'281 Wine Bottles to the Winery!?' Kobe Shinkocho's Roads Become an Exciting 'Experiential Route' to Walk On | Pavement Sign Design via Industry-Academia Collaboration Starts March 27.
Felissimo, Aquament, Bowl, and Otemae University have collaborated to install playful pavement signs in Kobe's Waterfront area from March 27, using unique metrics like '281 wine bottles' to make walking enjoyable and improve area circulation.
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- 📰 Published: April 3, 2026 at 00:00
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Felissimo, in cooperation with Aquament Co., Ltd., which operates the aquarium 'átoa', will begin guiding visitors with a 'Pavement Sign Design' aimed at improving circulation in the Kobe Waterfront area starting Friday, March 27, 2026. Under the supervision of Associate Professor Takagi of Otemae University, playful pavement signs such as '281 wine bottles' or '45 seconds if a penguin swims' have been installed on the streets. The design was handled by Mr. Hosokawa of Bowl Co., Ltd., who was in charge of the area design for New Seaport. The goal is to make the New Seaport area a fun place to walk around, transforming it into 'a place where happiness is born just by walking.'
### ■ Using the public sidewalks of the district planning area as a 'canvas'
Various facilities, such as 'átoa' and the 'Felissimo Chocolate Museum', are scattered across the Kobe Waterfront area. The intention is not just to 'move' to each facility, but to draw humor unique to this city right at your feet, like 'how many seconds if a penguin swims' to the destination. This is meant to make walking enjoyable and to spark conversations. Furthermore, it aims to let visitors know about other facilities in the New Seaport area besides their original destination through these signs, thereby improving circulation across the entire area.
The installation location for this project is the road (sidewalk) maintained as a district facility based on the Kobe City 'Shinkocho West District Plan'. While recent efforts have focused on creating 'comfortable and walkable' road spaces via open cafes and parklets under the pedestrian convenience promotion road system, this project targets the road surface itself for design. A square-based design was adopted, considering compatibility with existing pavement blocks. It is also designed to ensure freedom in design when the target facilities to be guided expand in the future.
Deploying permanent pavement signs aimed at improving aesthetics and promoting circulation is an unprecedented initiative. It is a new method of walkable urban development that strategically utilizes the 'foot-level' public resources within the framework of urban planning.
### ■ Unique distance indicators exceeding '○ minutes on foot'
Instead of the common notation '○ minutes on foot', unique distance indicators leveraging the characteristics of each facility, such as '45 seconds until the aquarium (átoa) entrance if a penguin swims' or '281 wine bottles to the winery (f winery)', were adopted. This setup allows people to intuitively imagine the distance and makes them want to actually walk and feel it. The pavement signs minimize text information, creating a design that can be intuitively enjoyed by everyone from children to tourists.
The target facilities are the following five:
- f winery
- felissimo chocolate museum
- AQUARIUM×ART átoa
- GLION ARENA KOBE
- TOOTH TOOTH MART FOOD HALL & NIGHT FES
### ■ Using the public sidewalks of the district planning area as a 'canvas'
Various facilities, such as 'átoa' and the 'Felissimo Chocolate Museum', are scattered across the Kobe Waterfront area. The intention is not just to 'move' to each facility, but to draw humor unique to this city right at your feet, like 'how many seconds if a penguin swims' to the destination. This is meant to make walking enjoyable and to spark conversations. Furthermore, it aims to let visitors know about other facilities in the New Seaport area besides their original destination through these signs, thereby improving circulation across the entire area.
The installation location for this project is the road (sidewalk) maintained as a district facility based on the Kobe City 'Shinkocho West District Plan'. While recent efforts have focused on creating 'comfortable and walkable' road spaces via open cafes and parklets under the pedestrian convenience promotion road system, this project targets the road surface itself for design. A square-based design was adopted, considering compatibility with existing pavement blocks. It is also designed to ensure freedom in design when the target facilities to be guided expand in the future.
Deploying permanent pavement signs aimed at improving aesthetics and promoting circulation is an unprecedented initiative. It is a new method of walkable urban development that strategically utilizes the 'foot-level' public resources within the framework of urban planning.
### ■ Unique distance indicators exceeding '○ minutes on foot'
Instead of the common notation '○ minutes on foot', unique distance indicators leveraging the characteristics of each facility, such as '45 seconds until the aquarium (átoa) entrance if a penguin swims' or '281 wine bottles to the winery (f winery)', were adopted. This setup allows people to intuitively imagine the distance and makes them want to actually walk and feel it. The pavement signs minimize text information, creating a design that can be intuitively enjoyed by everyone from children to tourists.
The target facilities are the following five:
- f winery
- felissimo chocolate museum
- AQUARIUM×ART átoa
- GLION ARENA KOBE
- TOOTH TOOTH MART FOOD HALL & NIGHT FES