Monday, September 19, 2005
Kobe!
That's right, I said Kôbe!! Not the beef or the basketball wiz, I'm talking about the beautiful port city of Kobe, Japan. Not only did I see it for the first time today, I met a young lady there while I was at it.
Like yesterday I was very cautious to avoid a repeat of Friday's debacle. I had Mako's mobile number and we spoke on the phone Sunday night. Plus, we made very detailed arrangements of precisely where and when we would meet. We didn't exchange photos which I suppose is more of a risk for me than for her (after all, there aren't that many Americans walking in a given area at a given time so I'm easy to pick out of a crowd) but it was a risk I was willing to take. Worst case scenario: if she didn't make it I could always just explore a new city on my own. But she did make it and we met precisely where she had picked out in Sannomiya Station.
Formal wear for the upscale Tigers fans.
Random shots from our walk through Kobe.
Our first stop was Kobe's Chinatown. I wish I had been hungry because there were delicious looking meat buns everywhere! It was pretty small as Chinatowns go but it was a lot cleaner than most of the other ones I have seen, and even though it was small it seemed very lively, much more so than the shitty-ass one in Boston. I bought a bubble tea (known here as miruku tii) which was overpriced and undersized but I needed something to sooth my throat. I don't think I mentioned this recently but my dreams of an end to summer heat and humidity were short-lived. This weekend has been quite summer-like and I just want the whole mess to be over already.
It seems like every Chinatown around the world has a gate like this so where the hell is it in New York?
Some kind of festival in progress. Pay 200 Yen, turn the wheel and they ring the gong. Don't ask me what it all means.
From Chinatown we walked towards the harbor area to "Meriken Park" for some great views. I was actually kind of negligent when it came to taking pictures because I wanted to take pictures of just about everything. There were fountains with water running throughout the park, a memorial for the Great Hanshin earthquake and just lots of neat looking things. Why didn't I take more pictures? Frankly, I was busy trying to talk to Mako and stopping to take a picture is a real conversation-stopper and concentration breaker. Don't worry, I'll go back again sometime and take more pictures, I promise!
Mako said that tower is "the symbol of Kobe." Not bad, as symbols go.
Just panned a bit to the right. That big hotel is where Mako works.
We walked through the park to Harbor Island, an artificially created development (one of many around here) offering commercial and residential space by the water. It was around this time that we opted to eat. Of the options we saw, a Korean restaurant jumped out as particularly tasty looking and affordable as well. We both ordered some bibimbap which was actually listed as bibinba in the menu. I guess transliterating sounds between languages is never an exact science. Sadly, it wasn't nearly as spicy as the first time I had this dish over the summer. Man, do I love referencing trivial shit like past meals thanks to this blog! Anyway, I was very interested in the tea they gave us to drink as it had a flavor I couldn't quite place. Mako filled me in: it's "oksusu-cha," made with corn! Very odd but tasty, I thought. Best of all, it was free.
I'm talking so much about Kobe I haven't really said much about Mako yet. I think our conversation went a little smoother than my meeting yesterday with Mayumi. I don't know if I spoke better Japanese or if Mako spoke better English or somewhere in between, but I felt much better about the whole affair today compared to yesterday. Sure, there were plenty of awkward silences and at times we couldn't understand one another but unless I meet a native English speaker that's unavoidable. Frankly, even when I do meet native English speakers we have those problems!
After lunch, we walked through a busy shopping area to find a bus. Kobe is kind of built on a slant so the plan was to take a bus uphill (past everything we had already seen), see some new things near the top of the hill and then walk our way back down to the station. The bus was quite crowded; I guess because of the holiday a lot of people went out on the town for some sightseeing. I kind of fell asleep on the bus for a few seconds but I don't think Mako noticed because we weren't sitting next to each other. Not that falling asleep is a crime but it doesn't make me seem very active.
No, it's not a church, but Mako said people get married there. So what is it then?
