A day in Kobe

Devastated just over 10 years ago by a massive earthquake that took the lives of over 6,000 people, the city of Kobe has been revitalized to become one of Japan's most beautiful cities. To many, the city is now equally famous for its shopping and beef. For a birthday celebration, Sarah and I jumped on a train for 30 minutes to enjoy this fun city.

We began the day at the Kobe City Museum which is hosting an exhibit borrowed from the British Museum. It is a 3D show that reveals the inside of a Mummy. Following the museum route one can also see ancient Egyptian coffins, jewels, and religious artifacts. It was absolutely amazing, and with our handy English notes, we could read about the show and understand most of what we were seeing despite the Japanese announcements describing the history of the mummy. Additionally inside the museum were some permanent exhibits on Kobe's history including a replica of a foreign home from the late 1800's when over 45,000 foreigners lived in this international trading port city.

Another beautiful part of the museum was a collection of childrens' paintings depicting Kobe in the future. Rarely have I ever seen more artistic or creative paintings, especially from children. One showed an underwater Kobe (perhaps an effect of global warming), another showed a city with dragon shaped trains and cars that run like gondolas in the sky. I hope these kids grow up to be artists, architects or inventors.

Later in the day we grabbed lunch at a nice cafe near the city. We had originally planned to dine on Kobe Beef; world famous for its tender morsels, but we realized not being huge red meat eaters it seemed a waste for us to get $26.00 lunch steaks. Instead we opted for the cafe, but much to our surprise they had delectable Kobe beef pastry puff sandwiches. Inside a doughy pastry-like bread, there was a layer of spiced potatoes, walnuts, blueberries, and a small but amazingly tender piece of Kobe beef. It was similar to a meat pie but creatively constructed to be like a sandwich as well. For dessert we split a strawberry shortcake with mouthwatering cream, moist shortcake bread, and fresh strawberries. And all this for the price of one full steak. Although, for meat lovers, Kobe beef is not to be passed up.

We finished the day with some shopping, and rumors are right. Kobe has everything from Louie Vitton to the Gap with Japanese boutiques mixed in. We didn't stay out late but I've also heard that the nightlife in Kobe is well worth a night out, so that will be saved for a future excursion.