Beef

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I awoke and checked out of my hotel, before walking around Kobe for a bit longer. I had heard great things about the famous and rare Kobe Beef, so decided to check it out.

Kobe beef is very rare - restaurants that stock it have signs in the window advertising its limtied availability and its price while good by UK standards is far more expensive in Japan compared to other beef.

I found a restaurant where I was seated infront of a hotplate which extended the entire length of the restaurant while my own private chef came over and cooked the beef exactly to my liking on the hotplate, with chips of garlic and butter. The beef was served with the standard Japanese fair - rice, pickles, miso soup as well as some noodles and a salad. I was pleasantly suprised - I think it really was the best beef I had ever tasted. Wonderfully tender, yet fully flavoured. Excellent!

I then jumped on the local train to Kyoto which took about 45 minutes before booking myself into another Ryokan. This one was more like a hotel than the last, and while Japanese style with Tatami Matting and futons instead of a bed it was a far smaller room. The Onsen,or bath in this Ryokan was also far bigger than the last. Having pulled or bruised or somehow damaged something in my ankle which has progressively gotten more painful I went straight to the Onsen to have a good soak in the scalding water.

I then headed out into town, grabbing some sushi for dinner and eventually ending up in Gion again in the evening, and by some change in Tadgs Irish Pub. The crowd was predictably western, but then what did I expect? I met an American Chinese girl, Elaine, who is doing a film fellowship in Kyoto. It was nice to talk to someone in fluent english for once, but also good to get a locally living foreigners perspective on Japanese life and culture.

I made it back to my Ryokan intime for the curfew (yes, curfew) and decided to pack to allow a smooth exit the next morning and on to the train station. I decided to... I didnt do it though. Ah well, whats life if you cant have a mad rush???

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