KOBE - 神戸

Today, some friend and I went to Kobe! If I do say so myself, it was very well planned. We met our three main goals and were able to explore more in depth the areas we went to. Today, we explored the mountain side of the city. We'll have to go back again to explore the more popular port side. I took almost 800 pictures today and of the 255 good ones I sorted into a separate folder, I can unfortunately only share a few onto this post! Going through the pictures and then going through again while writing is a lot more work than I first expected, but I do like two things about it. One - I can easily access my better pictures later. Two - going through the pictures like this helps me cement the day into my mind. Anyhow, let's get going!

As we were heading to the station, J asked if we could add a shrine his host mother suggested. We said sure and then it turned out to be the same shrine we wanted to go to all along, but we didn't realize right away since we entered via the back. (This is the second or third time that Google Maps has had me enter a shrine/temple from the back rather than the front (which tends to have a super extravagant gate)). It was gorgeous! We went to Ikuta shrine which is apparently both for love and business success. We went from urban side streets directly to a torii gate and mini forest, lush and encircling this cedar with a Shinto rope on it. Apparently, these ropes signify a spot for a spirit or deity to reside in while you communicate with them. It had a powerful sense to it and was very beautiful. It got us talking about Greek mythology, dryads, and hamadryads. There was also a very neat small shrine within the shrine with a mini tunnel of torii. Apparently this technique is popular, but I still want to plan a day for the most famous Fushimi Inari Shrine.

 I want to stress how common it is in Japan for nature and cityscapes to be close to one another. It's shocking to know that we went through such an urban maze of side streets, electric wires, and shops to this peaceful, historical site with literally a miniature forest within it. There were even some tall apartment buildings nearby. We joked that they were probably expensive since they had views into this beautiful shrine. As our Japanese Religion teacher said "Gardens are really important in Japan. If you don't have a garden, make sure to have a window with a nice view of your neighbor's garden." Later on, when we were heading to some famous waterfalls, it was actually a short walk and easily accessible from the city (just like Kabutoyama Forest Park is here in Nishinomiya). Our Environment teacher touched briefly on this idea, known as "Satoyama" and I am excited to learn more.

On a serendipitous note, there was a traditional Japanese-style wedding going on at the Ikuta shrine! Women in beautiful kimono, men in striking yukata, tall black hats worn by 'priests,' shrine maidens everywhere, and the bride wearing a white kimono and white hoop-like veil. They got to walk down a red carpet into the main shrine and disappear from view, yet we could hear the drums, flutes, and chanting of the wedding throughout the shrine area. It was super cool. It was also neat because the shrine didn't close just for this one couple's wedding yet people were courteous - staying out of the way, avoiding the red carpet, clapping for these strangers' happiness, and waiting until the procession passed before continuing on their way.

After going through the shrine area a second time (so M could pray at the wishing cedar/dryad and I at the torii tunnel shrine) we went on the hunt for the famous Kobe Beef! Kobe Beef is one of the few things Kobe is known for and tends to be extremely expensive. (The other two most popular things Kobe is known for is Kobe Pudding and the Port Tower). We did some research before hand and were able to find a place called Red One that had a lunch set for about 1620 yen, including tax. This had rice, a salad, a cup of soup, and the beef with some sugar snap peas and delicious sauce. There wasn't a lot of beef, but we were all glad to be able to taste it at a reasonable price. And it was delicious. Juicy, chewy, and super flavorful. Usually, larger portions or dinner meals are around 6000 yen and up, some even going into the 10,000s. This means $60-$100s for this beef. It was a big deal. As a side note, on the way to the restaurant, we saw some advertisements on the ground made up of petals and leaves. It was really cool, but funny how they were more of advertisements than art, but also a nice surprise addition to the day.

