Kobe & Makoto ~ Day 5

(here comes the report from yesterday^^')

Today we wanted to visit Kobe and meet my japanese friend Makoto. The day started very busy because we had to wait some time to get our Rail Pass and then we hadn't much time left for breakfast before our train would arrive.

Unfortunately our Special Rapid via Kobe didn't ride there today... so we had to take the slower Rapid which also arrived some minutes later. We managed to arrive at Sannomiya Station (in Kobe) almost one hour later... I was really afraid that Makoto wouldn't be there anymore because we didn't had a possibilty to contact him.

But after I asked three persons from the station personal I found the exit he told me and he really there for us >.<

I was so happy!

At first he took us to a very nice okonomiyaki restaurant. From the outside we wouldn't have expected it to be a restaurant^^'

Okonomiyaki-ya

So it was really different to go out with a Japanese. Though we had to wait for a table for four persons to be free the shop owner took some stools outside his shop so that we could sit while waiting^^

The okonomiyaki were really really great, they fullfill all my expectations (and now I know that my self-made one are quite far away fro the original^^')

Okonomiyaki with beef, porc, octopus & shrimps

It was very nice and Kiki could also smoke inside the shop (though in Kobe it is really important to make clear that it isn't allowed to smoke on the street!).

me & Makoto in the okonomiyaki-ya

 

After lunch Makoto was so kind and tried to get a Handy for Kiki but as a foreigner withour staying permission you aren't allowed to get one (we even visited some kind of Citizens Advice Bureau). I also failed to get the Blog-Book from Kenji (drummer of Golden Bomber). But the trip through the city was really great. We went through the long shopping street of Motomachi, visited the little chinatown (where you could get turkish icecream *lol*) and took a rest at the beautiful harbour^^

Motomachi & Chinatown

views from the harbour

We walked along the harbour to Kobe Tower and reached the Kobe Foreigner Settlement. There stood many buildings in Western style (it reminded us of Leipzig in Germany or Vienna in Austria).

Kobe Tower

Atfer that we strolled back to Sannomiya and visited the little Ikuto Shrine. Makoto showed us how to wash yourself and how to use the bells to make a wish. You have throw a five-yen-coin in to the box in front, ring the bell, then clap your hands twice and make your wish. All four us did it^^

Ikuto Shrine

 

We end the day with a relaxing stay in streetcorner café (excelsior café – it looked like a cheap version of Starbucks). As always I chose my Matcha Latte X3

The view from the Café was also very nice.

view from the excelsior café

Finally we had to say Goodbye to Makoto and took our train back to Kyoto. It was really a very great day and I hope to see Makoto again (maybe when he will come to Germany^.^).

He had also given us some nice presents >.<

A fan and a box of delicous cookies.

cookies with different chocolate filling

I really enjoyed it to hang out with a Japanese, it was really different from the normal sightseeing.

Tomorrow we will part Kyoto for Nagoya. So we haven't planned anything special, we will just explore the area around the Hotel/Nagoya Station.

So see ya^^v