Kobe, Japan

Dear lovely reader,

Greetings everyone! Welcome to my fourth and last series blog of Japan, now in the beautiful port of Kobe. The time in Kobe was mostly spent wandering – following wherever our eyes and noses were caught. As I was walking around, I spent most of my time reflecting on the past few days in Japan, admiring both the locals and the places. The truth is, the best memories within the heart are made with the times you interact and talk with people. This truth is just as powerful, if not more, when you are travelling. Sometimes when you're traveling, you get so caught up in taking pictures of the inanimate – the buildings, skylines, lights – that you forget to see the people. The photos in this blog will be mostly of the people of Japan. The pride they show in their country shows when they offer you directions, offer you tea, set a bowl of ramen in front of you, receives your yen with both hands, smile at you. Japan and its people are truly gifts to one another.

I strongly recommend dining at a restaurant that serves Kobe beef. Kobe beef is considered to be a delicacy. It is known for its tenderness, fat, and high price (picture its cattle being massaged). But Kobe beef can also be prepared as a hamburger patty, which is exactly what we had. One of the most satisfying meals I ever had, served with fresh soup, salad, and potatoes. See pictures please :).

Here's a fun anecdote to end our stay in Kobe. You would think we would get used to navigating our way through the subway stations in Kobe since we conquered them well in Tokyo. But we were cutting it close, and I mean really close. Cassie thought it would be a brilliant idea to save some yen, purchasing a child ticket for 100 less yen (which is about a dollar) instead of an adult ticket for our fare back to the port terminal. Ship time was 5pm sharp. And by ship time, voyagers must get past the long line, get through security, turn in his/her passport, and swipe their card through by 5pm. For every 15 minutes you are late, you are presented 2 hours of 'dock time,' which is 2 hours negated from your personal time at the next port (nobody wants that haha). But the funny part was that when we bought our children's ticket, we dimwittedly went back and asked the ticket director in his booth for which trains and lines we needed to take to get to the port terminal. We presented him our tickets. He asked us if we were under 12. We tried to play it off as the clueless foreigners. But we couldn't haha. You literally have to press the 'child' button when you purchase the tickets (lulz). When we got onto the train, we saw a couple more voyagers, finishing their last alcoholic drinks in Japan (.____.) and hauled our asses to the port terminal line by 4pm. Even though time was travelling faster than the line was, I had a really strong feeling that we weren't going to get dock time. We checked in at 4:56pm. Wassup.

By 10pm, we were pulling out of the port of Kobe, Japan. The marching band started playing while the locals waved farewell. And before I knew it, my tears met the tips of my cheeks. When you see Japan for the first time, there will be so many moments that take your breath away. I've watched so many Japanese animations, cried and laughed at them all. And listening to its soundtrack scores, were as close as I could get to Japan. But the days I spent in Japan were enough to realize that we could learn so much from this amazing country. Being in Japan drives me to become a better person, to be kind. Be kind to everyone on the MV Explorer. Be kind to the locals at every port. Be kind to foreigners whenever they visit the States. I can now imagine being in a completely different country, where you can't speak the language, can't recognize the streets. You can only offer your words and kindness to someone, knowing that those are just enough to move their hearts.








All love and hope,
Kimmy

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." 
– James Michener

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