Fueled by the power of the famous beef, we walked to Nunobiki Falls - a place in Kobe that was on my "to-go" list. We saw a steep set of stairs and prepared ourselves (though we had no idea what would come later). This morning, I had an urge to put on my Manitou Incline shirt, but I thought "Nah, I'll go with my cute Harry Potter one instead." The universe was warning me. I should've worn the Manitou Incline shirt! The set of stairs was pretty steep, but not too bad. We reached the falls and were not disappointed. Once you reach the actual falls, after following the falling river for a while, a wave of sandalwood incense hits you from a nearby shrine and the sound of crashing water cascades about you. The water was blue with rusty rocks in the pool and white water rushing down gray slate walls.

What happened next led us on what would be very fun but also taxing and an unexpected adventure of the day. We saw another set of stairs and thought "what's up there." The stairs went on and on and on. The first set was short and we saw two cute shrines (one with a little snake statue (which I adored) and one with a little mushroom spirit figurine (also adorable)). Also at this stop were some vending machines and benches, which shocked us, but we kept going. After two or three more sets of stairs and some ramps, we come to a gorgeous viewpoint. That view of Kobe was simply amazing, combining both forest and ocean and urban areas.

Then, we saw another path leading yet further upward and thought "why not?" And so we went and

turned left at this awesome bridge covered in vines, leading to a path even more enshrouded with trees. This was where the REAL stairs began. The stairs that consumed us for about two and half to three hours. Up and up and up. It was hard, but it was so beautiful. There was green everywhere! The moss, the leaves, the trees, the vines. There was constant bird chatter, though I never actually spotted any. And every now and then there would be a little stone marker saying "Water God" on it. We took this as a sign that we were on the path to a shrine in a lake we saw on

the map - we never found the shrine or the supposed temple, but the hope and curiosity pushed us. At one point, we came to a post which seems to have the kanji for water dragon and castle on it? We thought "this can't possibly be what the signs were pointing to" and pressed on, with the encouragement of the occasional other hiker. After exploring a bit, we finally come to a large road with another post, but this one larger. The pack of it had an El Dorado feel, covered in kanji. It must be very old since it only used kanji rather than the modern Japanese mix of alphabets and kanji. It was really cool, but not what we were expecting. It was getting close to three and we wanted to keep to a schedule, so we headed back. The way back went by so quickly. I didn't realize how slow we had been coming up. Of course, the stairs and breaks were time-consuming but necessary.

 (There were also cute snails on this final slab)
















We were all tired, with shaking legs, and craving ice-cream. We had met out three goals (Ikuta

Shrine, Kobe Beef, and Nunobiki Falls) of the day, as well as saw some beautiful scenery while hiking, so we decided to do whatever and hunt for ice-cream. On the way, we ran into a little area that reminded me of the anime Noragami (just due to it resembling a few specific scenes). We also found an entire underground level to the train station full of mini restaurants that all looked appealing. In the end, we ate ice-cream at McDonalds. It was my first time eating McDonalds in Japan and though I don't really like the chain, I really enjoyed the ice-cream and want to try some of their Japan-only burgers one day. Below is a picture of these plants I took a picture of the first full day I was in Japan (Kobe, specifically, though I see them everywhere). Apparently, they actually bloom!

On the way home, I finally followed my nose into this little bakery by the train station near by house and bought some sweet breads to try with my host family - one with hard chocolate chips, one with raisins and sugar crystals, and one with cream in the middle. They were all quite delicious. I love how so many train stations have excellent bread shops because I will just be walking, mind my own business, and then suddenly be hit by a solid wave of the most amazing smells of bread. Of course, I also don't like it because then I want to eat bread (but this is the first time I caved! I do have will power after all!). For dinner was oyakodon which is a don style dinner (as in food on top of rice) with chicken, egg, and veggies. Oya means parent and ko means child...because you cook the chicken in egg...oh well. There was also cucumber salad, a salad with tofu and spinach, miso soup, and kikurage which was a tofu/mushroom-like food that kind of tasted of chicken noodle soup.

Now, it's time to get some rest for tomorrow's classes! Today was fun and I'm glad I was able to set some goals, meet them, and add in fun exploration with friends. There was a total of four of us today, which wasn't too small nor too big. Now I can relax and focus on school throughout the week. However, our GS network is planning a Kyoto trip for next Sunday! Be prepared!