Gosho Bessho Kobe

This posting is dedicated to Kobes, who first introduced me to Yamazaki whisky, as well as to Boris and Julie, both who I consider are connoisseurs of bourbon whiskies.

Off the beaten path, you'll find Suntory's Yamazaki distillery, located in Yamazaki area in the Osaka prefecture. Yamazaki first opened its doors in 1923, and is Japan'...

We were advised to make the most of our day as from Osaka you can reach an incredible array of sights and cities. We drove to Nara the site of one of Japan's most famous temples, the Todaiji Temple, the largest existing wooden structure in the world and home to a gigantic Buddha (another one!). Inside there was a cathedral- like atmosphere with...

Osaka was one of those places where I visited out of convenience. It was close to Koyasan and not to mention cheaper to stay in because of the options. I had correctly anticipated there would be a big contrast between the mountain getaway I left and the major city of western Japan that I entered.

That being said, I was glad that I went....

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, we will begin our initial descent in to the Kansai area, please put your sitback and tray tables in the upright postition. The captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign"..... "Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Asiana Airlines we would like to welcome you to Kansai international Airport, the local time is...

We left Hojo very early to catch the train to Matsuyama to catch a bus to Sannomiya station in Kobe. The trip was beautiful, but uneventful. There were a couple a massive bridges which were quite impressive, including The Pearl Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge. It was very large indeed.

Once in Kobe, we decided to check out...

Good morning! Today is the last morning that I will wake up in a hotel room in Kobe, Japan, enjoying crisp fresh air with my sliding door wide open and the light hum of traffic sounds in the background. Yesterday the conference ended with a working session with those of us from Cleveland and some of our key agency partners from Europe, the U.S. ...

At 5:46 on January 17th, 2005 Kobe was hit by the Great Hanshin Earthquake. (Otherwise known in the US as the Kobe Earthquake.) The quake lasted about 20 seconds and registered a 7.2 on the Richter scale. It was the biggest earthquake in Japan since the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923. It's estimated that there were about 6434 deaths from the ear...

Jetzt bin ich schon seit zwei Wochen hier! Die Arbeit läuft denk ich ganz gut. Ich mache den ganzen Tag irgendwelche Tests die dann feststellen das das zu testende Objekt sicher ist. Das läuft daraus hinaus das ich die zu testenden Objekte ab und zu zerstöre... Ich arbeite hauptsächlich mit zwei Japanern im Labor deren Englisch doch etwas gewöhn...

Today Keiko and I went to Kobe for the day. The main aim was to see the Luminarie (see the next post) but we left at around midday to make the most of the day. As well as the obligatory shopping we also had time to stop off at two cafés to recuperate from coping with all the Christmas crowds out and about. I took a few snaps with my camera mobil...

First Pit Stop: OSAKA, JAPAN (Country Name in Local Language: Nihon) Local Time: 3PM, Wed US Central Daylight Saving Time: 1AM, Wed With the first sight of Japan's mountainous silhoutte emerging from the vast blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, I knew we were landing soon. 13 hours on the plane and more than 1 1/2 days of travel later, I opened my...