Kobe

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Kobe turned out to be a really wonderful little city. Some might recognize the name from the 1995 Earthquake here that killed about 6000 people. Since then it's been rebuilt and it definitely feels nicer then an older Japanese city. Wide room streets and walkways and a very cosmopolitan atmosphere makes this a lot nicer I think then Osaka was. Lot's of parks and a nice memorial to the Earthquake is here as well.

I'm staying a place called Kobe Dears Guesthouse, on the way over a white guy I assumed was another guest here stopped on his small scooter and helped with directions, it's a bit out of the way but they had great signage.. anyways turns out he actually runs the hostel, pretty odd seeing a white guy running ANYTHING around here. He's married to a Japanese wife and together they opened up the spot about 2 years back. Really friendly, after getting directions to some sights here he even left me his mobile # in case I ran into any problems.

One of the spots he directed me to was a place to try out the real Kobe Beef "experience" and what an experience it was. The place was a LITTLE expensive... my meal was $80 (and that was one of the cheapest) options but very cool joint. The chefs cook it right in front of you while your sitting in front of the counter. You select the cut and what sides you want and away they go. They "present" the meat to you before they cook it. Once the first bit is cooked he asked me to first try it only with salt to make sure I approved, and I definitely did. It was some of the best beef I've ever had, and that's saying a lot coming from Alberta. The people beside me had shrimp with theirs... another chef brought out the UNCOOKED Shrimp and grilled it right there (holding down the fellers as they sizzled).. overall fun to watch. They are very proud of their beef, even explaining outside the restaurant the lineage of the cows they use. Crazy. Oh the people in front of me paying, two of em, $250. Yowza!

Today didn't do too much, the rain put a damper on things.. tempted to go out and grab a bite to eat but not sure if I'm feeling up to braving the chilly rain. Was going to go to Osaka with a German woman I met at the hostel here but because of the rain just ended up going to check out a Sake Museum locally. Turns out almost HALF of all Sake brewed is from right around here, tons of em all over with nice little museums tours and free samplings. they even had some "Sparkling Sake" stuff to try. Interesting to say the least.

Tomorrow is Nagoya for 3 nights, should be good looking forward to that place.

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Photos

Near the Station
This is a small restaurant / shopping area near the train station i got off.

Wendy's
Very International City.......

Jazz Music Group
Lovn those outfits.

Jazz Group Outfits
The guy in red was the main singer it looked like. First time I saw him before the show I thought he looked a bit like Bob Barker

Large Torii Gate
One of the Shrines in Kobe, just near the entertainment district.

China Town
Interesting approach to the China Town area here in Kobe, nice stain glass effect.

Tower
Lit up nicely here at night.

Sake Museum
Interesting displays showing the process for making Sake, traditionally.

Sake Museum
Interesting displays showing the process for making Sake, traditionally.

Packing up the Sake
Sake would be rolled into large drums like these.

Giant Whale
Interesting... sculpture on the wharf.

Park
Nice park setup, up ahead is the Earthquake Memorial

Earthquake Memorial
Nice area showing the reconstruction work that went on to restore Kobe.

Interesting Architecture
They had some interesting shapes for the buildings here.

Hydrofoil?
There were a few ships and whatnot setup on display... not sure what or why sometimes.

Harborland
Fun shopping and entertainment area at the pier.

Ferry
Interestingly done up ferry to look like an old wooden ship.

Comments

[michelle]

weird seeing Chinatown in Japan...wish I was there to try the beef! Now I'm hungry...