On the tenth day, we headed to Kobe (神戸市), the sixth-largest city in Japan. Kobe is also the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1.5 million.
Kobe is known for it’s cosmopolitan past, being one of the first cities to open for trade with the West in Japan. It is also known for the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake which destroyed much of the city. Finally, the city is also the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef (神戸ビーフ), the most expensive beef in the world.
The first place we went to in Kobe was Kitano Ijinkan (北野異人館). It is a historical district which contains a number of foreign residences from the late Meiji and early Taishō eras of Japanese history. Each of the individual foreign houses charge separate entry admission fees. As we thought it’s rather silly to pay to look at “foreign houses” given we are foreigners ourselves and also because globalisation has made attractions like these lose their allures, we just walked outside the street and took photos.
Btw, there are lots of bridal salons and other wedding-related shops near Kobe Kitano. It’s probably because the many old foreign architecture that make ideal backdrops for wedding photos.
The express train we tookLadies only train cabinA train driverThe train driver at workThe train driver’s name is displayed to the passengers so you can file complaints if they don’t drive properlyarea map of KobeIn front of a bridal salonHigh quality wedding kimonoHiring ad for gigolosThere are lots of buildings like this with interesting architecture in KitanoWooden wheel in the backgroundWeird looking ad which I do not know what it is promotingWe spotted a halal-certified restaurant at Kitano – very rare in JapanAt Kitano Ijinkan (北野異人館)Cardboard Mickey MouseNice shrubs and bushesJapanese school kids on school excursionOn a slope in the street of KitanoBird cage with flowers insideWild pussy willowA French houseA foreign house with two oriental statues outsideA Dutch dwellingKitano streetMy comrade’s houseBeautiful flowersStrange looking mini truck we spottedSomeone’s little statue outside the houseSherlock Holmes’ houseOne of the few free admission attractions in Kobe KitanoDescription of the museum housePhotos depicting the devastating Hanshin Earthquake which ravaged Kobe in 1995A closer look at one of the earthquake photosWindow view from the free museumLots of beautiful flowers like theseCabbage flowerBottle-shaped flowersPetit bottle-shaped blue flowersBlue flowers with long petalsPurple and white flowersPetit red flowersRachel likes to look at flowersPretty red flowersStalks of tiny pink flowersOutside a cat-themed cafeA vintage poster on Kobe beefVintage poster depicting Kobe’s cosmopolitan pastAnother exotic vintage posterVintage European wadrobeHello Kitty dressed up as a Kobe cowKobear – a Kobe mascotResidential park in KitanoOne of the many foreign housesDecorative Kitano Ijinkan shieldsA clubhouse for foreignersOranges spotted in someone’s houseGrand looking foreign houseAnother majestic house
For lunch, we split way with Mark and Meiyen who went to eat a luxurious Kobe beef meal. Rachel and I find the price tag for Kobe beef a tat too steep. Hence we headed to a nearby small restaurant serving charcoal-grilled beef with rice. It was delicious! In fact, we came back here to eat it again on our second last day in Japan.
After lunch, we did some light shopping at the Kobe shopping district. We did not buy much stuff as the exchange rate for the Japanese yen was at an all time high and we found most of the stuff too expensive. In fact, some brands like Agnès B. and Porter bags, which were supposed to be cheaper in Japan than in Singapore were more expensive due to the pathetic exchange rate.
The restaurant Mark went to for his Kobe beefEntrance to the restaurantRestaurant interiorThe chef who prepared Mark’s Kobe beefSlicing up the meatClose-up of the Kobe beefPreparing the vegetable sideMark’s Kobe beef mealRachel and I are less wealthy, we had lunch at this small restaurantThe chef who cooked our delicious beefClose-up shot of the beefThe beef bowl Rachel and I had for lunchIndoor flowersCaramel pudding flavour Kit Kat – exclusive in KobeWeird-looking Indian bath saltGhostly bath saltBath salt for dirty people who work in coal minesGlue boy lip balmAnime soft drinkAn interesting store that sells just merchants’ vouchers and coupons at values lower than the printed ratesSome pet charity group in Japan – Rachel made a small donationEntrance to a long shopping street in KobeShopping streetInteresting looking buildings which look like water colour paintingsSeen outside an expensive looking Japanese western restaurant – I seriously do not know what the text is trying to sayMeat shop specialising in Kobe beef
Thereafter, we headed to Kobe Chinatown, Nankin-machi (南京町). If you were to ask me, I find the name quite ironic, given the atrocity committed by the Japanese soldiers during the Nanking Massacre in WWII. The place is actually quite cheesy. It looks like the kind of stereotypical “Chinatown” you find in western video games and movies with lots of touristy nonsense perpetuating the notion of the mystical Orient.
