Bringing the Family back home- Osaka/Kobe

  Kobe, Japan
Saturday, March 22, 2008

OSAKA/KOBE- (March 22nd-23rd)

We boarded the bullet train again and took a quick trip to Osaka. Dad had been begging to go to Tokyo all week, so I wanted to show him a glimpse Japan's city life. We were probably in Osaka for less than an hour- but that was more than enough.

osaka's crowded streets

The crowds were unbearable on the Saturday afternoon. We got a mooove on back to Kobe, and hit up a shnazy izakaya (Japanese style restaurant where you order many small dishes of food and eat them all family style) for dinner, and then went out on the town for a bit.

soaking the feet after a rough week

Dad was dismayed at the small size of all the venues, and informed me that it is more fun to go out in LaCrosse than it is to go out in Kobe. This is why my father lives in Wisconsin, and I live in Kobe.

china town treats

We all crammed into the same hotel that night and surprisingly slept until 10:15 the next morning because of their amazing black-out-blinds. After rushing to get up and check out before 11, we stopped in to a Japanese cafe and sampled loads of patisserie goods. I then drug my parents out to gakuentoshi (30 minutes out of the city) because they were itching to see my apartment. We were there only a few minutes, before we went back into the city for some final shopping. That afternoon we attended KBC- a lively church in Kobe- for the Easter service. We sang our hearts out and then headed off for some more last minute shopping at the dollar store.

last super, on easter even!

Our last meal consisted of ramen at my most favorite ramen shop in Sannomiya, and then we went back to the hotel for our goodbyes. Mom was more eager than ever to go through all the luggage and organize things and pack up, but I begged them off for yet a few more hours of card playing.

dad likes his fruit on a stick

My enthusiasm must have paid off, or perhaps I was meant to be left on a positive note... whatever it was- I managed to win my way around the table in our mini 500 tournament.

I said goodbye that night, and went back to my apartment on the last train that night because I had to get to work the next day. I left beaming with pride, that my parents (and I) had survived the trip.

shopping in motomachi

They might come back and complain (yes mom didn't care for all the food, and dad wouldn't give you a nickel for a truck load of hardly anything here...) BUT I think they really enjoyed themselves. It was fun to have them here, and to be able to show them around my city, and give them a taste of my life for the past two years. We've loads of pictures to show from the experience, and lots of good memories.

getting a MOOOOOve on it

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to travel again without thinking about 'getting a moooooove on it' and I'm definitely never going to be able to forget the population of Kobe or Hiroshima after having to tell it to dad every 5 minutes. (1,530,295 and 1,159,391 respectively, in case you're wondering...)

lala and bri