Once we reached a sufficient elevation we started walking up. The weather was hot and uncooperative there was no turning back. Well, I guess there was, but not until after seeing the sights!
First up was this jinja (神社) which had some steep stairs but paid off with a terrific view of city. Well, it would have been better if it hadn't been such a hazy, cloudy day but it still looked very nice. I thought it was very interesting when Mako, without explanation, went into a little "worship" routine by ringing the bell and clapping her hands. I'm not sure if she wanted me to follow suit or she just went through it all for her own reasons. She did say and I didn't ask.
That's right, I'm wearing a new belt.
From the shrine we kept walking uphill, exploring the area. Apparently the Kitano neighborhood was once very popular with foreign residents so much of the architecture is decidely European. Many of the restaurants were foreign-themed and had staff dressed in traditional clothes from...well, I'm not sure where, but they sure weren't Japanese clothes. Eventually the heat got to us and we had to stop for a beverage from a machine, although we were just steps away from our goal: the Uroko House.
This century-old house was once a hang-out for rich foreign-types and now we all get to walk around inside. Our tickets included a towelette that had been kept in a freezer (worth the price of admission alone). All the decor was intended to preserve that of turn-of-the-century Victorian style, but I found an amusing anachronism: sitting next to a book by Charles Dickens was an old-looking but obviously contemporary work by John le Carré. That's like putting a tazer next to artifacts from World War II! I pointed this out to Mako to her amusement. At least, I think she was amused. Reading Japanese laughter is not as easy as it sounds.
Included in the house was a small but interesting art museum. I could not discern any pattern in the exhibited works, other than that many of the pieces were Russian. One of the first things in the lobby was a striking painting of Lenin addressing the masses. The third floor was dedicated to the work of a Japanese artist who looked to be inspired by European work. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I've seen a Japanese artist paint Jesus before.
From the house we walked all the way down to the station, stopping for some ice cream. Walking down through the city I think I realized what it was about the city of Kobe that I found so appealing. Built on an gradient, right by the sea, Chinatown, lots of appealing architecture...this place reminds me of San Francisco! I'm not completely sure why the city feels so "Western," if that makes any sense. Maybe it has something to do with its history as a port city, maybe it's the decades of foreigners living there, but I immediately felt very comfortable hanging out there.
This reads: "Danger fully to the female environment. Correct crime prevention!" I think the guys on the right just look lonely.
Yes, it's a working water wheel. As soon as I saw this, I was sure that Kobe was awesome.
Mako and I rode the same train back towards Osaka although she got off an earlier stop than I did. I don't want to get ahead of myself here but I felt totally jazzed about today. I saw a new city, met a new person and I think it all went great. Part of me wonders if Mako felt the same way. This could be nothing, but when we were on the train it wasn't crowded at all but she seemed to be standing very close to me. Eh, forget it: nothing happened and if I think it did it'll all go horribly wrong. Let's just say that I had fun and I hope to see Mako again, the sooner the better.
As soon as I got back to the dorm I spent two hours with some students from my Justice class finishing up a little group project. Then I spent the rest of the evening repairing my blog (you may have noticed that things looked a bit off these last few days), typing this new post and doing my laundry.
Short school week starts tomorrow and ends Thursday. Who will I meet next? Wait and see...
Like yesterday I was very cautious to avoid a repeat of Friday's debacle. I had Mako's mobile number and we spoke on the phone Sunday night. Plus, we made very detailed arrangements of precisely where and when we would meet. We didn't exchange photos which I suppose is more of a risk for me than for her (after all, there aren't that many Americans walking in a given area at a given time so I'm easy to pick out of a crowd) but it was a risk I was willing to take. Worst case scenario: if she didn't make it I could always just explore a new city on my own. But she did make it and we met precisely where she had picked out in Sannomiya Station.
Formal wear for the upscale Tigers fans.
