Friday, August 11, 2006
Kobe, Japan
As Dean Don says, Kobe is a great port to either begin or end a voyage in. Kobe is a small city – 300,000 – and very manageable. Squeezed between the mountains and the sea, it is sort of long and narrow. The Port is very convenient to downtown. And, Japan is a very organized country. There are a multitude of trains and train companies and lines, but they all run on time, and the information desks are very helpful.
Baseball
I’ll start with baseball. After our wonderful experience with Korean baseball many of us wanted to compare that with Japanese, which we had heard so much about. The Kobe major league team wasn’t in town, but one of the AAA-equivalent teams, the Kobe Braves, was. Upon finding this out at about 5:30pm on Tuesday I spotted Roxanna, one of the adult passengers, and we agreed to head out to the ball park.
In general, I liked my Korean baseball experience better than my Japanese one. The fan participation quotient was far higher in Korea than at the Japanese game.
Highlights included:
• Kobe Beef Croquette – the closest I got to Kobe beef, and quite good, whatever it was.
• American hot dog – served on a stick. Not a corn dog, just a regular hot dog on a stick.
• Fireworks – wonderful display after the 5th inning.
• Fire cannon – when our team hit a home run (to tie the game they ended up loosing) two chimneys in the outfield stands shot fire into the air.
• Balloons – After the 6th inning, I think, they fired the fire cannons again, and let off hundreds of blue and orange balloons. The fans had blown up these long balloons, but not tied off the ends. The balloons are evidently made to sail high up and make noise as they lose their air.
• American style stadium announcer – after the almost complete lack of announcements at the Korean game, the American sounding announcer at the Japanese was kind of fun.
I very much disliked the commercials they showed during inning breaks – real commercials. I also disliked the lack of a stadium organ or any fun music between innings. At least at this AAA game there wasn’t much unison cheering. They seemed to know only one clapping pattern and one or two cheers. Compared to the 50 or 60 cheers at the Korean game this seemed pretty spar.
There were many more people at the minor league Japanese game than at the Korean game. And, every time I went into a coffee shop or pachinko hall (just for the cultural experience) they had baseball on the TV.
Arima Hot Springs
One of the highlights of Japan for me was my trip to the spa and hot springs about 20 miles into the mountains outside of Kobe. Those of you who know me, know that it’s difficult for me to pass up the opportunity to visit a spa or hot springs. When I discovered there was one not too far outside of Kobe, and when Steven, adult passenger, said he’d gone on Sunday and that is was great, that settled it.
It took about an hour on three different lines to get there – but the trains were on time! The town is nestled into the mountains – very pleasant with a river running through town. Reminded me just a bit of Bristol, NH, (or, maybe, Scottsville) but much hillier. I had a choice of three spas, and asked a local information person which one she preferred. Once she figured out what I was trying to pantomime she gave me excellent advice to go to the one which offered several different options for soaking – Taiko no Yu Spa. She showed me on the map how to get there and I was off.
Despite my first faux pas of not taking my shoes off before I approached the registration desk I didn’t do too badly at the spa. Basically, it consisted of two sections – men’s and women’s. In the women’s section there were two large locker rooms – you got a key in one locker room where you changed into pants and a wrap top they gave you, then proceeded to the second locker room where you changed into nothing. The main floor of the spa had four different large baths each about 3 feet deep. They got progressively hotter. Two were red colored, presumably with the iron that naturally occurs in the water. There was also a smaller, very cold plunge bath, and a sauna. So, one could travel among the various baths to one’s heart’s content. I assumed that was all there was.
As I was taking my (probably) 4th sauna I heard English across the dark space. A woman who teaches English in Japan told me about the upstairs, open air section. I immediately headed up. More baths as well as several different places to sit – some where you could soak just your feet, some where you sat on a slab of marble as water flowed behind and under you. Also, tatami mats where you could lie and air dry. All under a bamboo canopy. Very relaxing and wonderful.
After about 3 hours of various bathing I reluctantly left and headed to the toy museum for a beer (that’s where the guide directed me). I noticed quite a few women and men dressed in kimonos but didn’t think that much of it since, even in cities, it’s not too rare to see kimono clad women.
On Main street they were obviously preparing for a fair or something – food stalls were being set up, people were milling around – many in kimonos, Japanese lanterns were lit. I bought an odd sort of jelloish pudding (not bad) and asked the English-speaking girl what was going on. I’d run into the final night of the Summer Festival in Arima. They have traditional geisha performances and other entertainment.
I hung around to see a few geisha dances, in which other kimono clad folks participated. Picture a non-English speaking middle aged Japanese woman wandering around either the Scottsville 4th of July Parade or the Bristol Lilac Festival and that was me – the only non-local person at the festival. It was so much fun. Even missing the direct train and taking a much longer time to get home was fun. Finally, the hole in the wall (picture the White Spot) restaurant I got dinner at when I got back to Kobe was good.
