Banks and exchange Sanwa Bank and Sumitomo Bank are a 5min walk south of Sannomiya Station, just off Flower Road.

Bookshops The excellent secondhand bookstore Wantage Books, 1-13 Ikuta-cho (Mon-Fri 10am-5.30pm), is just south of Shin-Kobe Station. Above are the offices of the monthly magazine Kansai Time Out . For new books, head to Maruzen (daily 11am-8pm), on the Motomachi Ichibangai shopping arcade.

Car rental Nippon Rent-a-Car (tel 078/231-0067), Kobe Rent-a-Car (tel 078/241-5151) and Eki Rent-a-Car (tel 078/241-2995) all have branches near Sannomiya Station.

Emergencies The main police station is at 5-4-1 Shinoyamate-dori, chuo-ku (tel 078/341-7441). In an absolute emergency, contact the Foreign Advisory Service on tel 078/291-8441.

Hospital and medical advice Kobe Adventist Hospital, 8-4-1 Arinodai, Kita-ku (tel 078/981-0161), has many English-speaking staff, but is a 30min drive north of the city. Kobe Kaisei Hospital, 3-11-15 Shinohara Kitamachi, Nada-ku (tel 078/871-5201) has an International Division with many English-speaking staff, but, like the Adventist Hospital is a little awkward to reach, being a 15min walk uphill from Hankyu Rokko Station. Kobe University Hospital, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho (tel 078/341-7451), is 10min walk north of Kobe Station. You could also try CHIC (Community House and Information Centre) for medical advice in English (078/857-6540; Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm).

Internet access Nailey's CafA© , 2-8-12 Kanoo-cho, off Flower Road halfway between Sannomiya and Shin-Kobe (tel 078/231-2008; daily 11.30am-midnight; A?500 for 30min).

Post office Kobe Central Post Office is a 2min walk northeast of Kobe Station. There's also a convenient branch in the Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Building, next to Sogo Department Store directly south of Sannomiya Station.

Shopping Kobe has several large department stores, including Daimaru, south of Motomachi Station and Kobe Hankyu, part of the Harbor Land development beside Kobe Station. The shopping arcades shadowing the train tracks between Motomachi and Sannomiya stations are a favourite cruising ground of Kobe's youth, while the arcades around Nankin-machi have several cut-price electrical outlets.

Taxis Try Kobe Mainichi Kotsu (tel 078/691-0055), which has English-speaking staff on request, or Kobe Sogo Taxi (tel 078/431-0081).

Travel agency World Express (tel 078/222-5050) is on the north side of Sannomiya Station, while the main JTB office is inside the station (tel 078/231-4118).