From Ijinkan I head over to Chinatown. The sights worth seeing in Kobe are the Kitano area with the Ijinkan houses, the area around Sannomiya, and Nankinmachi (Chinatown) plus the area around Mosaic and Meriken Park. Unlike Yokohama, these areas aren’t that far apart from each other. I think that’s where Kobe’s cozy, charming feel comes from.
Kobe in the evening
The sunset came while I was on my way. It was so beautiful, but it didn’t come out well in the photos. I’m itching for a new camera… sob… but it’s not time yet…
The Port of Kobe emblem up on the mountain…
Ah, how romantic. This is a city whose little touches like this I really love.
The entrance to Chinatown
Finally, I’ve arrived. It had been gloomy all day, and this is how the sky paid me back. It was a day when Kobe’s beauty really took me by surprise. Mind you, the sun went down five minutes after I took this shot…
Nankinmachi street scene
Hectic and lively, same as always. I went to Est Royal for my beloved Marron Gascogne, but the line was so long I gave up and moved on to the next stop. (I was genuinely gutted at that moment.) An hour and a half gone now. Still plenty of time.
Kobe Port Tower…
Just snapped it.
Cheesecake I had at Mosaic
Taking a short break at Mosaic with some cake. I’d actually thought about having a proper meal, but it’s a tourist spot, so there’s really nowhere good to eat. I’d love to buy some of this cake to share with people, but its shelf life is only a week, so I can’t, which is a shame.
The Ferris wheel at Mosaic…
Up close, it was packed full… hmm…
Apple’s Magic Mouse
After a lap around Mosaic and a snack of cake, two and a half hours had passed. To kill the remaining 30 minutes I went to the Apple Store nearby. Of the newly announced products, the one I was most curious about was this, the world’s first multi-touch mouse. It looks gorgeous and the grip isn’t bad either. Tracking was good too… it wasn’t inconvenient to use at all. But two things bugged me: the battery life is really short, and it looks a bit fragile to carry around. Its features are similar to the multi-touch trackpad on the MacBook, so I don’t see a reason to buy one right away, but it’s still a really cool mouse.
The new 27-inch iMac
This one looked really nice too, but I only use MacBooks. When a MacBook Pro with an i5-class CPU comes out, I’d better get ready to switch to that.
Kobe harbor scene…
You need to carry a tripod to shoot night views like this nicely…
As expected, I wrapped up my Kobe sightseeing within three hours. I was thinking of heading to Sannomiya for dinner when a friend got in touch to say they were in Kobe. We met up and went to a British pub they recommended. According to my friend, they serve authentic British food. In that sense, I never really got a proper gourmet meal on this trip, right to the end.
Fish and chips
The fried fish had an unusual taste. Not bad, as these things go. Not great either, though… And all those potatoes… I never knew the British loved potatoes this much.
British sausage, onion rings and mashed potatoes
Supposedly it’s exactly how they do it in Britain. But… if this is British, I kind of feel sorry for the British. It’s not bad, but the giant sausage isn’t made from particularly good-quality meat, and they put way too much pepper in it. And sure enough, a mountain of potatoes here too.
Meat pie of the day
Potatoes here as well… a moment of silence, please… The main filling of the meat pie is lamb, and my friend who tried it said this is authentic British too. But… it had that strong gamey lamb taste, so eating it was a real ordeal for me. Loads of pepper again, too
It’s not to my taste, but I guess it brings back nostalgia for home for British people. The pub was overflowing with people. When I thought that if I were British I’d probably happily eat food like this… I was really glad I’m not British…
Anyway, that’s how I got through dinner safely and finished my Kobe trip without a hitch. With more and more places to go, all I can think is that I want to come more often. Next time I’ll probably go to coincide with the opening at the Sanda outlets, though…