Random shots from our walk through Kobe.
Our first stop was Kobe's Chinatown. I wish I had been hungry because there were delicious looking meat buns everywhere! It was pretty small as Chinatowns go but it was a lot cleaner than most of the other ones I have seen, and even though it was small it seemed very lively, much more so than the shitty-ass one in Boston. I bought a bubble tea (known here as miruku tii) which was overpriced and undersized but I needed something to sooth my throat. I don't think I mentioned this recently but my dreams of an end to summer heat and humidity were short-lived. This weekend has been quite summer-like and I just want the whole mess to be over already.
It seems like every Chinatown around the world has a gate like this so where the hell is it in New York?
Some kind of festival in progress. Pay 200 Yen, turn the wheel and they ring the gong. Don't ask me what it all means.
From Chinatown we walked towards the harbor area to "Meriken Park" for some great views. I was actually kind of negligent when it came to taking pictures because I wanted to take pictures of just about everything. There were fountains with water running throughout the park, a memorial for the Great Hanshin earthquake and just lots of neat looking things. Why didn't I take more pictures? Frankly, I was busy trying to talk to Mako and stopping to take a picture is a real conversation-stopper and concentration breaker. Don't worry, I'll go back again sometime and take more pictures, I promise!
Mako said that tower is "the symbol of Kobe." Not bad, as symbols go.
Just panned a bit to the right. That big hotel is where Mako works.
We walked through the park to Harbor Island, an artificially created development (one of many around here) offering commercial and residential space by the water. It was around this time that we opted to eat. Of the options we saw, a Korean restaurant jumped out as particularly tasty looking and affordable as well. We both ordered some bibimbap which was actually listed as bibinba in the menu. I guess transliterating sounds between languages is never an exact science. Sadly, it wasn't nearly as spicy as the first time I had this dish over the summer. Man, do I love referencing trivial shit like past meals thanks to this blog! Anyway, I was very interested in the tea they gave us to drink as it had a flavor I couldn't quite place. Mako filled me in: it's "oksusu-cha," made with corn! Very odd but tasty, I thought. Best of all, it was free.
I'm talking so much about Kobe I haven't really said much about Mako yet. I think our conversation went a little smoother than my meeting yesterday with Mayumi. I don't know if I spoke better Japanese or if Mako spoke better English or somewhere in between, but I felt much better about the whole affair today compared to yesterday. Sure, there were plenty of awkward silences and at times we couldn't understand one another but unless I meet a native English speaker that's unavoidable. Frankly, even when I do meet native English speakers we have those problems!
After lunch, we walked through a busy shopping area to find a bus. Kobe is kind of built on a slant so the plan was to take a bus uphill (past everything we had already seen), see some new things near the top of the hill and then walk our way back down to the station. The bus was quite crowded; I guess because of the holiday a lot of people went out on the town for some sightseeing. I kind of fell asleep on the bus for a few seconds but I don't think Mako noticed because we weren't sitting next to each other. Not that falling asleep is a crime but it doesn't make me seem very active.
No, it's not a church, but Mako said people get married there. So what is it then?
Once we reached a sufficient elevation we started walking up. The weather was hot and uncooperative there was no turning back. Well, I guess there was, but not until after seeing the sights!
First up was this jinja (神社) which had some steep stairs but paid off with a terrific view of city. Well, it would have been better if it hadn't been such a hazy, cloudy day but it still looked very nice. I thought it was very interesting when Mako, without explanation, went into a little "worship" routine by ringing the bell and clapping her hands. I'm not sure if she wanted me to follow suit or she just went through it all for her own reasons. She did say and I didn't ask.
That's right, I'm wearing a new belt.
From the shrine we kept walking uphill, exploring the area. Apparently the Kitano neighborhood was once very popular with foreign residents so much of the architecture is decidely European. Many of the restaurants were foreign-themed and had staff dressed in traditional clothes from...well, I'm not sure where, but they sure weren't Japanese clothes. Eventually the heat got to us and we had to stop for a beverage from a machine, although we were just steps away from our goal: the Uroko House.
