Kobe Strike 2

On Saturday we went to Kobe once again. From the Sannomiya station we wandered down the hill toward the waterfront. We wanted to see the old foreign settlement and see what else Kobe had to offer. On one pier we went through the Kobe Maritime Museum, but we skipped the Kobe Tower tour (like our Space needle, sort of, but much smaller). In the museum we also went through a Kawasaki exhibit. They have produced a lot of machinery from airplanes to aircraft carriers. They also produced the bullet train and we saw a model of the drill they used to dig out the Chunnel. Outside the exhibit, we saw a replica of the Santa Maria. There was a small festival on the pier, with a pretty anemic turnout.

Between piers there had harbor tours aboard small ships. We took a 45-minute tour, which took us out beyond the breakwater to the Kobe Airport on a manmade island. Kobe, from the waterfront is very industrial. In one of the dry docks they were welding on a ship, which looked like a patchwork quilt with different colored panels everywhere. They had several docks with cranes for on and off loading ships. In the distance you could see more massive cranes.

On our way back up the hill, we finally found the old foreign settlement. It consisted of one house, a small southern style plantation, and an exposed brick sewer. The sewer was really cool. Across from the sole surviving house of the old foreign section, there was a crane behind a plywood wall and obviously a foundation for a new high-rise. On the wall, in English it read: former site of the old foreign settlement, and something about serving us better.

Kobe is really a modern city. It was built in the 1850s as a port for foreigners or Gaijin. The Japanese government didn’t want the foreigners in Osaka. That port is too close to Kyoto. Then it was pretty much wiped out in the earthquake of '95 so it is mostly brand new. Beyond the few paragraphs here, and the upscale shopping that we can't afford more than window shopping, we have not seen what the attraction of Kobe is. There maybe something really cool about Kobe, but we have yet to see it. Kobe is on its last strike. We heard there is a beach for swimming and sunbathing. Maybe we'll find it and the Indian restaurant we lost track of and Kobe will be redeemed.

Today, we made what could be our weekly pilgrimage to Costco. This time the walk there was more direct. The walk back established the most direct trail to and from. We actually bought more than we could carry. Whenever we go shopping, what we buy is directly related to what we can physically carry in our pack, hands, and what we can eventually strap to our bikes at the other end of the train line. But Chrissy did some research and found out that Costco will deliver up to 27 kgs for 500 yen. That, my friends, is the absolute best deal in all of Japan. When you come to visit, I will personally escort you to Costco, just so you can ship something to me.

Oh yeah, Costco's vanilla ice cream, from Hokkaido, is to die for. The best anywhere! Chrissy’s word’s not mine, but I did get custody of the spoon.