She took me to a nice cafe called Green House. This cafe was actually someone's house that was renovated into a cafe. You need to walk through a little forest (really!) to get to the cafe. The interior was dimly lit and there were a LOT of couples. We had the daily special, pork cutlet with peanut sauce. There was much too much sauce on top and the cutlet was quite oily, but we had a nice time chatting and eating.
After lunch, we got ready to see the Luminarie. The luminarie is a memorial for the lives lost in the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995 Kobe Earthquake and also a way to encourage the people who survived to keep perservering. Satoshi and I actually went to see this our first year in Japan (2001). There were so many people this time around. Doesn't it look like everyone is waiting to see a parade or something?
You have to line up around two blocks before actually coming upon the Promenade. These illuminated structures stand about 20m high (about 65 feet). Every year the theme is different, though I can't tell the difference, it always looks beautiful.This year's theme is Hikari no kigen (The era of light). An Italian designer always comes up with the beautiful designs.
You should have seen how many people were taking photos with their cell phones! If you look carefully at this photo, you can see all the cell phones lit up taking photos.
In front of the Kobe City Office, you'll see this huge clock. It is called the Flower clock because the face is made from flowers. The face changes with the seasons, so it is nice to check it when you go to visit. This time around, the face is of a mouse/rat. Next year will be the Year of the Rat in Chinese Astrology.
It was made up of many pots of habotan (literally leaf peony, scientifically known as Brassica oleracea var. acephala or in lay terms Ornamental Kale)Hope you have a nice week.
Green House
5-5-25 Kotono-o-cho
Chuo, Kobe
Phone: 078.262.7044
Open 11:00am-5:00am
walk through a forest?! now i find that intriguing! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a huge forest, but there were at least twenty trees, that you had to weave through to get to the cafe. For a big city, to have that many trees in one place is a forest :)
Take care.
Kat
hello kat, thanks for posting about this..for years we've lived in japan i've never visited the city of kobe..by the way the flower clock is so "kawai" :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Dhanggit. Maybe one day you'll be able to return to Japan and visit Kobe :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
How beautiful! Sounds like a wonderful way to spend the day!
ReplyDeleteWalking through a miniature forest to get to the restaurant! That's cute!!
ReplyDeleteIt was, Jenndz!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rowena, thought that would get some attention.
Take care you two.
Kat