Originally we were going to take the City Loop bus to get
to our destinations but we found out that we could walk faster to our first
stop, a place called the Master Garden.
It wasn’t like we anticipated so after a brief visit, we walked to the
second stop looked like a couple of block but turned out to be about a mile
away which was the Sorakuen Gardens. The
gardens were built on the grounds of the former Mayor of Kobe City and were
very beautiful. The annual
Chrysanthemum exhibit was being held and we were amazed at the size of these
flowers. As they advertised this was a
secluded oasis in the middle of the city, unchanged for over a century.
Then we took a cab to the Kobe Herb Gardens &
Ropeway. The Ropeway is actually a lift
to the top of the mountain. Along the
way you pass over a lot of herb gardens that you can see if you choose to walk
down the mountain. We decided to ride
down and see them from above. At the
top, there was a great display of herbs and blowers. They advertised that there were 75,000 herbs
and flowers of about 200 kinds blooming throughout the year.
Then it was time for lunch and we had chosen a restaurant
that Trip Advisor ranked as the 3rd best Kobe Beef restaurant in the
city. We did not know exactly where it
was so Ed went into a nearby hotel to get the exact location written in Japanese. We have not found any cab driver yet in Japan
or Korea who spoke any English.
Cabs are cheap and after a 15 minute ride down from the mountain;
we arrived at restaurant we wanted which was in the city center for $7.60. We arrived at 12:30pm and were told there was
no room without a reservation as they were full. We pleaded that we had come all the way from
the US for their food and he found a spot for us at 1:30pm. So, we walked about, almost got lost and got
back to the restaurant at 1:30m and were seated. It was a very small restaurant that had 4
floors and seating for about 10 people on each floor. Also each floor had a table top flat grill
that two chefs stood behind cooking the meal.
We ordered two steaks that totaled about 10 ounces and the
meal came with salad and vegetables and words do not describe the
experience. The chef cooked on the
grill like a typical Japanese restaurant; however, they do not do tricks with
their knives like in the US – this is serious cooking at its best.
The Kobe Beef was better than advertised. You, of course, ate with chop sticks and the
beef probably could melt in your mouth.
It was an amazing dining experience.
Imagine thinking paying $120.00 for a lunch meal was worth the money –
this was!!
By this time it was 2:30 and it was time to get back to
the ship as it sailed at 5:00pm. We
walked to the shuttle bus, stopping along the way to visit a small Japanese
Shrine.
Since the sun was hot, we went out on the deck until
4:30pm, came in showered and took a nap.
We then went to the 7:00pm show which was very good. It was a Vietnamese woman who was a concert
pianist and she put on a great performance.
For dinner, we were joined by another couple from Canada
and they had been on over 100 Celebrity cruises. They told us that there were a total of 48
couples who had been on more than 100 and that 9 of them are on this
cruise.
After dinner, it was time for the casino and our last
night there as it is not permitted to be open in Japanese waters for the rest
of the cruise.
For our last night, Ed was down only a couple of dollars
and Barb once again was up. Barb has,
always, done an amazing job of managing her money. There are not many people who can get up from
a slot machine after winning as they tend to put it all back in. Barb is remarkable in how she manages her
winnings.
We are now done in the casino as it will not open again on
this cruise. Out of 41 trips that we
have taken where there is gambling, this was the 2nd highest
winnings so we are very, very happy.
Tomorrow we will wake up to Mt Fuji.
Tomorrow we will wake up to Mt Fuji.
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| Kobe Beef - #3 in Kobe for lunch |
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| The view from the top |
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| That's Kobe Beef - WOW was it good!!
Lunch of Kobe Beef
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| A snack on the street |
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| Amazing flowers |
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| Going up the mountain |
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| Of course she loves it!! |
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| Our last formal night |
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