The sun was going down and with the small amount of daylight left, we hopped on a local train and bid the ancient city of Kyoto adieu. Kobe was our destination. While it is home to the world famous wagyu beef, we were not able to secure a booking at the restaurant famous for it as it's booked six months in advance. But Ryan has a soft spot for Kobe, having been here once before and wanted to return so that's what we did.
First thing we did after getting off the train was go straight to the hotel. The long day in Kyoto had us beat. We checked in and recharged both our phone batteries as well as our human batteries. Taking a breather from heavy travel does both the body and soul good. Approximately 2 hours later, we left the hotel and went looking for a bite to eat. There was a restaurant right around the corner with tempura advertised on the glass. We decided to go there. Upon entering the doors, there was a kiosk where you placed your order. Very conveniently, it has a button to translate everything to English. I ordered a bowl of tempura, rice, and a noodle soup. As I stuffed delicious tempura in my face, I let the warm steam filled with the wonderful smells of what I was consuming rise through my nose. After satisfying our stomachs with another taste of Japan, we set off for what I originally thought was going to be a short walk, but turned into a new adventure.
I noticed that there was a virtual geocache not too far down the street from where we were. We had to go to an observation deck at the top of a hotel. Ryan was game so off we went. We walked down sidewalks washed in the glow of warm evening lights. People were out and about, but not enough to cause us to break our stride. We made it to the hotel and took the elevator to the 24th floor. Exiting our lift we entered a large, enclosed room with big windows. As I peered out them, I could see the lights of Kobe showing life in the city. There was a park directly below that had a nice glow from the pathway lighting installed there. In the distance was a Ferris wheel whose neon lights made it a beacon in the night. All I had to do to claim the virtual was snap a picture of myself at the observation deck with the city in view. So that's what I did.
After we got our fill of the view, we took the elevator down to the main floor. I expected we were headed back to the hotel to call it a night, but Ryan asked if I wanted to go to the boardwalk. Normally I would be all over that, but it had been a long day and I was a bit beat. When he mentioned it was a 25 minute walk from where we were, I groaned slightly. He said it was worth it and reminded me that we were in Japan. I couldn't argue so off we walked. The 25 minutes actually went by pretty quickly as we chatted and it gave me opportunity to catch more pokemon in Pokemon Go. Before I knew it, we had reached a massive plaza surrounded by the sea. The sky was dark, but the boardwalk was lit as if the area was celebrating Christmas. Before me was the tall Kobe Tower. All lit up in red lights. To my right was the maritime museum with its artistic metal roof jutting out like mini mountains. Closed for the day of course, but we would visit when it opened the next day. From another direction was a large BE KOBE sign that you could stand against and get a picture with. There were quite a few people waiting to do so, even at this hour.
As I was still taking in the scenery, a big screen off to the side announced that a light show was starting. Then it boomed out a countdown. Once it reached zero, the night sky was flooded with some upbeat music. Then, all the structures I had observed prior began flashing and changing lights with the beat of the music. The museum roof flashed brilliant blues, the Kobe Tower majestic reds, and others fired off vibrant purples, oranges, and yellows. It was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise. Ryan then suggested we go up in the Kobe Tower. It cost about 1500-1800 yen ($10-$12 USD) so it was a no brainer. Up another elevator we went and saw the city of Kobe from a different high point view. The ocean, the lights, the cars, and whatever else moved in the city once again was spread out before us. We discovered that there was a restaurant one floor down and it rotated around the tower. So we grabbed some refreshments, took a seat, and enjoyed moving view. I experienced something similar when I was a top the Space Needle in Seattle in 2018. Now I was experiencing it on the other side of the world and with a good friend. Eventually we called it a night and made the long walk back to the hotel. We would revisit the streets of Kobe the next morning.
With the morning sun came another interesting hotel experience. The hotel's continental breakfast was one of the most intriguing I've ever had. While we got to choose from standard breads, fruits, and pastries, everyone got the same main course. The chefs called out when it was ready. I walked up to the counter and picked up an assortment of food on carrying try that I was not expecting to see. There before me was a freshly prepared salad, with a thick rectangular slice of fish, a fried egg, a cup of yogurt with jello, and a small cup of warm tomato soup. It all tasted really good, that that was the first time I've ever had soup and salad for breakfast.
We continued our morning by exploring the colonial part of Kobe. Kobe was one of the first cities to open to western influence when Japan opened to the world. Westerners came and built a bunch of colonial style houses in the city. One is really famous as it has now been turned into a starbucks. So we paid it a visit, got a cup of joe, and experienced a cultural fusion in Japan. After we installed Java, we wandered around the old embassies and the rest of colonial town. In the process, we realized the gondolas that took us up to the herbal gardens way up on the hill were operating. So we purchased tickets and took the sky rides to the top. The ascent in the metal orbs with glass walls was just the right speed to both take in the view of the Kobe skyline as we rose above it and to anticipate what awaited us at the top as we climbed higher and higher above the tree canopy. I gazed through the translucent floor beneath my feet and stared in awe at the gardens below. Before I could fully take it all in, we had reached the top.
Before us awaited a path to a gate, that led to a slew of shops and an artistically designed patio area. We decided it was a good time for refreshments, so we ordered some and found a countertop that we could sit and stare over the massive city we just rose above. Just being able to take a moment, soak in the view, talk about life, and stare at the beauty before us, is something to be grateful for.
We finished up our break and went to enjoy the gardens. We followed the large stone path as it wove back down the mountain. Each bit we walked, the cultivated beauty before us changed. There were areas dressed for a fall harvest, areas with water fountains flowing free, areas with flowers grown into familiar shapes and formations, and so much more. There was an area I spotted from the gondola that I wanted to check out. At that time, there weren't people in that area yet, but by the early afternoon when we had arrived, the people were there. This section had a patch of green grass on the hillside that was covered in hammocks. I always love a good hammock. Ryan and I found two open and plopped our semi-weary carcasses in them. There I was, swaying in a hammock, with the sun beaming down, a gentle breeze blowing, and the greenery of Earth around me. It was another one of those moments.
We weren't going to stay long to see the full gardens as we had other places to be, but we wandered through the green house area and other old style buildings that contained museum-like pieces from days of cultivating past. My favorite was the scent room where there were a couple hundred scent bottles you could smell. I flooded my nose with lemon, lavender, cinnamon, turmeric, mint, and so many other wonderful smells.
After sending my nose on a wild ride, we caught a ride of our own from the gondolas back down the mountain. We then made our way to Chinatown for a brief site-seeing excursion. We meandered through the crowds, street performances, the Chinese lanterns that hung above our heads and the liveliness of it all. Once we had our fill, we headed back to the docks where the Kobe tower stands as we were going to see the maritime museum.
The docks and the ocean were in different light at that of the day. I could see the water lapping the docks, the birds were about, and folks were more abundant. But we were here for the museum, so we entered in and paid for our ticket. Before us were case after case of models of many types of ships that have roamed the sea. So much hand crafted detail went into each one. But in the center of them all was a massive ancient wooden ship. Full size, just there in the center of the room. We continued to wander and as we did, there was a section on aircraft, a section with hands-on experiences, including flight, ship, and even motorcycle simulators. Kawasaki sponsored a chunk of the museum, so they had an entire wall replaying a brief video documentary of the evolution of transportation they have provided. Then further down was a full display of their motorcycles. It was quite a site to see. We lingered a little longer to cover the rest of the museum that wasn't at an additional cost. We then stepped back outside to take in the docks one more time. Then it was off to the hotel to get our stuff and begin the adventure to Nara, where more fun and surprises would await us.
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