This century-old house was once a hang-out for rich foreign-types and now we all get to walk around inside. Our tickets included a towelette that had been kept in a freezer (worth the price of admission alone). All the decor was intended to preserve that of turn-of-the-century Victorian style, but I found an amusing anachronism: sitting next to a book by Charles Dickens was an old-looking but obviously contemporary work by John le Carré. That's like putting a tazer next to artifacts from World War II! I pointed this out to Mako to her amusement. At least, I think she was amused. Reading Japanese laughter is not as easy as it sounds.
Included in the house was a small but interesting art museum. I could not discern any pattern in the exhibited works, other than that many of the pieces were Russian. One of the first things in the lobby was a striking painting of Lenin addressing the masses. The third floor was dedicated to the work of a Japanese artist who looked to be inspired by European work. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I've seen a Japanese artist paint Jesus before.
From the house we walked all the way down to the station, stopping for some ice cream. Walking down through the city I think I realized what it was about the city of Kobe that I found so appealing. Built on an gradient, right by the sea, Chinatown, lots of appealing architecture...this place reminds me of San Francisco! I'm not completely sure why the city feels so "Western," if that makes any sense. Maybe it has something to do with its history as a port city, maybe it's the decades of foreigners living there, but I immediately felt very comfortable hanging out there.
This reads: "Danger fully to the female environment. Correct crime prevention!" I think the guys on the right just look lonely.
Yes, it's a working water wheel. As soon as I saw this, I was sure that Kobe was awesome.
Mako and I rode the same train back towards Osaka although she got off an earlier stop than I did. I don't want to get ahead of myself here but I felt totally jazzed about today. I saw a new city, met a new person and I think it all went great. Part of me wonders if Mako felt the same way. This could be nothing, but when we were on the train it wasn't crowded at all but she seemed to be standing very close to me. Eh, forget it: nothing happened and if I think it did it'll all go horribly wrong. Let's just say that I had fun and I hope to see Mako again, the sooner the better.
As soon as I got back to the dorm I spent two hours with some students from my Justice class finishing up a little group project. Then I spent the rest of the evening repairing my blog (you may have noticed that things looked a bit off these last few days), typing this new post and doing my laundry.
Short school week starts tomorrow and ends Thursday. Who will I meet next? Wait and see...
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Kobe seems like a nice town. It's very pretty and I'm enjoying the pictures a lot! Chinatown looks a lot nicer there than here.Probably just because it's cleaner. Here everything looks run down in a way.
Well, just wanted to say that you look great! Can defenately tell that you lost weight, and compliments on the new belt.
Also you seem to become quite the dater over there. Keep going, it suits you.
Well, just wanted to say that you look great! Can defenately tell that you lost weight, and compliments on the new belt.
Also you seem to become quite the dater over there. Keep going, it suits you.
Thanks for the compliments! I definitely lost a lot of weight this summer, but I'm not sure how my weight has been since arriving in Japan. I'm still trying to locate a scale.
As far as meeting these women, I'm not sure they count as "dates" but I suppose anything is possible, right?
As far as meeting these women, I'm not sure they count as "dates" but I suppose anything is possible, right?
Sup! I tracked this place down via the Kansai Gaidai article on wikipedia. I think you are actually in one of my classes, but I am not all that sure. My name is Chris Grenard, so if you recognise the name, say hello to me in the halls or something. Nice blog, btw, and I like the Kobe pics. I have yet to go there. Looks cool!
Sorry, I can't say I recognize your name. I only have one professor who calls roll and he rarely says last names. Feel free to call out my name whenever if you want to chat.
Just wanted to let you know I found your blog and will be reading it. ^.^ Its interesting to read about other Kansai Gaidai Gakusei. See you around school.
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