Farewell Kobe and a ferry trip to Takamatsu on Shikoku
Kobe is a city that sparkles with newness due to its rebuild, interesting architecture…a meshing of the old and the new and welcoming spaces. Surrounded by the ocean and majestic hills, we really like it here and would enjoy returning here someday.
We often see couples on their wedding day having photos taken. This couple were downtown by the bike shop where we getting supplies for the trip.
As you are walking on this street, you wonder where the music is coming from…and then you see the grand piano. Locals come armed with their music and take their turn playing the piano. Delightful.
Well, we finally did it. We had the renowned Kobe beef. Well, kind of. We didn’t have a steak, but we had a burger and it was delicious. We loved this funky cafe.
The bathroom at the cafe is where the fellows who own it really express their creativity, complete with skateboards. One doesn’t need a book to read in the bathroom…all the entertainment is provided on the walls.
Komeda’s Coffee is a much loved place where locals like to go for a meal, coffee and spend time. People tend to stay for long periods…doing homework, visiting with friends…all of this is acceptable. A nice feature is that if you go for coffee before 11, you can have free breakfast items. 👍☕️🥖🧇
Our treat of the day at Komeda was a cold coffee/ice cream concoction with cookies. They cleverly place ice cubes below the ice cream so that it doesn’t melt.
It is now time to check in at the traditional Japanese Ryokan (Inn), the Toyofuku. This will be our 3rd night in Kobe. Staying at a Ryokan is always a wonderful experience for us.
Every year, we buy a calendar in Japan with artwork by Hajime. We love his artwork, especially his quirky drawings of cats. This framed piece, in the hallway of the Ryokan, is not by Hajime, but it is very similar. It made us feel at home and welcome.
Our host at this family run inn offers wonderful hospitality. She has been a joy to chat with regardless of language differences. As we were leaving she gave us a bag of local treats for our journey.
We stopped to chat with this couple…Leslie from southern Sweden and Paddy (on the left) from Ireland. What a nice couple. This is their first trip to Japan and they are loving it. Like us, they anppreciated the beauty of Kyoto but found it disappointing due to the over tourism. When they leave Kobe, they will be driving a rental car to tour and get off the beaten path.
There are two car decks, one for trucks and bikes and one for cars. As you can, we are on a very old and rusty ferry. There are two ferries that do this route…one is new and we are on the old one. Our ferry is huge with five floors.
Looking back at Kobe…a cruise ship is in port by the luxury Oriental hotel. As you can see, Kobe is surrounded by massive hills. liked the juxtaposition of the Japanese vessel alongside the massive cruise ship.
It is amazing that there is only one place to get food on this ship. An older woman and a young fellow prepared and served the food from very tight quarters. They were very efficient. There is nowhere to sit and eat your food. There is a tall counter where you stand to eat.
Lemons are grown in this area….so naturally we had ice cream with a lemon sauce and a slightly grilled lemon slice. Yum.
We will make one stop on this crossing at Shodoshima Island. The islands in the Seto Sea are very popular. On ten of the islands in the Seto Sea an art festival is celebrated three times a year. Some of the islands have contemporary art museums and most of the islands feature outdoor art installations. Unfortunately, we won’t stay on the islands as prices are pretty high during this time. The ferry at dock is the second vessel that does this route….as you can see we are on the older ferry.
A cross section view of our ship. Most of the seating you see is reserved at a higher price. Note the large section of tatami mats (blue section on the 4th floor) where most people go. There is very little seating that is free….luckily Barry found 2 comfortable seats in a corner. We parked on the bottom floor with the big trucks.
The tatami mat is the most used and popular place on the ship. I managed to nap for a while until my hips had enough of the hard floor. Unlike Westerners, Japanese people are very comfortable sitting and resting on tatami mats.
