Osaka/Nara/Kobe Part 3

by Brianin Hyogo, Japan, Nara, Osakaon Posted on

Day 5 - Himeji and Kobe

Another day outside of Osaka, last minute suggestion was to go to Himeji. It is a bit farther than Kobe but I figured I had some time if I woke up a little earlier.
Easy breakfast, just outside the station. By the way, Choco cro chocolate croissants are awesome... it was sooo cold outside near the station!
Short walk from the station and you get to this entrance gate
Unfortunately, I guess due to the holiday season the castle was closed the day I went so I basically just walked around the outside of it. I also heard they were just completing some major renovations this year as well.
Still really impressive and easily the nicest castle I've been to in Japan (even if just from the outside). I tried to imagine how any army (or myself) would try to attack this thing back in the day.... just seems pointless.
Proof I was really there
This looks like it would've been a nice museum to check out as it's right next to Himeji Castle, however it too was closed this day. Nice building anyway. There was also a bike share station next to this building which would have been great to use but it didn't accept cash
Walked around the perimeter of the castle, this is the street on the backside of it.
There was also a pretty nice park which is where I took this picture from. Really empty everywhere I went except for the group of elderly people who I assume were volunteering to clean up the park there.
Just enjoyed the shadows and colors
One of the outer walls. Interesting thing is that the castle boundaries were much farther out than they currently are... which is hard to imagine it was actually bigger.
Just huge
Just an interesting sign. There's a few restaurants right outside the gate I entered from but many of them weren't open so early in the morning.
Caught the train back to Kobe, my main destination for the day with steak on my mind all day long
Decided to stick with the waterfront in the beginning and then work my way back to the main station
Harbor area
Reminded me very much of Yokohama, and they even have a Chinatown too
At the Harborland area. Kind of like a boardwalk shopping mall... reminded me of fisherman's wharf
Korean food for lunch haha, small little buffet restaurant but was actually pretty good... Don't know why I was craving korean food.
Kobe Port Tower and Meriken Park
That little kid... future flatland x-games
Heading back towards downtown area
Made it to Chinatown... a bit smaller than the one in Yokohama but just as crowded. They serve Kobe beef here but given the prices I would say it's not the best quality... I wanted to save my first time experience for the real deal. Good to know, not all Kobe beef is created equal
This is one LONG line for a single restaurant... I don't know what that restaurant was serving (there was a picture of a pig above the restaurant) but I hope it was the tastiest thing on this planet!
One of the main shopping streets in downtown
Near Sannomiya Station
Ikuta shrine... apparently one of the oldest in the country (how many oldest shrines can there be?).
Higashiyuenchi Park... there was also a sign nearby which stated that Kobe is home to the very first marathon (running) in Japan.
The MAIN event of the day! Sooo looking forward to this. I didn't have a specific restaurant picked out... and there were some that seemed more touristy than others on the main street based on the crowd and atmosphere... this restaurant was one up from the main street, seemed more quiet and not as touristy... still crowded with Japanese though.
Since I was splurging a little, I went with the full course menu. All the appetizers feature a little bit of kobe beef prepared in various ways.
Amazing... wish I had an entire bowl of this!
Just awesome... simple and clean.
The main event! 200g grade A5
There were several ways to eat it... just salt, soy sauce, a little thicker steak sauce, wasabi, ginger, garlic chips... every thing was so amazing. Perhaps it was because I was in Kobe, eating real Kobe beef, the atmosphere of the restaurant... all of the above... but it was to me such a great experience. Obviously not one I could do very often but definitely one of the best meals I've had in Japan.
So, maybe you are curious about the cost??? hehe, well, 200g of just the beef was ¥12000, plus ¥3000 for the full course, then a little more for a few beers. I don't splurge that much often, but again, this was my main mission and biggest splurge of the entire trip hehe... Would I do it again??? Probably not haha, also because there are other less expensive options out there... like Kobe beef ramen! oohhhh... hungry again.
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