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