Kobe ChinatownCheesy red lanterns everywhereThese two China doll statues are the ultimate in cheesiness!I hate Chinese-themed shops like this!Chinese snacksPork dumpling stall – what’s with the picture of the fat Chinaman with rosy cheek?Rabit statue – there are statues of all 12 of the Chinese zodiac animalsFamous char siew pau stall with long queueThe char siew pau wrappingThe tiny char siew pau – It sucks! The skin tasted very rubbery and toughKobe beef coroquette – Rachel and I still tasted Kobe beef afterall 🙂Small bits of Kobe beef inside the coroquetteFugu (puffer fish) spottedFugu sashimi – for foolhardy gourmet huntersExiting Kobe Chinatown
After Chinatown, we went to Harborland (神戸ハーバーランド), a shopping district in Kobe to do more shopping. Harborland is located along Japan’s eastern coast and you can get a fantastic seaview from the area. It is also home to the famouse Kobe Port Tower (神戸ポートタワー).
We visited the Hankyu shopping mall and the Mosaic Garden amusement park located in the area. We managed to catch the sunset in the Mosaic Garden ferris wheel. They had a Valentine’s Day special promotion going on for the ferris wheel whereby you can get a discounted price if you ride in the cheesy pink cabin with heart-shaped cushions and lots of gay-looking pink and red feathers.
Rachel and I had dinner at Saizeriya (サイゼリヤ) which is also available in Singapore at Liang Court. The restaurant chain in Japan has a wider selection in their menu and frankly, the quality of the food is also better.
After dinner, we took the train and headed back to our hotel. This ended our day tour of Kobe. We will be visiting the historic capital city of Kyoto (京都) the next day. Stay tuned for my next blog entry. 🙂
A decorative piece at the underpass from the train station to HarborlandAnother decorative pieceAn interesting installation ad for the local zooFirst time I ate pork from McDonald’sWe spotted a ferris wheel from afar, on our way to HarborlandAn elegant motorbike we came acrossMosaic Garden – a small seaside amusement parkMosaic Garden ferris wheelBeside the ferris wheelVarious amusement rides available at Mosaic GardenBy the seaAn expensive hotel at HarborlandHankyu shopping mallWe bought the Valentine’s Day special ferris wheel ticketsCheesy heart-shaped cushions found in the ferris wheel cabinThe cushions are more suitable for Mark and MeiyenRachel and I, minus the cheesy cushionsKobe Port Tower as seen from the ferris wheelIt’s almost sunsetSunset as seen from the top of the ferris wheelFrom another angleAnother angle againRachel and Anpanman (アンパンマン)Me with Anpanman and his friendMerry-go-roundRachel was excited to see a specialty store selling Totoro toys and other Hayao Miyazaki’s stuffPandas!The pandas from Miyazakis earlier work, Panda! Go, Panda! (パンダ・コパンダ)Rachel loves this panda animeTotoro collectible figurineTotoro on a plantClothes Rachel and I bought at the COMME ÇA DU MODE storeBaseball park at HarborlandMark and Meiyen beside a Valentine’s Day wishing treeJapanese teens excitedly writing their wishes on free red ribbonsTying the ribbon to the wishing treeMosaic shopping mallThe Kobe Port Tower in the nightThe sea breeze was freezing coldMe, freezing as wellVery beautiful seaview at nightMosaic Garden from afarThe lighted ferris wheel looks very different at nightRachel and I had dinner at SaizeriyaThe Saizeriya menu in Japan has exotic offerings like mozarella cheeseOur dinner – a pizza and a hamburger steakClose-up of my hamburger steak – much better than what they served in the Saizeriya in SingaporeSlicing up our pizza with the rollerJapan’s Mister DonutRachel bought a box of donuts from Mister Donut“Bee Hoon” donut?Chocolate-coated donutCinnamon donutSugared donut with fillingGiant kiwi that Mark bought for supperBye bye Kobe!Bought this soda flavour popsicle from the Family Mart beside our hotel
Links to my previous blog entries on my Japan trip:
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