Quality Hotel Kobe

... can served hot.<br>2. The amazing amusement arcades. When you go near them you think they have a broken air conditioning machine because of this huge wave of sound that hits you but in fact its just the noise of hundreds arcade games playing at once. These are all incredibly popular but none of it is for money because its illegal to gamble for money here.<br>3. The really nice meals that they heat up for you in the convenience stores which are literally everywhere!!<br>4 ...

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 ...

... but man what an experience that was! See my two blogs: 1) "Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park - Day 1" (http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-e ntries/swami_worldtrav/4/1255704628/tpo d.html); and 2) " A-BOMB DOME REVISITED " (http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-e ntries/swami_worldtrav/4/1255705407/tpo d.html).<br><br>Anyhow, I enjoyed the last of my time with friends at Lemon House then packed for my trip to Hiroshima via the Shinkansen bullet train.<br><br ...

So sind jetzt weit** nach Kobe g**eist. Wied** mit den Shinkansen natürlich (da brauch ich imm** eine Weste, weils den Shinkansen imm** auf ein paar Grad ~20 °C od** noch we***** runt**kühlen), heute ist ** 295km/h gefahren. Es ist üb**haupt sehr sehr schwül in Kyuushu, und wir wechseln oft 2x am Tag uns**e Shirts. (Waschen dann am Zimm** alles aus - Salzflecken auf d** Hose sag ich nur - iacks sowas gibts in Öst**reich auch net...so eine ...

... hands-on games and demonstrations that illustrate how earthquakes cause damage and what each of us can do to prepare for their eventuality. After seeing all that horror and the reminder of how we are likely facing something similar to it in Seattle, we needed a drink. So we headed over to the Hakutsuru sake brewing museum. Instead of a factory tour, Hakutsuru offers a recreation of how sake was made before ...

... in most cities. However they seem to treat their companion animals extremely well! Everywhere we went we saw pure bred dogs (mostly smaller ones) being walked on leashes wearing little doggy coats. We saw a few cats in the park in Tokyo who looked well cared for, though they did have upper respiratory infections. Maybe it was the time of year? We didn't see any strays or malnourished animals or anything like that. I wonder if they have animal control and shelter ...

... I hoped it had a really good safety system -- if the cables were to break the car would ride that 45 degree angle to the bottom at a frightening speed, killing everyone! I hate heights! Hey, this system was put in place during the 1930's, so I wasn't sure that we were dealing with a modern piece of equipment. At the top the view of Kobe was okay but there was a great deal of humidity and smog in the ...

... were destroyed. It was one of the most costly natural disasters in modern history. The earthquake notably destroyed the Hanshin Expressway, an elevated freeway which dramatically toppled over. Despite this disaster the city has recovered well, and 10 years later is again thriving and remains one of Japan's top 3 ports. Also this month was SAKURA time! Sakura is Japanese for cherry blossoms, and they are one of the most well-known symbols of Japan. Hanami means 'flower ...

... finally regrown and are back to normal, and it was a great ride. Ben thought it looked like so much fun he followed me down a min later claiming to be rescuing me, but whooping like a little boy. We also had to try out the 3 best onsens involving natural acid baths (pH 1.8!!!) and even acid mud baths! and the area had boiling mini mudvolcanos and steaming streams. We even managed to validate carrying all our camping gear with one night near a delightfully peaceful sub ...

... I get Thai beef with veggies...really good, of course, not big enough to fill me so I order Indian fish cakes with bell peppers. :p After some good food and conversation, one girl says she knows of a good karaoke bar, so almost all of us end up there. The karaoke is very different here. First, it's amazingly popular here and taken very seriously. Also, it's not like in America where you're in front of some bar crowd, karaoke is performed in private rooms with ...