The trip is starting to wind down, and honestly, as much as I love being here - vacationing here and living in some kind of Gaijin-in-Japan fairytale, I'm about ready to go home and return to "real life." However, I do have one more full day of exploring to do, so I might as well get to it.
My uncle invited me for breakfast with his collagues at 7AM, which I wanted to attend, if nothing else for networking. Plus it was going to be free, and a buffet, so how could I say no to that? One thing to keep in mind when traveling abroad - just because the buffet says a dish is "western style", and LOOKS like what it is you're used to seeing, doesn't mean it'll taste anything like what you're expecting. The yogurt had a stronger aftertaste than I was used to, so fortunately I had only used a little. The scrambled egg dish had a bizarre, lumpy consistency and a slight fishy taste - I think the cook may have added dashi (fish and kelp broth) to it. The bacon was an improvement from the Palace Hotel Tokyo's attempt, and was probably the closest thing to what I was actually expecting. They had a bunch of traditional Japanese breakfast dishes as well...various types of pickles (including umeboshi, which were SOUR), miso soup, grilled salmon (with the skin on - not a fan of the skin), rice, seaweed, and more. They also had iced coffee and orange juice. I love having access to bottomless cups of OJ, but I'm still missing my bottomless diet cokes that are ever-so-common in the States.
After breakfast, my uncle headed for his conference and I headed back to the room to get my bearings. I decided I was going to walk south on Flower Road and see where it takes me, since the Kobe website says it should lead directly to an amusement park and a bunch of other things worth seeing. On the way to the Flower Clock, which marked the halfway point between my hotel and the area I was trying to find, I stumbled across the first of several earthquake memorials. This one was a forested area containing a few artifacts and water features, and I managed to get some interesting pictures.
Continuing on my walk I passed the Kobe City Museum and ended up all the way down by the port of Kobe, in Meriken Park. There was more earthquake stuff here, along with a few other interesting sights worth photographing. It amazes me that this area was destroyed only 13 years ago. Honestly, you can't even tell anything happened here. I guess it's a testament to the people of this city that they have the capacity to not only recover, but improve their city, even as the victims of an exceptionally brutal natural disaster. Some of the memorials were awe-inspiring, and everywhere you turn there seems to be something else dedicated to the memory of those lives lost in the quake.
After spending some time exploring Meriken, I decided to about-face and head back toward the hotel. I needed to make a brief stop and besides, I was already tired, having walked for a couple hours without stopping in order to get to the port.
On my way back, I found Sannomiya Shrine, which sadly is closed on Thursdays, and the digital camera I was carrying conveniently decided to run out of juice. Backup batteries for the win!~
Strange place for a shrine, completely surrounded by urban sprawl. It did, however, seem exceptionally well-kept, all things considered. A few more blocks and I was back in the high-fashion mall from yesterday. I found a record store, and was lured in. I eventually ended up in the basement, which contained probably the largest collection of used games and movies I've seen here, and I found a used copy of Battle Stadium D.O.N. for less than the equivalent of $30. A bargain, considering most import websites charge upwards of $60 - not including shipping! YOINK!
I almost grabbed a copy of Para Para Paradise with controller, too, but the controller box is too big to fit in my suitcase. Sucks, because that was a good find. Of course, buying BS:DON has pushed me over the tarriff-free limit for imports. So I'll have to give some stuff to my uncle to claim so I don't have to pay tax on everything I'm bringing back. The dollar fell against the yen today again, so I'm thinking about paying for my hotel room in cash, buying a couple more things from TSUTAYA used games department, and then only converting over what's left. You don't use it, you lose it.
Now I'm back in the hotel. I'm hoping my uncle and his colleagues decide to go out later on, I've heard some interesting stories about their sake-induced karaoke skill. If we go, you can count on pictures. Lots of them.
Well, we had dinner, but no karaoke. We went to a Yakitori place, and man, was there some weird shit. I went Andrew Zimmern on the menu and tried: barely-cooked chicken pieces in a sesame salad, chicken hearts on a skewer (a little gamey :D), chicken intestines on a skewer, something called 'bardock' that is a kind of root or vegetable, and chicken livers and onions on a skewer. I know it all sounds kind of gross, but as for the "odd" chicken parts I can confirm the old saying, "it tastes just like chicken". It all tasted like BBQ chicken. The only real variant was the textures, which I could understand being a turnoff to some people. I thought the stuff was perfectly fine, but I would only get it at a respectable place, and definitely not off the street at some food stand. By choice though? I'd rather stick to the familiar parts of the chicken.
I also had a few beers, oysters, several kinds of tofu, and CALPIS soda and Japanese red bean paste cakes for dessert. What a way to end a perfect Japanese vacation.
My uncle's business colleagues were more than hospitable, and one wanted me to come back and help his kids learn English! I thought that was kind of funny. They're all really nice guys, though, I can understand why the Japanese business ethic is so strong.
One final note - my first impressions of the people of Kobe were completely wrong. They're actually quite a bit nicer than the people in Tokyo. Today I was asked whether I needed help when trying to plow through the kanji-laden order machine at a Tonkatsu place, and when checking out at a convenience store, a Japanese girl handed me a 50 yen coin while I was fumbling around looking for the correct change. She wouldn't accept a payback, either. My uncle's colleagues thought the situation was funny and took my picture on the spot. I just thought the whole thing was a nice gesture.
Tomorrow is travel hell, but I'm very much looking forward to getting home. As much as I've fallen in love with this country, it's like anything else. Good in moderation, bad in overkill.
Bai bai, Japan...see you next year, I hope!
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