Well today was another very busy and very enjoyable day! Today we got to tour through Kobe city with our guide KK. Starting in the morning after a breakfast of yummy pastries, we headed up the mountains behind our hotel to the Herb Garden. This huge park is accessible via gondolas that take you up the mountain. It's a sprawling garden filled with flowers, herbs, and trees. We took the gondola all the way up to the top, walked down through the gardens, and then took the gondola back to the city level.
Up in the gardens, we started our tour in a little village area that looked like a German town square. Then we wound our way through paths of gardens. We saw all sorts of herbs and vegetables, like full grown asparagus and artichokes. Mom could name almost all of the plants~ There was a hothouse area as well, with some beautiful trailing flowers and a little sculpture dedicated to love. Mom and dad also got to ring the bell dedicated to couples, which was really cute.
Back down off the mountain, we walked through the foreign quarter of Kobe to get to our lunch destination. We had really delicious Italian food and got to sit and chat for a while. It was nice to rest our feet after all that walking.
Rested and full of delicious food, we headed off to the port to see the water. Walking through the city was great, and we got to see a bunch of cool shopping districts and a little China town. When we got to the harbor, our first stop was the Kobe Tower, to get a birds' eye view of the ocean. From the top we could see all the ships and the artificial islands. We could also see the earthquake memorial, which we then descended the tower to view up close.
(we stopped at a gorgeous Shinto shrine on the way as well!)
The earthquake memorial remembers the damage done and the lives lost by telling the story of the earthquake and of the restoration afterwards. A section of the harbor was preserved as it was after the earthquake to better remember just how bad the damage was.
At this point we sadly had to say goodbye to KK, but we had a great day with her seeing the sights! We went into a big mall to rest a little bit, and saw a really cool escalator. I know, we sound like we've never been to a mall before, haha. For dinner we had some (famous) Japanese crepes, yum! They were full of whipped cream, ice cream, fruit, and pudding!
I love the garden pictures! The food is presented so artistically and looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteJeannette- this is Diane
*Have* y'all not ever been to a mall before? ;) Jeannette, I'm not at all surprised that you could name all the plants you seems, even in another country!
ReplyDeleteThe garden was wonderful, Diane, a mix of annuals, herbs, perrenials, and veggies.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the food we've eaten here has been beautifully presented.
The malls here are all super-sized. We were impressed with the escalator that levels out twice during its ascent/descent. One thing I miss that Japan still has is real department stores, 10 floors worth of stuff!!
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