Kobe is a gorgeous city. clean air, clean streets, and very aesthetically pleasing. i could live here.
great day to be outside!
these were probably the BEST meat pies on the planet. buttery, flaky, and just plain AMAZING. wish i had eaten some more.
chinatown. one of the biggest ones in Japan, comparable to the one in Yokohama.
with good cheap ramen
and tasty meat buns
Kobe Port Tower
the Maritime Museum
there was a yosakoi festival going on in the park:
Mosaic in Japan usually means the pixelation that goes on in pornos but in Kobe it means this big outdoor shopping center:
gives a great view of the port on the other side:
an art display made totally from used magazines and newspapers. and yes, that's a real person wearing one of those:
the all weather ferris wheel in Mosaic Garden:
inside Harborland:
the king is loved here:
and on to Osaka!
this place is a total shithole. i didn't get to spend much time here the first time i came but i quickly realized i wasn't missing much. filthy dirty, full of homeless folks who were whacking off two blocks from my dismal "hotel" (i use the term very loosely), and a whole bunch of pushy folks. its a great place to take some photos but i was anxious to get out.
Namba:
Tsutenkaku Tower:
nite scenes from Ebisu Bridge:
some strange sights on alternate side streets (they were less crowded):
Hips shopping center with a free fall ride in the middle:
i shit you not, this is my entire room. no bathroom, toilet, bath. it's all communal and dirty as fuck. the walls were paper thin and the door was 2 inches off the ground which means i heard EVERYTHING that went on in the hall.
checked out quick and went to see Tsuyuten Jinja, AKA Ohatsu Tenjin. this temple is best known for the tragic lover's double suicide at this site. the story was popularized by Chikamatsu Monzaemn's novel Sonezaki Shinju:
Since the south side was so unimpressive, i took a walk to the Umeda Sky Building on the other side:
this sports a beautiful floating garden observatory that offers fantastic views of the city from 173 meters up:
a darkened "lovers room" where couples apparently go to make out:
below the outdoor observation deck is an indoor one with heaps of great places to relax:
and in the basement is a restaurant floor reminiscent of the Taisho period:
and on to Nagoya!
Nagoya TV tower; the first one built in Japan:
Oasis 21, a shopping center with a pool on the roof. its supposed to keep the area below cool during the summer and more insulated during the winter. not sure if it really works but it won some kind of international architechtural design award:
there's a walkway observatory on the watery roof:
International Design Center Nagoya , a very cool modern looking building:
a local place for local people. free breaky (piece of buttered texas toast and a bolied egg) with a cup of joe!
the Nagoya City Archives:
beautiful entrance:
went to the castle and found some deer hanging out in the dried up moats. dunno how they got in there or how there were gonna get out . . .
yes, its under construction . . .
the castle:
last stop back at Nagoya station was the JR central towers. great city view from the 15th floor glass skywalk:
3 days, 3 cities. i'm glad to be back home in Tokyo.
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