Osaka and Kobe

I had a green JR rail pass, which allowed me unlimited travel on trains, including the shinkansen (high speed) trains. I took one to Osaka to meet up with another penpal. Osaka is about an hour way by high speed rail. The ride is comfortable, smooth, and blazing fast. The scenery just flows by. If you pass another high speed train it just pops fast. It’s a real shame the US can’t get its shit together to develop such infrastructure. It really is everything one would want in domestic travel.

 

I got settled in my AirBnB in which was a few blocks from the Minamikata Station. On the walk there I grabbed this hot can of corn soup from a vending machine. It was okay. I found a nice Indian restaurant along the way and decided to go back to check it out.

 

 

They welcomed me with English so I gave it a shot. It was amazing!
They thought T was British and would put on a game of cricket whenever I stopped by. I didn’t bother correcting them so, so I sort of faked a little accent and occasionally reacted to the game.

 

I would eat there a few more times.

 

Dontonburi

The following morning I met Naomi at the station and we went to Dontonburi, a tourist shopping district. It was packed. she was in a rush to show me a lot in one day, so not much time for photos today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She bought for me Takoyaki, which is breaded octopus balls. I tried it. It was disgusting.

 

We then went to a specialty candy shop.

 

 

 

Kobe

We then hopped on a train to go to her hometown of Kobe. It took about 40 minutes on a standard train. We first went to this temple: Ikuya Jinjya. i don’t know much about it. It’s one of the oldest in Japan. Photography not allowed.

 

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

We then rushed to Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the largest suspension bridge in the world. I goes 1.237 miles from Kobe to Awaji Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a pathway under the bridge that’s open to pedestrians.

 

 

There was a beautiful origami display in the observation deck.

 

 

Some Zen garden event happening.

 

Playing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naomi insisted on completing everything on her list. We were really rushing through it all. Not really my style, but it was exhilarating and never would have been able to do it on my own. For dinner, we went to get some Kobe Beef.

We started out with these special marble cuts. Very small because very expensive. Melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

 

We then had this beef stew Sukiyaki, which was cooked on a pot at our table. It was amazing. Before cooking:

 

After cooking:

 

 

Before the food could settle, we were off to the harbor to see Kobe Tower.

Kobe tower

 

 

 

 

Naomi had to work the next day so we departed and I took the train back to Osaka. I still had some energy in me, so I stopped at Dontonburi to check it out at night.

551 Horai makes the best pork buns. I’ll be stopping by one of these later.

 

 

 

Snack haul!

 

A found these delicious raspberry bonbons