Grounds

Noevir Stadium Kobe (Capacity: 30,132)

Noevir Stadium Kobe, formerly known as Kobe Wing Stadium and Home's Stadium Kobe, became the official home of Vissel Kobe in 2003. One of only a few soccer-specific (no running track) J.league grounds that have a capacity of over 30,000, Home's is the envy of many, and a wonderful venue to watch football matches. The retractable roof means that neither matches or fans are affected by weather conditions, under-seat heating is installed throughout the stadium and, most importantly, cup holders are provided on the back of seats!
When the stadium was constructed in 2001 for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, attachment of the roof was delayed so that the stands behind the goals could be extended temporarily, thereby meeting FIFA's 40,000 capacity requirement for World Cup venues.
In 2002, Wing Stadium had a capacity of 42,000 and held 3 World Cup finals matches.
The venue is owned by Kobe city and still maintains its official name of Kobe-shi Misaki Koen Kyugijo for some events. Since 2013, the ground has been known as Noevir Stadium Kobe, or "Noe-sta", after the naming rights were purchased by cosmetics giant Noevir.
ACCESS
Getting there is easy. Noevir Stadium Kobe is located only a few kms south-west of the center of Kobe city on the Kobe Subway Kaigan Line.
For locals: Take the subway from either Hanadokei-mae in Sannomiya (if coming from the east) or Shin-Nagata (if coming from the west), get off at Misaki-Koen where you will see the "welcome" artwork (right) and it's a 5-minute walk from the station (unless you need to stop for beer).
For non-locals: Make your way to Sannomiya from either Kobe airport (monorail) or Shin-Kobe station (subway) and then follow the above directions for locals. If you are coming from Shin-Kobe, be sure to get off at Sannomiya and switch to the Kaigan Line which starts at Hanadokei-mae station.
Including walking time, Noevir Stadium Kobe can be reached in about 30 minutes from Sannomiya.

Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 45,000)

Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium was Vissel Kobe's home ground from the beginning in 1995 until the move to Wing Stadium in 2003. Despite being a multi-purpose stadium (i.e. it has an athletics track), both its size and the fact that it has 360 degree seating give it a real stadium-like atmosphere, unlike some other non-soccer-specific J.league grounds like Gamba and Kyoto. It actually bears a striking resemblance to the Hiroshima Big Arch. The ground was originally constructed for the 1985 Summer Universiade (World University Games) in Kobe, but has since been host to many national and international sporting events.
Universiade still holds one or two Vissel home games per season, mainly in the summer as part of the summer festival season, and these games usually have a half-time fireworks display.
	Many of the fans who were glad that Vissel left the ground in 2003 to move to Wing actually look forward to the annual Universiade game(s) with a bit of nostalgia, including yours truly.
ACCESS
Getting to Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium is also easy. It is located west of the center of Kobe city on the Kobe Subway Yamate Line, right next to Sogoundo-koen station. It is about a 25-minute subway journey from Sannomiya, making it accessible in about the same time as Noevir Stadium Kobe (30 minutes).