Saturday, March 20, 2010

Nippon Journey - Kobe NightLights



The next leg of our journey was Kobe, we actually stayed in Kobe but commuted to the various places in the Kansai area. Kobe has a slight western flair about it, It is also Brisbane's sister city. Kobe is also a major producer of sake, coincidentally there was a factory behind where we stayed.


The entries to most breweries here are free, and we could sample almost all the sake at this brewery called "Hamafukutsuru" . This man there is one of the brewers, and the bottle beside him is his own recipe. He speaks of his sake like he speaks of his children, with great pride.
Location : 658-0025 Uozakiminami cho 4-4-6, Higashinada-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture






A place which is a must when in Kobe is the Port area, I some how stumbled upon a flock of seagulls standing in a row by the port, the camera quickly came out and SNAP! This is one of my favorite shots of the trip .

We were quite lucky to catch a glimpse of The Kobe Luminarie which is a light festival held in Kobe between mid December till Christmas. The Light festival is to commemorate the Great Hanshin Earthquake which happen back in 1995.




Walking by the port area, we stumbled by a small stall selling snacks and also steamed buns and other small condiments. The smell and aromas coming out from here was quite intense which lead me to get all the three types of buns sold. The best one there for me was the Butakakuni Man i.e Stewed Pork Bun) the juices and melt in your mouth meat was just delightful.


One of Yoshi's friends brought us to a Prison themed restaurant called "The Lockup". The restaurant's policy is that when you come in you would be arrested in Hand cuffs and brought to your prison cell. The Lockup offers a wide variety of cocktails/mocktails which is served in laboratory equipment, the even had one which was called the bomb making kit. The food was not too special but the you come for the experience.
Location : Tokyu Kids Plaza Boomin Kitano B1 1-7-9 Yamamoto Dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo 650-0003
Taste : moderate
Atmosphere : Never had so much fun in a prison
Have you been to any interesting restaurants like this?

19 comments:

Jane said...

wow! love your pictures, that pork bun looks devine!

Cleo Coyle said...

FUN! If only I could *virtually* travel there, too. Sigh.

~Cleo in NYC

chow and chatter said...

cool you added a follow icon now I have got to get your on twitter! love the fish sculptor

Rebecca

That's Ron said...

@jane : thank u!
@Cleo : i was really fun
@Chow and Chatter: yeah i need to get up to speed n get twitter soon! hehe

Carolyn Jung said...

Am dying to see Japan some day! Those stuffed buns look delectable. But that prison restaurant sounds way wacky! ;)

That's Ron said...

Hey Carolyn , I'm dying to go there again too. The pork bun was insane! the prison restaurant was quite wacky... good experience tho..haha

AnnaYJia said...

aww ~ I'm felt so jealous when I looking at your picture ! and the pork bun really looks so nice ^^

Btw , my dear, I've tag you in my blog post here ^^
http://fancyillusionist.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-love-your-blog-award.html

It's a "I love your blog" award ^^ I dunno whether u have receive it before or not , but pls take it my dear ^^ coz you deserve it ^^

Linn @ Swedish Home Cooking said...

Oh, some kobe beef would taste very good right now. I like your pictures.

Unknown said...

My husband would love the breweries - I'm all about the food! I'm now following you via GFC - hope you'll follow us too! (http://www.highlowfooddrink.com)

That's Ron said...

@ YJia:thanks for the award! thats a first
@Linn: kobe beef...mmmm.. yummo!
@high low: awh thanks guys... will drop by soon

Joanne said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I love looking through all your pictures...it lets me live vicariously through your extensive travels.

Tania said...

Interesting reportage and beautiful pictures!

That's Ron said...

Thanks Joanna n Tania

NKP said...

Wild! Thanks for the tour of Kobe, I haven't seen it close up like this before. I was born there, while traveling, and wasn't there for long.

That's Ron said...

No Problems . :)

baobabs said...

amazing photos!! thanks for sharing.

EvelynC said...

wow! the row of seagulls ! you really know how to get the perfect angle. :) nice pics!

Dreams of cakes said...

What an interesting post! The photos are so beautiful. I really want to visit these places one day! Thanks so much for sharing!

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