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7/16/2005, Sara visit day 2: Kobe, Sorakuen garden, ramen

For our first day of sightseeing, we went for Kobe. My personal list of must-see places in Kobe is fairly short, which seemed good for a day when Sara would be pretty groggy and jet lagged. Actually, she didn't seem groggy at all. She was quite perky, throughout the whole trip, actually.

Upon arriving in Kobe, we went straight for Meriken Park.

Here is a tower that can be seen from Meriken Park.

Meriken Park is full of sculptures and other things worthy of taking pictures. It seems like it was made specifically to accomodate tourists who want to go home with some neat pictures. This is a model of an old boat in the middle of the park.

Same boat from a different angle.

And here's Sara. Behind her, you can see an interesting shaped sculpture. We had some interesting ideas of what the sculpture might represent. And, the boat is behind her.

Looking around Meriken Park.

After Meriken Park, we took a walk through China Town and got some soft serve ice cream. Mango and jasmine tea. After that, we went to my favorite ramen shop in Kobe, Ippudo. After lunch, we set out to do a little more sightseeing. We ended up at Sorakuen Garden.

Here's a view from inside Sorakuen Garden. It's not a big garden, but it's a nice break from the big city.

Sorakuen Garden in Kobe.

After our visit at Sorakuen, we headed back for Aioi. I believe I made oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl) at home.

Sara noticed this amusing poster inside the train. It just tells people to offer their seats to elderly and disabled people. I'm not sure what the significance of the goat is.

Note: All pictures on this page were taken by Sara.