The Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum intensity of 7 on the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20 seconds. The focus of the earthquake was located 17 km beneath its epicenter, on the northern end of Awaji Island, 20 km away from the center of the city of Kobe.

Shin-Kōbe station is a railway station on the San'yō Shinkansen and the Seishin-Yamate Line serving the city of Kobe, Japan, and the surrounding area. It is located to the north of Kobe city centre, at the foot of Mount Rokkō. The Shinkansen trains mostly run inside tunnels under the mountains in this area. The station exists in a small space in between two long tunnels.