Kobe, Japan

Hi again!

Kobe Port Tower

Woo hoo! I'm so excited to tell you about Kobe!

We hopped on a train from Osaka to Kobe and were there in about 40 minutes. We easily found our hotel and although it seemed to be geared more towards businessmen and women, it was in such a great location! Chinatown was on one side of the hotel, two shopping districts on the other sides and a 15 minute walk to Kobe Harbor. We decided to check out the harbor first. We realized that our timing there was perfect to hop on a harbor boat tour so we did! After that, we walked around Harborland, a nice outdoor mall, and the boys rode the ferris wheel. From there, we walked back towards our hotel and through Chinatown. After that we decided to check out the mall across the street from the hotel. Too bad we weren't hungry (peko peko, in Japanese) in Chinatown because guess what we had to eat in the mall? Chinese food! It was our first time eating Chinese food in Japan and it was great! From there Jackson and I headed to Starbucks (2 doors down from this amazing hotel!) for a Mommy and Jackson Date while Daddy and Jacob went back to the room.

Kobe Port Tower and the Maritime Museum as seen from our boat tour

The ferris wheel in the harbor

I spy my boys!

Starbucks Date with this silly guy!

Jackson having fun with his shadow in the hotel room

On our second day in Kobe, my slave-driverish ways came out once again. There are two mountains that overlook Kobe and I decided we needed to stand on top of both of them. So, off we went! We started the day by taking a short train ride to the bottom of Mt. Maya. We took a cablecar halfway up and then a ropeway the second half. Jackson and Jacob thought we were flying! After looking out over Kobe for an hour or so, we began our hike to Mt Rokko.

Kobe from the top of Mt. Maya

As we passed a beautiful temple, we see a Swiss-looking structure coming up on our hike. We were all so curious to see what it was! Turns out, it was a pasture and cheese factory! We just had to see this! Inside the gates, were many sheep roaming free, as well as, cows, goats, horses and pigs. Of course we also visited the cheese factory where I had to try the cheese-flavored ice cream! It really did taste like cheese!

Rokkosan Pastures

Deer in Nara, Sheep in Kobe!

Jacob found a goat!

Jackson

After getting our fill of the farm, we started hiking again to Mt. Rokko. Well, it was about 15 minutes into the second-leg of the steep hike that we saw a bus stop! Why hike when you can take a bus? Besides that, it was getting dark and I think we had already walked 10-12 miles for the day! So, we took the bus to the top of Mt. Rokko, saw Kobe at dusk, and then took the cable car down. We rode a train to Harborland where we ate dinner at good ol' American Tony Roma's where Joe indulged in BBQ ribs and we both had a much-needed margarita. Tomorrow we go back to Tokyo.

Kobe Port Tower at night

Jacob giving a high-five to a Kobe cow
on the way back to the hotel

Our Shinkansen back to Tokyo

We had such a wonderful trip and saw some great parts of Japan. We continue to be awe-struck with everything Japan has to offer.

Stay tuned for our Christmas and New Year's fun next!

Thank you so much for reading. I love you.

XOL

Osaka and Nara

Hi there!

Here's the deal: Since I'm so far behind (again) I'm going to tell you about Osaka and Nara, Japan now and about Kobe, Japan in another post very soon and then I'm going to post about our Christmas and New Years we spent here in Tokyo, ok? Ok.

The view from our hotel room in Osaka

On to Osaka:

Osaka was the second destination on our week-long trip to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Kobe in late November. We originally were going to go to Nara before Osaka but since we woke up to rain and all of the activities I had planned were outdoor activities, we decided to head to Osaka first. So, we got on the train and headed to Osaka, about a 45 minute ride from Kyoto. We arrived at our hotel, which was in the tallest building in Osaka. Our room was on the 55th floor out of a total of 57 floors. Being able to see the whole city from our hotel room window was such a treat! While I was ready to go out and see the city (in the rain), the boys were tired from the last few days of my slave-driving in Kyoto, so we decided to relax for the day. I went shopping in the lower levels of the building and the boys watched Japanese TV, which we all find entertaining even though we don't understand much of it. When it came to dinner time, we asked the concierge at the hotel what kind of food Osaka is known for. She immediately responded with, "kushiage" (pronounced ku-shee-ah-ge) and she recommended a restaurant called Kushinobo on the 13th floor of the same building. We went and checked it out. We discovered that kushiage is deep-fried food on a stick! We ordered an all-you-can-eat kushiage dinner and they bought us four sticks at a time of either fish, meat, or vegetables with five different sauces for dipping - all so delicious! I think we ended up being served about 28 sticks of food before we said we were full! What a fun dining experience for all of us!

Jackson and I enjoying our kushiage

The next morning, we were off to Nara! Another 45 minute train ride and we arrived. A 5-10 minute walk from the station brought us to Nara Park where we were able to interact with the famous Nara Deer who have been inhabiting the park for over a thousand years! We were so apprehensive as first, as the deer we know in Colorado and South Dakota, are not ones you want to mess with, but these ones were so friendly! The boys we able to pet them and we even bought crackers from a nearby vendor to feed them! They didn't have antlers, we're not sure why, so besides the occasional nudge or nip when they knew we had a cracker, they were harmless and fun to be around. Again, it was an "only-in-Japan" great experience for all of us.

Jackson thought the deer were pretty cool!

Jackson feeding a Nara deer

Jacob feeding a deer

The boys feeding more deer

Jacob was so proud he got to pet a deer!

Next, we walked about 15-20 minutes to Todaiji Temple, a world heritage site, which is home to the world's largest wooden Buddha. The Buddha was so big with a height of 14.98m or 48.91ft standing on a lotus-petal pedestal of 3.05m or 10ft, but because he was inside the Temple and behind a wooden gate, it was hard trying to figure out just how big he was since there wasn't anything to compare him to... Until, we rounded the corner to exit the Temple and we saw a wooden pillar with a hole in the bottom of it. As Jackson and Jacob started crawling through the hole, we read that it is the same size as one of the Buddha's nostrils! I guess that is one big Buddha!

Todaiji Temple

The world's largest wooden Buddha

J&J crawling through the nostril-sized hole
And you thought the Buddha's nostrils looked small, right??

Heehee, couldn't resist posting this one

On our way back to the train station, we noticed a park with the most beautiful trees. We couldn't pass up an opportunity to snaps a few pics. Here are a few of my favorites:

The silly boys

This couple not only wanted a picture of our children,
they wanted to be in the picture as well!

Having fun with my favorite guys

After returning to Osaka from Nara, we went to the areas of Namba and Dotonbori which are neighborhoods of Osaka with hundreds or maybe thousands of restaurants, bars, and stores. After leisurely walking around for a couple of hours, we grabbed a quick dinner and headed back to the hotel.

A few neon advertisements, restaurants
and stores in Dotonbori

The entrance to Dotonbori

The Glico Man and other neon illuminations along the river
in the Dotonbori district, Osaka

That sums up our time in Osaka and Nara!

Onto Kobe next!

Thank you so much reading. I love you.

XOL