Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers

... be doing so but I've decided not to other than to state that I'm simply not impressed by this type of upscale product. I just don't see the value. I was more impressed with the Apple store that was in the same district. I guess that I'm simply a provincial 'otaku' (geek)...

For our two days here in Osaka it seems like all that we've done is
eat, walk around, and sleep. In a city like Osaka with such great food,
life doesn't get much better.

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 ...

... spend with them.

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NIGHT #2:

Our second, and final, night was spent with Haruna, a 21 year old college student. Her loft apartment was very small, but she graciously hosted us. We were very thankful. She gave us a guided tour of the old city, plus threw an autentic takoyaki (octopus balls - no, not those kind!) party for us! How's that for native flare! We enjoyed talking about travel, language, music, and ...

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... We picked up a couple of bottles for the evening too (when in Rome...) Sake found, this left just the small challenge of finding a Kobe beef dinner. Unfortunately, it seems you have to pay through the nose for this (around 60GBP) which was a little beyond our budget. So we gave up and cheered ourselves up with a Japanese bath back at the hostel. Oh and the sake of course...

... lives. You can't go right up to the palace but you can see it across the moat. Even in the winter, it was beautiful! The swans in the moat helped. We also saw some very cute and unusual ducks there. We walked around nearby Hibya Park where we came across a large bell which John said was modeled after the Liberty Bell. He had the guidebook out so I totally believed him, but he was joking. I sat on a bench and he walked up to the bell and read the plaque. He said it ...

... After resting for a while, we went out around 6pm heading towards Meriken Park and Kobe Harbourland. From Sannomiya Station to Motomachi Station it is only one stop train ride and cost 120 yen. The train was crowded (but not as bad as in Tokyo), maybe because its a weekday and their salaryman (people working in japan are know by this name) are heading towards home. Walk from Motomachi station to kobe port (thanks for the guided map) and surprisingly, we walk pass ...

... Hello 1950! Lily and I were seated with the tea lady's and the librarians - sweet. The dinner was good, lots of sashimi, interesting mollusks, clam type things, sushi, sake and beer. After a few minutes of drinking, the normally quiet office men came out of their shells and began mingling throughout the tables-some even came to talk to us!! It was nice and we found out that a lot more of them speak English than we knew (SHOCKER!). Japanese events are known for ...

... vocabulary, still took great delight in showing us which dishes went best with which sauces, and how best to eat some of the more slippery delicacies with chopsticks. It seems that the policy I've tried to stick with when travelling works just as well in Japan as anywhere else in the world: Few people mind if you know very little about their culture, provided you make the effort to try and learn whenever the opportunity presents ...

... sometimes. Love hotels give them and foreigners some privacy, but these hotels are wild. Most of them are themed, like spaceships or on a boat, with rotating beds and a whole bunch of craziness. You can "check in" for a few hours or stay the night. Funny stuff, I'll have to go to one and send a few pics back! But, the way the nightlife works over here is go out early and head home early. They have 3 rush hours...morning, evening, and late ...