Kyoto
Ellen, member of the medical team, and I went to Kyoto the day we docked in Kobe. We took the train over, then took a bus to the Golden Pavilion. After a green tea soft serve we strolled through the gardens. A university student gave a good tip to go to the Ponto-cho district for dinner. This former red-light district of Kyoto is a good place to walk around. There are many shops catering to traditional Japanese wares – lacquerware, kimonos, tea, woodblock prints, fans, etc. Also, good number of women and men in traditional dress.
We ate at a sort of Japanese pub. Very good. Not too expensive – though since they didn’t take credit cards (as many, many places in Japan don’t) we were lucky that we had just enough money between us to cover our meal.
Himeji Castle
“If you see no other castles in Japan you should at least make the effort to visit Himeji-jo, unanimously acclaimed as the most splendid Japanese castle still standing.” --Lonely Planet
I couldn’t agree more. Thanks, Beth, for the tip. Also, a very pleasant train ride along the coast and at the foot of the mountains.
For those of you who get the chance the gardens, an extra ticket, are worth the price.
Kobe
Aside from the above trips I pretty much explored Kobe. I found a nice coffee shop that I returned to several times. Aaron, photographer, and I explored together on our last afternoon, after running into each other on the street. He took me to the Japanese Garden in town where he’d already been. Very peaceful, lovely spot in the center of town. Then we went up to the Kitano area, where I’d already been. It’s the area of Kobe where foreign merchants built their houses, right under the hills. There are nice western style houses and shops and cafes. Sort of touristy, I guess, but I liked the area. We then took a cable car, pretty popular in Japan, up to the first hills above town. Nice view. He ended the day repeating his favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and I mine.
Leaving
Sailing out of the Port of Kobe was certainly bitter sweet for all of us. We’re all excited to be heading home, but also sad that our “voyage” is ending. I think for many people Japan was the best port. Not sure if it was for me, but it certainly would tie with Vietnam and Korea(!) for that honor. I think part of this is because this voyage has definitely made me a better, more adventurous traveler. While I do subscribe to the “café” school of travel – where you don’t necessarily have to see everything, but take time to sit and drink a glass of wine, I will now feel more confident to jump on a train one afternoon to see something I’m interested in. So what if you make a mistake and end up in a city you didn’t plan on visiting, there’s probably something there to see as well!
As Dean Don says, Kobe is a great port to either begin or end a voyage in. Kobe is a small city – 300,000 – and very manageable. Squeezed between the mountains and the sea, it is sort of long and narrow. The Port is very convenient to downtown. And, Japan is a very organized country. There are a multitude of trains and train companies and lines, but they all run on time, and the information desks are very helpful.
Baseball
I’ll start with baseball. After our wonderful experience with Korean baseball many of us wanted to compare that with Japanese, which we had heard so much about. The Kobe major league team wasn’t in town, but one of the AAA-equivalent teams, the Kobe Braves, was. Upon finding this out at about 5:30pm on Tuesday I spotted Roxanna, one of the adult passengers, and we agreed to head out to the ball park.
In general, I liked my Korean baseball experience better than my Japanese one. The fan participation quotient was far higher in Korea than at the Japanese game.
Highlights included:
• Kobe Beef Croquette – the closest I got to Kobe beef, and quite good, whatever it was.
• American hot dog – served on a stick. Not a corn dog, just a regular hot dog on a stick.
• Fireworks – wonderful display after the 5th inning.
• Fire cannon – when our team hit a home run (to tie the game they ended up loosing) two chimneys in the outfield stands shot fire into the air.
• Balloons – After the 6th inning, I think, they fired the fire cannons again, and let off hundreds of blue and orange balloons. The fans had blown up these long balloons, but not tied off the ends. The balloons are evidently made to sail high up and make noise as they lose their air.
• American style stadium announcer – after the almost complete lack of announcements at the Korean game, the American sounding announcer at the Japanese was kind of fun.
I very much disliked the commercials they showed during inning breaks – real commercials. I also disliked the lack of a stadium organ or any fun music between innings. At least at this AAA game there wasn’t much unison cheering. They seemed to know only one clapping pattern and one or two cheers. Compared to the 50 or 60 cheers at the Korean game this seemed pretty spar.
There were many more people at the minor league Japanese game than at the Korean game. And, every time I went into a coffee shop or pachinko hall (just for the cultural experience) they had baseball on the TV.
Arima Hot Springs
One of the highlights of Japan for me was my trip to the spa and hot springs about 20 miles into the mountains outside of Kobe. Those of you who know me, know that it’s difficult for me to pass up the opportunity to visit a spa or hot springs. When I discovered there was one not too far outside of Kobe, and when Steven, adult passenger, said he’d gone on Sunday and that is was great, that settled it.
