Thursday, October 23, 2014

Asia – Day 16, Thursday, October 23, 2015

We awoke to a beautiful day in Kobe.   The shuttle bus starts at 9:00am so up we were and out the door to go downtown at 9:15am.

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.

Kobe Beef - #3 in Kobe for lunch

The view from the top

 
That's Kobe Beef - WOW was it good!!
Lunch of Kobe Beef
 

A snack on the street
Amazing flowers
Going up the mountain
Of course she loves it!!
Our last formal night




 

 

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