November 29- December 1 we found ourselves in Kobe, famous for its 'Kobe Beef', where they supposedly massage the cows and play music while the cows eat to get the meat perfectly marbled and flavored. And then sell each steak for an exorbitant amount of money. More on that later. The initial attraction for us was the Ikea but after some planning we found lots to love there.
Per usual, this was kind of a last minute trip so on Monday when we decided to go I booked us at the cheapest of the 4 hotels with rooms still available- still about $100/night. We left Friday afternoon and arrived at our hotel around 8 pm. And boy, were we in for a surprise.
Turns out, I had booked us at a Love Hotel!! Staying at one was actually on our Japan Bucket List but we hadn't figured out how to do it yet. They are supposedly everywhere but we could never find one (not that we looked that hard), let alone figure out how to rent one.
A Love Hotel is a specialty hotel that has rooms that can be rented for a few hours' "rest" *winkwink* or for an overnight stay. They have very discrete check in procedures so at some, you can't even see the face of the person behind the counter- and they can't see yours.
That was the dead giveaway at our hotel, which actually had a large touch screen computer instead of any receptionists. That, and the fact that it was located off the side of a toll-way among a strip of other seedy looking Love Hotels.
Being that the computer screen was all in Japanese and we had made reservations we still had to ring the bell and "talk" to the receptionist so the check-in wasn't at all discrete for us. Not that it needed to be.
I put "talk" in quotes because the receptionist spoke about 5 words of English so we used Google Translate on the computer for any necessary dialogue. (Technology is neat!)
After being given our key- an actual KEY, we took the elevator up one floor. Just in case we suffered any short term memory loss and forgot which room number we had been told 30 seconds ago, there was a light lit up and flashing above the door to our room so there could be no mistaking and accidentally knocking on someone else's door.
And what we found inside was the largest hotel room I've ever seen in Japan along with the largest bed I've ever seen in Japan! First, there was an entry way to our room. Then, there was an actual, factual king sized bed (a total rarity in Japan) and STILL space enough to walk around the room! Perhaps you recall the cozy rooms we stayed in Tokyo with Ari and Andy back in July, but usually a Japanese hotel room is very efficient with just (hardly) enough space for a bed, a little standing room next to it, and a bathroom. So I repeat, this hotel room was HUGE!
If we had any remaining doubts about whether or not this was a love hotel, we had found our answer. No, Nick, that is most certainly not a microphone...
Oh and the lingerie vending machine. In room, of course.
Lights control panel.
And a wannabe chandelier.
In addition to the room service menu, there was also a Gifts catalog from which you could order your...partner...some nice perfume, designer bags, or, you know, a Nintendo Wii.
We skipped the Gifts menu but the room service menu looked quite cheap so we ordered Japanese curry for dinner. It was brought to our room and delivered to a cupboard next to our room door that opened on both sides. The cupboard was at the height so when you picked up the food you couldn't see the face of the hotel staff delivering it.
After dinner, I tried on the placenta. Turns out it was a face mask...
The next morning we got ready to head to the Ikea but first things first, we had to get out of the hotel room. After several minutes of turning the lock and door handle every which way and even trying escape through the room-service cupboard (latched shut from the outside), we timidly picked up the phone and called down to the front desk.
Yes, umm, Hi. We're the foreigners in room 102 and we can't seem to open our door. It's like locked or something. (Luckily Nick actually called because this is what I would have said but he put it much more eloquently.)
*speaks Japanese* and hangs up.
Then there is a click that comes from our entry way. We try the door again and it's unlocked- we're free!!
Let's just be clear about this- they locked us in our room on purpose! Hahaha
And then, on our way out, even though we were staying another night and had all our stuff still up in the room, we were asked to turn in our room key before leaving for the day.
Oh boy. We hadn't even left the hotel yet and we were having an awesome time in Kobe. What a funny hotel!
Moving right along, we drove to the Ikea, located on a island in the harbor and proceeded to spend 5 hours shopping there. To put this in perspective, when we were in Paris, we spent 6 hours at the Louvre. You'd think we'd never been to an Ikea or something!
Anyways, it was a very successful shopping trip with a break for lunch in the middle where Nick bought the World's Smallest Juice Box with the World's Smallest 2-part Straw.
After playing a spot of Tetris to get all our purchases into the rental car, we walked across the street the the UCC Coffee Museum.
This is actually a picture of the UCC Coffee office building, not the museum as we originally thought.
THIS is the museum.
Fun fact: This was our first museum visit in Japan. We loved it! It was really cheap (only Y300) and included an audio guide in English, coffee sampling, and certificate with our picture on it.
From Coffee berry to coffee ground.
There was an archive of old UCC commercials. These 2 were our favorites.
