Our ship was greeted by a brass band early Thursday morning as we pulled into Kobe harbor. The group of local students played John Phillip Souza as we pulled alongside and, with the fall weather in the air, we all felt like we were headed to a college football game not a Japanese port. A Taiko drumming group played next - totally great. I love Taiko drumming and it reminded me of a wonderful drumming performance I was able to see a few years ago at the Mondavi Center in Davis, California.
After a very involved immigration process, we had a few mishaps to start off our short stop in Kobe (our homestay was unexpectedly cancelled amidst other ship stresses) but we rallied and had a really nice two days. Friday afternoon we spent wandering the Kitano-cho (a neighborhood in central Kobe) and enjoyed just walking the narrow streets and taking in our surroundings. We came across some European-influenced architecture in a region that was predominately non-Japanese through the mid-1900s. What is left are examples of ex-pat homes from England, Holland, France, etc and a more recent Japanese obsession with Western bridal couture.
After a pre-dinner soft-serve ice cream cone (it's so rare, you don't pass it up!), we wandered into what became a highlight of our time in Kobe: a restaurant called Kutjari no Andy (Andy the Whale) owned by a very sweet, funny and friendly couple - Hitomi and Tomonari. We bellied up to the bar for an early evening beer and were soon engaged in conversation that keep us laughing and trying out our very limited Japanese. I might note that Hitomi and Tomonari speak much better English than our Japanese - enough that we were able to converse without any problems and any troublesome translations were created mostly on our end.
We were having such a great time exchanging stories and small gifts (stickers, postcards, origami, business cards), that we decided to stay for dinner. We had pasta, ironically, with homemade meat sauce (just like Grandma Hollister's!) and freshly sauteed shittake mushrooms with cream sauce. Heavenly! Can you tell we're jonesing for homecooked and familiar food? Actually, it was the freshness that won us over - I didn't care what they cooked! We also had nicely toasted rye bread and a Japanese-style salad (cabbage, cucumber, radish all thinly sliced and sprinkled with vinegar and pepper). The best part of all this was watching the two of them chop and slice our food just a few feet from the large wooden bar overlooking the small kitchen. Again, this is when I realized how much I miss cooking with Bill or friends at home, talking as we prepare a savory meal together. Hitomi and Tomonari's little restaurant essentially replicated that feeling for me in its physical space and emotional appeal.
As the meal progressed, some friends of theirs that live in the neighborhood joined us and as we enjoyed our food and they drank a few beers, Tomonari began making a homemade bread batter (simply good bread, processed and spiced) for the kakiage (tempura made from bread crumbs not flour) they were soon frying on the stove. If only we'd known - we might have ordered this (the menu we saw was all Western-style food)! They were breading and frying fresh cuts of fish, shrimp, asparagus wrapped with prosciutto....yum. But, no complaints as everything they made was truly delicious and we actually were treated to samples of some of the other Japanese dishes they began preparing. Had a little seaweed salad with salted fish as well as pickled greens with fried tofu.
Anyway, needless to say we were very impressed with our chefs and new friends. As we reluctantly left, everyone bid us goodbye and sent well wishes for the rest of our journey. My favorite memory of the evening was Hitomi and Tomonari walking us outside to the little walkway separating the rows of businesses and homes and waving us off with big smiles. As we walked down the alley, I looked back to see them still waving and wishing us a good evening - so cute!!
Kyoto:
Spent our second day in Kyoto, the capital of Japan for over 11 centuries before Tokyo. We took the train from Kobe - Japanese trains are incredible! Expensive but very clean, easy to use and efficient. It took us just under an hour by the local JR commuter train. Kyoto is very pretty, especially with the fall weather and changing leaves. Bill and I were both enjoying these elements as we strolled along the busy streets, crammed with tourists from all over Japan with a few foreigners mixed into the crowds.
Our first stop was Higashi Honganji temple - a beautiful, functioning Buddhist temple that is under-going some renovation. The process of restoring and protecting these gorgeous wooden structures seems endless and very thorough. Actually, much of Kyoto's historic architecture has had to be rebuilt over the years due to fire. This particular facility was very simple and elegant - the tongue and groove building structure is incredible...a carpenter's heaven. The floor mats were my favorite - called tatami in Japanese. And the paper screens nestled in grooves behind the huge wooden outer doors are beautiful.
We wandered through town and walked along a canal for a bit, observing the thoughtfully designed pathways that serve as flood dikes as well as recreational spaces. Many folks were strolling along in the nice weather and we enjoyed watching a man in thigh-high waders as he fished the small stream.
I really liked the Gion neighborhood that we walked through after crossing the canal. This is a very pretty neighborhood, complete with narrow streets and old-style homes. So fun! Lots of tourists, however, and it was challenging to take in the sights and avoid running into other pedestrians. I was on the look-out for geisha, though I read that they are normally not seen until early evening as they dart through the streets on their way to appointments. I think I might read Memoirs of a Geisha again - it was just as the author described with doorways in all directions and secret passageways that only the locals can navigate easily.
We hopped on a bus and headed to the Ginkajuri-ji temple area in the northwest corner of central Kyoto. We shared a nice lunch - a bento box of rice, sashimi (raw tuna), salad, greens and miso soup and an order of soba noodles with two cokes. Yum! We then walked the Philosophers Path, an old walkway along another much smaller canal through neighborhoods. It was so beautiful and peaceful. It was reminiscent of strolling along a quiet, tree-lined street in New England for me. Dad, I grabbed a few red Maple and Gingko leaves for you that I'll mail in my next note.
We hopped the bus back to Kyoto station and headed back to Kobe on the train crammed with commuters and school children. We got back on the ship and waved goodbye to the high school band that came back to play some jazz and send us off to Yokohama. We are to arrive tomorrow morning and will have another two days to explore what we can. I will certainly be back to Japan - it's lovely!
I am posting photos right now so check out our photo site:
www.heatherbill.shutterfly.com
Much love,
heather ;)
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