Kobe

We got a later start this morning; the blinds in our hotel room are very effective so when Jack got up at 10 I thought it was still the middle of the night. We got breakfast at a restaurant in our hotel. It's called Eggs 'n Things and it was started in Hawaii so it had a Hawaiian theme. I got pancakes with banana and praline almonds- so good! I alternated between maple and coconut syrup, they were both so delicious.

Then we hopped on a few trains and arrived in Kobe, known for Kobe beef. Our first stop there was to go and see the Nunobiki Falls. Nunobiki Falls is considered one of the greatest "divine falls" of Japan and has significance in Japanese literature. It was a short hike up to see the falls and they were very beautiful, with nice little pools below each of the falls where it looks like it would be nice to swim if it were warmer (and if it were allowed).

After walking back down from the falls we decided to check out the Nunobiki Herb Garden. We took the gondola up to the top of the garden and there were great views of the Kobe harbor from there. We walked down through the garden checking things out and browsing the green houses. We found the "Lovers Bell" and grabbed a photo there. Then instead of taking the gondola ride back down we just walked down. From the bottom of the garden it only took us about half an hour to get down to the bottom.

Then we decided to walk to a different train station to take a train down to the harbour and on the way there we saw tons of cherry blossoms and people picnicking and celebrating below them. It seems we caught the cherry blossoms down here right at the perfect time. Then I grabbed some ramen from a small shop that we passed. It felt nice since it was a bit chilly out. 

We made it to the station and got to the harbour area. It was a very pretty area and we could see the Kobe Port Tower across the way all lit up. The guys found a place with tonkatsu, which is a fried pork cutlet, so they got some of that for dinner. We walked around a bit more before calling it a night. We rode the trains back to Osaka and made it to our hotel. 

Happy Sunday!