It took about an hour on three different lines to get there – but the trains were on time! The town is nestled into the mountains – very pleasant with a river running through town. Reminded me just a bit of Bristol, NH, (or, maybe, Scottsville) but much hillier. I had a choice of three spas, and asked a local information person which one she preferred. Once she figured out what I was trying to pantomime she gave me excellent advice to go to the one which offered several different options for soaking – Taiko no Yu Spa. She showed me on the map how to get there and I was off.
Despite my first faux pas of not taking my shoes off before I approached the registration desk I didn’t do too badly at the spa. Basically, it consisted of two sections – men’s and women’s. In the women’s section there were two large locker rooms – you got a key in one locker room where you changed into pants and a wrap top they gave you, then proceeded to the second locker room where you changed into nothing. The main floor of the spa had four different large baths each about 3 feet deep. They got progressively hotter. Two were red colored, presumably with the iron that naturally occurs in the water. There was also a smaller, very cold plunge bath, and a sauna. So, one could travel among the various baths to one’s heart’s content. I assumed that was all there was.
As I was taking my (probably) 4th sauna I heard English across the dark space. A woman who teaches English in Japan told me about the upstairs, open air section. I immediately headed up. More baths as well as several different places to sit – some where you could soak just your feet, some where you sat on a slab of marble as water flowed behind and under you. Also, tatami mats where you could lie and air dry. All under a bamboo canopy. Very relaxing and wonderful.
After about 3 hours of various bathing I reluctantly left and headed to the toy museum for a beer (that’s where the guide directed me). I noticed quite a few women and men dressed in kimonos but didn’t think that much of it since, even in cities, it’s not too rare to see kimono clad women.
On Main street they were obviously preparing for a fair or something – food stalls were being set up, people were milling around – many in kimonos, Japanese lanterns were lit. I bought an odd sort of jelloish pudding (not bad) and asked the English-speaking girl what was going on. I’d run into the final night of the Summer Festival in Arima. They have traditional geisha performances and other entertainment.
I hung around to see a few geisha dances, in which other kimono clad folks participated. Picture a non-English speaking middle aged Japanese woman wandering around either the Scottsville 4th of July Parade or the Bristol Lilac Festival and that was me – the only non-local person at the festival. It was so much fun. Even missing the direct train and taking a much longer time to get home was fun. Finally, the hole in the wall (picture the White Spot) restaurant I got dinner at when I got back to Kobe was good.
Kyoto
Ellen, member of the medical team, and I went to Kyoto the day we docked in Kobe. We took the train over, then took a bus to the Golden Pavilion. After a green tea soft serve we strolled through the gardens. A university student gave a good tip to go to the Ponto-cho district for dinner. This former red-light district of Kyoto is a good place to walk around. There are many shops catering to traditional Japanese wares – lacquerware, kimonos, tea, woodblock prints, fans, etc. Also, good number of women and men in traditional dress.
We ate at a sort of Japanese pub. Very good. Not too expensive – though since they didn’t take credit cards (as many, many places in Japan don’t) we were lucky that we had just enough money between us to cover our meal.
Himeji Castle
“If you see no other castles in Japan you should at least make the effort to visit Himeji-jo, unanimously acclaimed as the most splendid Japanese castle still standing.” --Lonely Planet
I couldn’t agree more. Thanks, Beth, for the tip. Also, a very pleasant train ride along the coast and at the foot of the mountains.
For those of you who get the chance the gardens, an extra ticket, are worth the price.
Kobe
Aside from the above trips I pretty much explored Kobe. I found a nice coffee shop that I returned to several times. Aaron, photographer, and I explored together on our last afternoon, after running into each other on the street. He took me to the Japanese Garden in town where he’d already been. Very peaceful, lovely spot in the center of town. Then we went up to the Kitano area, where I’d already been. It’s the area of Kobe where foreign merchants built their houses, right under the hills. There are nice western style houses and shops and cafes. Sort of touristy, I guess, but I liked the area. We then took a cable car, pretty popular in Japan, up to the first hills above town. Nice view. He ended the day repeating his favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and I mine.
Leaving
Sailing out of the Port of Kobe was certainly bitter sweet for all of us. We’re all excited to be heading home, but also sad that our “voyage” is ending. I think for many people Japan was the best port. Not sure if it was for me, but it certainly would tie with Vietnam and Korea(!) for that honor. I think part of this is because this voyage has definitely made me a better, more adventurous traveler. While I do subscribe to the “café” school of travel – where you don’t necessarily have to see everything, but take time to sit and drink a glass of wine, I will now feel more confident to jump on a train one afternoon to see something I’m interested in. So what if you make a mistake and end up in a city you didn’t plan on visiting, there’s probably something there to see as well!
