Holiday Inn Express Shin Kobe

... Osaka is definitely known for food and we have not been disappointed. We immediately went for the Kansai specialty of okonomiaki (Japanese pancake). Washed down with some shochu, our okonomiaki meal was excellent.

Our travels also took us through a very exclusive part of Osaka with many upscale shops such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc... I was asked if I would write in this blog something that would make fun of these establishments. At the time I said that I ...

Seconds please. I had to go back to Osaka, one way or another (my return flight was leaving from here). Ate just as well if not better than the first go around. Went to the Takoyaki museum at Universal city walk but it was more tako vendors than museum, not such a bad thing. Had simply amazing Kobe ...

Meaning to ruin oneself by extravagance in food. Heard another translation - "Eat, eat until you fall down." Why Osaka is my entry point to Japan. It also translates to eating as much Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki as possible. BTW Takoyaki - Octopus balls. Okonomiyaki - Pancake-ish dealies. Oh Osaka.

... since our friend's from Matsuyama were going to be arriving shortly.

After they arrived and we took some photos overlooking Kobe, we all set off for Kobe's Chinatown. It was quite interesting, but honestly the Chinatown in Vancouver is a lot bigger and I think more Chinese. There was still a lot of Japanese restaurants and signage in Kobe's Chinatown.

After that, came the most interesting part of Kobe, the harbour ...

... on top and who knows what was inside of it. They both ending up being very good but a few months ago I don't know if I would have touched them. I have definitely become more open to trying food since the voyage has began and have been pleasantly surprised on many occasions about food "risks" I have taken. Afterwards we went by a four story grocery, clothing, and toy store where we looked around for a while. It was kind of like a mini Wal-Mart. We went ...

... know my reports are always long, but you can scroll down and just read the parts that interest you if you want. Meeting I went to Japan to attend the Joint Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) meeting. There are 5 tuna RFMO's that divide up the oceans and were created so that countries can make collective decisions on how to responsibly manage their commercial tuna industries. For years now, I have been attending the Inter-American Tropical Tuna ...

... Yaska Shrine, dedicated to the hard-working people who earn their living with their hands, and Chion-in. By then it was late-afternoon and my feet were telling me they were done. So I strolled back to the main drag and traded the temples and maple trees for power lines and buses. Thankfully one of them was heading my way and I took it back to the station. From there it was another hour trainride back to Kobe, where I met up with Kathy and Serge later on in the evening.

... visit" to the US. When presenting my paperwork at the emigration desk, the woman spoke in English until noticing my status. At that point a surprised smile spread across her face and she made a jump in logic, switching to very fast Japanese. I missed most of what the woman said but doing as the Japanese would do I smiled and nodded. Then I left with my heart not heavy, but warm. In my moment of departure I had been made to feel incredibly welcome, and rather Japanese ...

... is taking me for acupuncture. i keep tellin her that i`m deathly afraid of needles, but she`s convinced i need to experience it. ****! and to make matter worse, the guy performing the acupuncture is blind. now you know i hold nothing against blind people, but when you`re this scared, you can`t help but wonder if you`re gonna wind up with a strange needle in your butt, ya know? then wednesday we`re going to universal studios japan. thursday night i`m ...

Week 5 (11.12 - 11.19.02) - Just some more irrelevant mumbling! The toilets here are great ...they have heated seats and integrated bidets, dryers and can play several types of music! Cell phones (handyphones) are wild here, like two years ahead of the ones in the States. They all have 1.5 inch color LCD screens and built-in digital cameras and some even record movies. Even more amazing are the prices. I got mine for $7 with all the above features! Man, in the US that ...