Kobe ...

One Saturday morning Amy, Bernie, Olli and I hopped on the train and headed for Kobe. I had never been, we didn't have anything else going on that weekend and it sounded like a pretty solid idea. We didn't really have a plan except to go with the flow. That's our typical traveling style and I like it.

We headed to Chinatown first. Lots of big cities all over the world have a Chinatown and Kobe is no exception. "Kobe Chinatown (Nankin-machi) (南京町) is located in Kobe, Japan. There are over 100 restaurants, shops and a Chinese temple (関帝廟), that accentuate the international flavor of the city with authentic Chinese dining and a unique shopping experience" (WP).
We walked through, but didn't stop. I absolutely LOVE Chinese food but I've come to realize that I love Americanized Chinese food. We've had Chinese in Japan a couple times and it is not anywhere close to the Cedar Falls hot spot Bobbi and I used to go to daily, I mean regularly. :)

The map of Chinatown:

The decorated streets, although this picture doesn't do it justice:

And some places to pray:

Next stop was the Naka Pier. All we really wanted to do was hang out at the pier so this is where we spent the majority of our time.

"Kobe was one of the first cities to open for trade with the West following the end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth busiest container port" (WP). Kobe's US sister port is Seattle, WA.

So we watched the ships come in (most of which were cruise ships):

Although there was this pink pirate ship:
Amy and Bernie kept doing this on purpose, knowing that it was making me nervous. My friends are real jerks. :)

And we speculated on the design, function, and all around purpose of Kobe Tower. Yes, of course Kobe has an observation tower that you can go up in to get the standard 'panoramic scenic view' of the area. This is all I could find about Kobe Tower: "Kobe Port Tower (神戸ポートタワー), a hyperboloid structure, is a 108 metre high lattice tower in Kobe, Japan. Kobe Port Tower has an observation deck at a height of 90.28 metres" (WP). That's it.
And then there is this strange structure next to it, but no one seems to know what exactly it is. I can't find any information about it on the internet, in my Lonely Planet, or by asking around. It's a mystery structure.

The Oriental Hotel sits out on the pier and is beautiful. We're thinking it's probably cheap to stay there, right? :) I found the website for the hotel, but they don't list any prices. You have to phone for inquiries ... That's how cheap it is. :)

This next area on the pier was known as Harborland or the Mosiac. Both names are appropriate I guess? It was full of shopping, restaurants, places to get an adult beverage of choice, and a lot of room for sitting outside and taking in all that is Kobe.

And of course there was a ferris wheel.

(& yes, I went on it. I always do.)

Good news: At this shop you can get '1 peace' for 1,000 yen.

Japan is hilarious sometimes.

That was it for Kobe. We ate some food, walked around, hung out on the pier and then took the train back to Bernie's house for a stand up comedy sleepover. Yet another successful weekend.

much love

-tara-

xx