Arianna Farms
Don't worry, my preggers self isn't lifting that. I couldn't even get it off the ground and there were pictures around of workers hauling 2-3 of these! They weighed 60kg each!
Different types of coffee beans
And a display of different coffee cups. Below is my favorite cup. It's just so useful.
So disappointed, in fact, that he mulled over it the whole time we were (trying) to enjoy our coffees in the coffee shop out front of the museum. So disappointed that he went back in to the museum after our coffee break ready to pay another Y300 to get a new quiz code to retake the quiz. The receptionist thought his plight was amusing so she gave him a new code for free. He was then able to retake the quiz and earn his title as "The Great Dr. Coffee."
We were finally ready to leave the island and actually see what Kobe had to offer on a Saturday night.
We stopped at a mall with many Western chains but we were so shopped-out from Ikea that we hardly even looked around.
Then we took a stroll around Harborland.
And we took a twilight spin on the Ferris Wheel.
(The Ferris Wheel reflected on the building.)
Then we went on a wild goose chase to find the GIGANTOR ROBOT.
Yes, so the robot is a monument to symbolize the reconstruction of Kobe City after the 1995 earthquake in Kobe.
After finding GIGANTOR, we were totally beat. We had heard there was a good Chinatown but driving past it was enough for us.
It was time to head back to our funny hotel. We ended up ordering room service dinner again because it was so cheap. After we ate, Nick looked at the prices again and realized that perhaps the prices were looking so cheap was because we had been looking at the hotel member's prices. The regular prices were not expensive, but not as cheap and we would definitely have ordered differently. Crap, had we just wasted a bunch of money? We couldn't quite figure it out since it was all in Japanese. Only time would tell when we paid the next morning at check-out.
The next morning rolled around and we packed up and headed downstairs. We got to reception fully expecting to pay for 2 dinners and a several extra beverages but instead were told "Room service all free."
Nick and I looked at each other and asked to make sure that was correct.
"First time guest service," she said, and waved us goodbye.
Well, ok, if you insist...
SWEET!!! So that hotel worked out well :)
We drove back in to Kobe to check out a few more sites before heading home.
On the way, we made a wrong turn and this was how to correct it- LOL
We were more in the downtown area this time and finding parking was a bit trickier. Everywhere was looking pretty expensive so we just chose one with an opening and closed our eyes at the hourly rate.
First (and ended up being the only site) on our list was an area known as Kitano, an European inspired area of Kobe.
On the walk there, Nick found a Brother's Bar which he thought was neat.
And I found something called "Something Kira." (see the bottom-most sign?)
Oh and "Dining Room Penetrate"
An alleyway as big as me and my belly! That's a door behind me which I definitely would not fit through.
We stopped for a snack at a cute little cafe ^_^
"Yes, Nick, it looks very European. Can we take a break now?" *hockeysmile*
It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day but it the Kitano area was quite hilly and my dogs were soon barking, not to mention my pregnant body.
The Kitano area was European down to the fact that it had street performers and vendors hawking their art and souvenirs. Something you see everywhere in Europe but no where in Japan. We stopped and had our caricatures drawn. It turned out so cute!!
NO CAKE, NO LIFE.
Yep, that pretty much sums it up.
During our meanderings through the Kitano area, we stumbled upon a nice looking restaurant serving none other than Kobe Beef! We had gone back and forth and back and forth on whether we wanted to fork over the money just to try it or not. One of our main concerns was making sure we ordered the right stuff since we couldn't read most of the restaurant's menus. This one, too, had a Japanese only menu, but we could tell there was a lunch set and I just had a good feeling about it. So in we went.
We tried translating some of the menu by guessing words on my phone but we ended up getting seated next to another foreigner who was there with a Japanese lady. He offered her language skills to us and so she told what to order if we wanted Kobe beef. That was easy!
It was a course meal. First up was Kobe Beef Salad.
It came with (from left to right) pepper, red rock salt, wasabi salt, soy sauce and wasabi for dipping.
For sides there was spinach, potato salad, sandwich with chinese vegetable, miso soup, and a Japanese pickle.
Let me be straight: KOBE BEEF IS AMAZING. By far, the best thing I have EVER eaten. It is everything it is said to be and worth every. single. yen.
Our sets were ~$80. Each. For lunch. We have NEVER spent more than $80 TOTAL at a restaurant, let alone each but let me tell you- I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was THAT good.
When we went to pay, the maitre'd noticed I was pregnant and promptly informed me that "Kobe beef is good for your baby." I would have to agree.
The name of the restaurant was Garakyu Steakhouse. You must go.
We had a lovely time in Kobe. Nick and I both agree it's one of the best trips we've ever taken!
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