Yesterday, I arrived in Kobe. After dropping off my backpack at the hostel I went exploring. I walked all over the city and visited Kobe Port Tower, Meriken Park, Nankinmachi (Chinatown), and the Kitano district that had many western-styled houses. For lunch, I finally tried Kobe beef at a restaurant called Steakland Kobe. The meat just melts inside my mouth like a marshmallow or melted butter. It was something I’ve never experienced before, and you wouldn’t believe how much I paid for the meal. It was a large set consisted of Kobe beef, salad, soup, rice, pickled vegetables, and iced coffee. All for 2800 JPY, or around $20! That was such a bargain!! This meal would have cost at least over $50 for the meat alone in the United States.

After all the walking, I came back the hostel and checked in around 3 PM. I stayed in the hostel for the rest of the day, except to get a beef and eel bowl at Sukiya for dinner while encountering a festival at theMinatogawa Jinja shrine.

The common room in the Kobe hostel

One of many statues I walked by

A large machine that moves billiard balls around

Kobe Harborland

A cool looking hotel on the port

Nice boat!

Kobe Port Tower, under renovation

Ferris wheel and Mosaic shopping area

The sign at Meriken Park

Kobe Port Tower and Kobe Maritime Museum in the foreground

Earthquake Memorial Park

Cool mural by the Meriken Park

Nankinmachi, aka Chinatown

Inside Chinatown

Every Japanese city has a different design for its sewage caps. I should have taken more photos of them in the previous cities.

Chef cooking Kobe beef.

I had mine medium-rare.

A large set of Kobe beef

Steakland Kobe

The Weathercock House in Kitano district. I came to Japan just to see western houses.

Kitano district is on top of a hill. There is a small park there.

As I was walking to Sukiya, I spotted a festival at the Minatogawa Jinja shrine

So many lanterns!

The main shrine at Minatogawa Jinja

Have your prayers ready!

The moon over Kobe