Our last stop on Eclipse Cruise '09 was Kobe, Japan. The ship was in port for 2 days, then heading back to Tianjin. We decided that we needed to get back to work, so we disembarked in Kobe, and headed to Osaka for the weekend. We landed in Kobe on Friday, July 24 and were scheduled to leave Osaka on Sunday.
As it turned out, about 200 people decided to disembark in Kobe, which surprised me a little. We had to pay the same amount whether we stayed onboard the ship or got off four days early. A number of people were taking overnight tours of Kyoto and Tokyo while they had the opportunity.
I was a little sad to leave our home-away-from home. I'd gotten used to the ship, despite being cabin-bound during Alex's two days of seasickness. On the other hand, I was looking forward to being in Japan again, and to visiting our friends who live outside Kyoto.
Arriving at Kobe, we were greeted by a brass band. The Kobe City Fire Department Band was standing on the pier playing a variety of marches and traditional American songs. A Japanese an waved flags in time to the music and waved to all the cruise passengers standing on the top deck, snapping pictures and enjoying the music and a beautiful day in Kobe. It was a friendly welcome, and I had no idea that ships were met with such hospitality.
After disembarking the boat with our enormous pile of luggage, our first order of business was to figure out how to get from Kobe to our hotel in Osaka. The port terminal had an information desk, with an attendant who spoke English very well. She gave us prices for buses and taxis, and we opted for a taxi. It was expensive (about $150), but it was convenient and would get us there fast.
We hopped in a taxi with a driver who spoke a little English, and was delighted when Frank busted out his rusty, but understandable, Japanese. The two got along famously. He made a point to show us specific landmarks in Kobe and Osaka, and seemed thrilled to be going to the "big city" since he thought of Kobe as a "baby city."
Our room was not quite ready when we arrived, so we checked our luggage with the bellman at the Osaka Hilton, and decided to go back to Kobe for some shopping. The Osaka Train Station was right across the street, and we could take the JR train to central Kobe. Before leaving, we realized that Alex was missing his wallet, so Frank asked if the concierge could check with the taxi company to see if he left it in the cab. The phone number was printed on the receipt, so the concierge made the call. They told us they would radio the driver. We were not optimistic.
We walked out of the hotel and across the street to the massive Osaka Train Station. We made our way through the maze of tunnels, noodle shops, kiosks, and thousands of commuters to find the right railway line to take us back to the center of Kobe. Frank asked what we wanted to do in Kobe, and I answered, "Have beef and shop." Alex answered, "Have sushi and shop." At least we agreed on the shopping.
We found the right train, and Frank pointed out to me that there were now "Ladies Only" cars on the trains during rush hour. I don't remember seeing these signs on prior trips to Japan, and so this must be something new. I later read that this was to prevent groping during rush hour. Groping seems very "un-Japanese" to me, but given the number of KFCs and McDonald's we saw there, this may be another western import. Or maybe, there is a long history of groping and women in Japan are fighting back. Who knows. The only time I ever recall being groped on a train was in Chicago when I was in law school. I turned to the guy and looked him in the eye and said, "You're kidding me, right?" and he sheepishly backed off and kept his hands to himself.
The train was not terribly crowded, so we got seats and settled in to watch the Japanese towns and neighborhoods between Osaka and Kobe go by. Alex was instantly bored, but I couldn't help but remember our first trip to Japan, and how different this was.
In 1995, Frank and I traveled to Japan together for the first time, landing in Osaka. That time, we took the train to Kobe, too. The difference was that in 1995, we were there a week after a massive earthquake devastated the city. I remember looking out the train windows, and as we left Osaka, things looked relatively normal. I started to notice that ever few miles, a house or two was crumbling. Then, an entire block every mile, then it was every other block, then it was just one big pile of rubble as the train entered Kobe. I had never seen earthquake damage, and it was frightening and sad. It looked like a giant had just kicked the crap out of an apartment building, leaving it on its side, or nearly horizontal. I wondered about the people who lived there, who could have possible survived.
As we got to downtown Kobe in 1995, the devastation was all around, but there were hopeful signs of life. Buildings teetering to one side had small shops open for business, selling hand towels or vegetables, or whatever they had salvaged. One large department store, Sogo, was badly damaged, so we went into one that suffered less. We bought Japanese baseball souvenirs and ate noodles in a small ramen house. I was on the verge of tears the entire time we were in Kobe that time.
This time, 14 years later, what we saw was a city reborn. All the houses I had seen crushed in 1995 now stood tall again with shiny Toyotas and Hondas in the driveways. The Sogo Department Store, all 9 stories of it, was open for business, selling everything from funky high-end galoshes to hip-hop workout videos to traditional Japanese kimono. Again, I felt like I was on the verge of tears during our time there, but this time, out of sheer happiness.
Inside the department store, we walked around for quite a time looking at beautiful displays of fans and textiles. The department store has a number of nice restaurants. Frank and Alex outvoted me, so we went for sushi. Alex ate 9 pieces of tomago, a sweet omelette and rice ball wrapped in seaweed. He finally got the hang of using chopsticks, and only one piece landed on the floor instead of in his mouth. I still wanted Kobe beef, but this restaurant only served sushi, so I opted for kappa maki (cucumber roll) instead.
We didn't buy much at Sogo, except for a couple of Kobe Bears with tape measures hidden in their tails. I just enjoyed looking at the beautiful fabrics and displays. Alex found a deck of cards with Japanese historical characters on them, and decided to use his allowance for them. Right outside the department store, we ran into a Peruvian flute player.
We took the train back to Osaka, and found that our room was ready. We also discovered, much to our surprise, that the taxi company found Alex's wallet, and the driver had come all the way back to return it. It was a sweet and auspicious beginning to our stay in Japan, even if I didn't ever get to try the beef.
For more pictures of Kobe and the rest of our Eclipse Trip '09, click here to visit Flickr.
