Blogs from Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, Asia
January 1st 2012
January 1st we left Osaka and headed for the port city of Kobe, only 25 minutes away from Osaka. We were slightly concerned that nothing would be open, it being both a Sunday and New Year's Day, but when we arrived mid-morning, Kobe was buzzing with people celebrating Hatsumōde - the first visit to a temple or shrine of the year (which is quite a big event). Lucky for us, our hotel was right next to the beautiful Ikuta Shrine. The road leading up to this Shrine was full of food stalls - from takoyaki (octopus dumplings) and grilled tentacles on sticks, to candy floss, boiled whelks and mochi (sweet glutinous rice balls). We joined in with the throngs, headed to the Shrine and queued up for a New year's random fortune paper, called omikuji.You shake ... read more
November 22nd 2011
So we're sitting here, wearing our cotton yukata robes, in our rice paper-walled, tatami mat-floored room, having just eaten a 6 course traditional Japanese dinner and bathed in hot springs with water famed across Japanese for its healing mineral properties and things are generally Pretty. Awesome. Rewind! We forgot to tell you, when we got back to our room in Kyoto there was a letter stuck to our door from the owner, addressed 'Dear Tess-san and Aisha-san'. That morning, we'd let the front desk know there was a minor issue with our room (but no biggie). The letter was hugely apologetic for all inconvenience caused (? not really?) and please accept our gift of a bottle of plum wine. How nice is that! Anyway, this morning we checked out, happened across a rully good boulangerie (we're ... read more
July 4th 2011
My journey started back to the main island again with a short jaunt on the ferry and then a train to Okayama in ridiculous heat. This did mean on reaching Okayama I was completely floored and didn't feel like doing anything at all. I felt quite miserable as I was only there for one night and felt like I should be making the most of every second but the thought of dragging a heavy bag around for hours was just soul destroying so I found a cafe and got a nice cold drink and some lunch.. One quick stop over and onto Kobe which is a very vibrant and quite attractive city overlooking the sea. There a quite a few fun and interesting sights in Kobe the first being Chinatown which was a bit crazy given ... read more
December 14th 2009
5:46AM. Jan 17th, 1995 7.2 Richter scale earthquake. Kobe's annual Luminarie is a memorial to the loss suffered in the Kobe Earthquake. The festival runs every year in December for about 12 days. Pictures taken on Dec 14th, 2009. Text written Jan 17th, 2010. As natural disasters continue to hit us, our prayers go to those who were affected by the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Namaste ... read more
My own personal hell; Hyougo, the land of bakeries Part 1
Published: January 12th 2010Asia » Japan » Hyogo » Kobe
November 21st 2009
Let me just start off by saying that this trip almost didn't happen. The week prior to this I had the flu and was not allowed to leave my apartment until the Saturday that my trip was scheduled for. But if you know me, you know I wouldn't let some stupid flu keep me from doing what I want to do (especially considering I had already paid a truckload of money for my train tickets!) Saturday, November 21st Monday November 23rd was "Labour Thanksgiving Day" in Japan, so I took the opportunity (and 2 paid holidays) to travel to Hyougo Prefecture (South of Kyoto) to visit a friend. It being so far away from where I live (about 14 hours by bus) I decided to pay the money for shinkansen tickets and have a shorter and ... read more
September 19th 2009
After being folded up on airplanes for 23 hours, we enjoyed a nice walk with Ted and Nobu in the neighborhood where we visited a local noodle shop for dinner. It was wonderful. We were even able to walk after sitting on little pillows at a table not more than 12 inches from the floor! Today we went to Kobe to visit Ted's Kappore Dancing group - what a beautiful and graceful artform. They will be performing October 8 at Bunraku Stage in Nipponbashi. Ted is the first westerner to perform Kappore with this group! After the dancing lesson, we had lunch with the ladies! Wow. Octopus, Sake, Beer. . . again we survived to enjoy another adventure! Tonight a visit with the Shakudo family and an opportunity to meet the new baby! Can't wait to ... read more
September 5th 2009
He poked a tube down my nose and throat. The screen in front of me displayed some moving respiratory system images. Realizing those were from my own body, and with the itchy feeling caused by the tube, I refrained myself from sneezing or puking in front of the doctor, nurses, and my JTE. I felt sick on Wednesday, and had completely lost my voice on the second day. So here I was in a clinic in Japan doing endoscopy. "See? Your nasal cavity is intact, but your vocal cord is very red. Try to say 'yeah'", the doctor said. So I tried, the two flaps of my vocal folds vibrated, but refused to close. Air leaking through. I could hardly make a sound. I went home that day with a pile of medicine and the helplessness ... read more
Oh yeah, there was a baseball game going on too...
Published: October 1st 2009Asia » Japan » Hyogo » Kobe
May 3rd 2009
Who would've thought that getting on a boat to go explore Phang Nga, Thailand a year ago would help me score tickets to a sellout baseball game in Japan? Well, it did. On that trip I befriended a Japanese family, one of whom went to fair lengths to get hold of a couple of tickets to a Hanshin Tigers v Yomiuri Giants game at Koshien Stadium (the Tigers home ground) during the Golden Week holidays. (A side note: the origin of many of the larger department stores in Japan lies with the railway companies. Department stores were built alongside major stations, and given the name of said railway company.) Aside from securing a ticket in the first place, the Hanshin Tigers experience begins well before reaching Koshien. Walk through the Hanshin department store in Osaka (where ... read more
April 1st 2009
Valoszinuleg tudat alatt bennem volt egy ideje, hogy el kene latogatnom Japanba, de eloszor akkor jott a felszinre, amikor 2007 oktobereben elutasitottak az amerikai vizumkerelmemet, es arra gondoltam, hogy akkor elmegyek oda, ahova nem kell vizum. Ekkor ugrott be Japan, aminek az epiteszete, kulturaja, termeszeti szepsegei - es termeszetesen a konyhaja - erdekeltek mar egy ideje. Mivel jol alakultak a dolgaim, 2008 szeptembereben igen kedvezo aron megvettem a repjegyet, es elhataroztam, hogy jol felkeszulok: megnezem, mit latogassak meg, hogyan jussak el oda, tanulok japanul is, mert azt mar sokszor tapasztaltam, hogy a helyiek orulnek, ha valaki a nyelvukon szol hozzajuk. Olyan gyorsan eltelt az a 6 honap a jegyvasarlastol az indulasig, hogy vegul persze nem sikerult mindennek utananeznem, es a japan tudasom is igen picire sikerult :) De lefoglaltam a hotelszobakat, megneztem a n... read more
