Kobe Trip (6.18.09)

In June, I took my first overnight trip in Japan and left the Tokyo area for the first time in all of my three years in this country. So glad I went! My friends Mary, Char and I had lots of fun. In addition, I had a day all to myself to do some touristy stuff (Mary was living there at the time and Char had been there before, so they went off to Osaka that day). Here are a few shots:

• Left: We took the Shinkansen (bullet train) late Wednesday evening, arriving at our hotel in Kobe just before midnight.
• Right: The next morning I woke up early to take a walk around the neighborhood. Pictured here is Kobe's main shrine. Looks nice and peaceful in the morning, right? Well, it was...until just after those monks you can see at the top of the steps had finished their chanting, and then the alarm on my mobile phone had the decency to go off, with the volume on its highest setting. Literally, it was seconds after they had finished and were standing in silent meditation, right after I took this photo. I was mortified! I wonder if monks have a sense of humor about that sort of thing...

• Left: after I had caused as much disruption as possible at the shrine, I knew that was my cue to go hit the rest of the town. One of my first stops was a tiny amusement park with a ferris wheel, which looked like the most promising spot to get a good view of the city. I arrived at 10:50, the park opened at 11. No joke, this is how seriously Japanese people are about punctuality. This kid stood there at the gate, with potential visitors ready and waiting, and just looked at his watch until EXACTLY 11am, not a second sooner.
• Right: Yes, I took this picture on purpose. No, it's not a pile of rubbish. This is the park memorializing the Great Hanshin (Kobe) earthquake of 1995, which measured a 7.2. There is almost nothing left in this city that is older than 15 years, with one notable exception being the next photo:

• Left: Kobe's Port Tower, one of the few structures to survive the quake and the mainstay of the city's skyline--especially at night.
• Right: part of Kobe's Nunobiki Herb Garden. In the background you can see the cable cars that bring visitors up the mountain from the main train station. At the cafe here, every dish is centered on an herbal theme. I tried the Rose Smile (an Italian soda made with rose-flavored syrup) and the Herb Sherbet (wild strawberry, lavender, basil and an unidentifiable orange were the four flavors--basil was my unexpected but absolute favorite).

• Left: a view of the city from the cable-car ride back from the herb garden.
• Right: rice paddies. I took this photo the next morning on the bullet train ride back to Tokyo.

In all, a very enjoyable experience and something I would definitely recommend to anyone in Japan long enough to afford the luxury of a little side-trip to Kobe for a day or two!