way to Nishimoniya, we took a detour to the Mountain Rokko, for Tadao Ando’s Church of the Wind / read more /. If you love architecture or even design in general, you would likely have heard the name of Tadao Ando, one of the most prominent contemporary architect in Japan, and famous of his extensive use of polished concrete slabs. I was deeply stunned by his utilization of natural sunlight, the emphasis of empty space and water features when I first saw his work in Church of the Light and Church of the Water.

Church of the Wind is one of the three famous churches he designed, and is quite close to Nishinomiya, so we went to check it out.

(Apocalyptic scene in front of the Church)

 

 (Black & White really brings out the quietness of the church)

(The main wall of the church, the simple concrete surface with the sole cross haning on it gives a very impressive contrast)

(Church of the Wind, main cross, by Tadao Ando)

It is actually not hard to access from Kobe / Osaka, and would make a great day trip (particularly if you like hiking) since Mountain Rokko is a popular hiking spot for the locals.

 

(You can enjoy the impressive panoramic view of the Kobe / Osaka bay night view at Mt. Rokko, right outside of the Church at night, source: Wikipedia)

How to Get There

Address: Nishitaniyama 1878-78 Rokkosan-cho Nada-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture 657-0101

To access the Church via public transport, you can take a train to the Rokko Station (Hankyu Kobe line runs between Kobe and Osaka), then take the Route 16 bus to the  Tsurubakuto 4-Chome station, and walk a short distance to the Mt. Rokko cable car station.

Website: https://www.kazenokyoukai.com/