Our second day in Kobe turned out to be a very nice one, and although the temperature was colder (32 degrees), the sun was out and it looked like it was going to stay out for most of the day. During breakfast, we heard some folks nearby us saying that they had snow flurries on Mt. Rokko while on their tour yesterday, which is located high above the city. Looking around at how the guests are dressed, we can say that most people underestimated the weather in this part of the world at this time of year. We knew what it could be like when we did an independent overland tour not too many years ago. Departing the ship in Beijing (Tianjin), it was snowing and the freeways were blanketed and closed for a few hours until workers cleared them. We had brought our heavy duty jackets and gloves and were sure glad we did. Until we headed south, we wore them every day.
Around 10am, we caught the shuttle that went to the same stop as yesterday at Motomachi. This time we crossed the road and turned right. It took us to another shopping street arcade, but this time the stores were mostly highend with recognizable names. Zara, Uni Qlo, Tiffanys, and a myriad of shops we never heard of. This was the Sannomiya district where many of the fancy hotels were located. Once again, the eateries were beginning to open, and lines were forming well before their doors opened. It did not matter that it was so cold outside, the locals were willing to wait for seating inside.
We passed by what appeared to be a church by the name of Kobe St. Morgan Church. It did not look like a typical entrance for a church, but more like a hotel. Going inside, we were told this was a meeting place, so we left. And we still do not know if it was a church or not. Continuing up this same road, we passed a portal called Sannomiya Shrine with a very old typical Japanese pagoda on the corner. We found the Sannomiya Center Gai Shopping Street, built the same as yesterday's arcade shopping street. This mall was newer than Motomachi and housed hundreds of shops, cafes, and restaurants. If there was a chance of getting lost, this would have been the place.
We exited one of the covered streets to Flower Road, which was a big 8 lane road. We could see the backdrop of the mountains as well as a number of ways of getting around. There were buses, of course, but all of locals use the underground metro or the overhead railways. From this road, we could see all of it including traffic. Of course, today was Sunday and most all of the people go out shopping today. Especially the younger crowd.
We did mostly window-shopping except for one special store. It was a pet shop with the smallest little puppies we have ever seen. And many fluffy kittens as well. The prices were shocking for these little guys. The most expensive was 830,000 yen. That computes to $5530 USD. No kidding. Even the kittens were expensive. The store was busy with visitors, and we wondered how many pets would be sold today.
By doing some homework yesterday, we figured out that most all of the restaurants were located inside larger buildings such as hotels or shopping malls. We did find one café that looked promising, but once we entered, we learned that it was a buffet only. It did look good, but not knowing what we would be eating could be problematic, so we left.
One of the largest and nicest stores was Daimaru Kobe Department Store, right where the bus let us off. One of our friends had gone there, and told us where to find everything. Heading up to the 10th floor, we located the Pizza House, which served Italian food as well as some Japanese items. It was not too crowded yet at 12:30pm, so we relaxed with two Peroni beers and a meat and cheese pizza. It was delicious and obviously popular since the café filled up by the time we left. All of the customers were Japanese too.
On this level, there was a roof garden with a view of the downtown area. If we had more time, we could have sat on the benches and took in some sun. We did get some good photos of the city below. Then we went down floor by floor, seeing what was offered. One floor was strictly high end watches, proving that many people are not ready to give up their convenient time pieces. Then came the housewares, clothing, and finally cosmetics. That seems to be the first items you see when going into a department store such as this one. As well as the departments inside the building, there were 60 shops around the outside. Gas lamps on the sidewalk were a reminder of the old settlement that was once here. Before leaving the building, we went down to the basement level to find a food store and a type of cafeteria where you could buy ready-made meals. A small supermarket was at this level too. And talk about crowded. It was all we could do to get back to the escalator out to the street level.
Once outside the store, we were at the bus pick-up stop. We had a few minutes to spare, so went to the nearest 7-11 to try and spend the loose change we had. We ended up with five bags of popcorn and a box of chocolate-covered nuts….all for under $7. Not a bad deal.
We arrived back to the ship by 3pm, and warmed up in our room until we left the port. At 4:40pm, Captain Frank came on the speaker to say we were all lucky to see the start of springtime here in Kobe. We had a two hour sailing out of Osaka Bay before entering open seas. Tomorrow we will have some scenic cruising when we enter between islands on the way to our final port of Fukuoka. That should occur around 4pm. The weather is expected to stay partly cloudy with less wind and 4 foot swells. All good news. By the way, we all received a refund of $10.10 for port and tax charges due to missing the port of Omaezaki .
At sail away, we were given a grand farewell with a band and a display of hundreds of balloons released from the terminal building. We had the best spot to see this because all of the balloons drifted overhead and out into the far reaches of the harbor. From the port side, we saw every single balloon go airborne. We cannot say enough about the special greeting we got from all of the Japanese people while visiting here. In a city of 5.5 million, that's saying a lot.
We looked forward to a hot dinner tonight just to get warm again. There were a couple of appetizers that would do the trick. One was a sesame BBQ rib, and the other a shrimp quesadilla. We had salads then mains of chicken meatballs with rigatoni. It came with a marinara sauce and our waiter brought extra sauce and cheese. Desserts were one cheesecake and a plate of pineapple. Good way to end the day.
Tonight's entertainer was Kenny Martyn, a multi-instrumentalist. He played tunes from Benny Goodman, Acker Bilk, and Duke Ellington.
Really looking forward to our one day at sea. We all need it.
Bill & Mary Ann
