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White day is the equivalent of Valentine's Day in Japan and the day we headed into the city. Being in the more rural areas of Japan the past two days didn't seem like I was in Japan. I had expected to see the high tech and more advanced side of this country along with sky scraping tall high rises and architecturally astounding buildings. Thus, I was really looking forward to entering the city later on.
Heading out the country side lead us to Minabe Plum Forest to see cherry blossoms, but we we
re out of luck as this season has been colder than usual, so there was only some buds and early bloomers to see. Next was the coal museum, one of the most popular natural resources of Japan. Who knew that coal acts as an effective humidifier, absorbs smell, and is even good for the skin? At the souvenir store they also sold coal infused cookies which tasted like danish cookies from those aluminum tins. You could buy coal too, but after 9/11 it was illegal to travel on board a flight with it, even if you put it in your luggage- we couldn't be 'naughty' even if we wanted to.
Next stop was lunch at a fish market where we had the option of adding on a ~$100Cad authentic and fresh sushi boat. We turned it down for obvious budget reasons, but were happy with our decision upon seeing the size of our meal and the large boat filled with different selections of sashimi that everyone else on our tour ordered. After lunch, we looked around at different fishes being sold and packaged Japanese snacks. There was even a fish about a meter long being slaughtered on the spot. Surprisingly, the fish market didn't smell at all, no fishy essence in the air or anything pleasant to the nose (I assume the fish was extremely fresh).
As we entered Kobe and the city we definitely saw the more urban side of Japan. Another thing about the city is that there are many Ferris wheels. By now I saw about four different ones and mentally noted that I must come back to explore all the outdoor amusement parks in t
he future. We stopped at Tasaki, a pearl chain store in Japan and had a lesson on how pearls are derived, what determines their price points, as well as a demonstration on how to cultivate your own pearls (only a 40% chance that it will work though). None of us could afford anything in there so you can imagine just how expensive it was, though it was enriching to learn so much about pearls in a half hour sitting.
Then we street shopped in Kobe. With approximately three hours on our own, we tried to hit as much boutiques as we can. Many people have commented that Japan is quite an expensive place to live, eat, a
nd shop and I couldn't agree more. Some things are ridiculously over priced and not worth your money. I question how Japanese people can afford to live in Japan if they don't make a certain amount, or else they must have to live fairly modestly. When it came to shopping though, we went with a plan to just look at the sale racks as the prices are similar to the those back home. We realized it must've been around the time retailers change seasons or turn around their goods as there were quite a few sales wherever we went. Nonetheless we left satisfied and couldn't wait to do more on the last day of our tour. I really had to withheld myself from buying jewelery, especially earrings as I'm a sucker for them.
Alright, the best meal (or should I say meat) and most ridiculous amount of money I ever spent on one thing was this evening. We opted out of the sashimi boat add on, but went with the Kobe steak for the grilled bbq dinner as this area was known for it. All the side dishes, raw meat, and veggies were all you can eat, but this beef was to die for. I thought it be cook when we had placed an order, but it came raw, which made sense seeing that we grill everything ourselves. Well, we savored every moment (and bite) of this expensive piece of meat. It was about the size of the palm of your hand and evenly marbled with fat. The only seasoning we had on it was pepper and that was enough to get our taste buds sizzling. The texture was tender, the bite juicy as the fat had melted, and flavor-so delicious. It was definitely worth every piece of yen.
Heading out the country side lead us to Minabe Plum Forest to see cherry blossoms, but we we
re out of luck as this season has been colder than usual, so there was only some buds and early bloomers to see. Next was the coal museum, one of the most popular natural resources of Japan. Who knew that coal acts as an effective humidifier, absorbs smell, and is even good for the skin? At the souvenir store they also sold coal infused cookies which tasted like danish cookies from those aluminum tins. You could buy coal too, but after 9/11 it was illegal to travel on board a flight with it, even if you put it in your luggage- we couldn't be 'naughty' even if we wanted to.Next stop was lunch at a fish market where we had the option of adding on a ~$100Cad authentic and fresh sushi boat. We turned it down for obvious budget reasons, but were happy with our decision upon seeing the size of our meal and the large boat filled with different selections of sashimi that everyone else on our tour ordered. After lunch, we looked around at different fishes being sold and packaged Japanese snacks. There was even a fish about a meter long being slaughtered on the spot. Surprisingly, the fish market didn't smell at all, no fishy essence in the air or anything pleasant to the nose (I assume the fish was extremely fresh).
As we entered Kobe and the city we definitely saw the more urban side of Japan. Another thing about the city is that there are many Ferris wheels. By now I saw about four different ones and mentally noted that I must come back to explore all the outdoor amusement parks in t
he future. We stopped at Tasaki, a pearl chain store in Japan and had a lesson on how pearls are derived, what determines their price points, as well as a demonstration on how to cultivate your own pearls (only a 40% chance that it will work though). None of us could afford anything in there so you can imagine just how expensive it was, though it was enriching to learn so much about pearls in a half hour sitting.Then we street shopped in Kobe. With approximately three hours on our own, we tried to hit as much boutiques as we can. Many people have commented that Japan is quite an expensive place to live, eat, a
nd shop and I couldn't agree more. Some things are ridiculously over priced and not worth your money. I question how Japanese people can afford to live in Japan if they don't make a certain amount, or else they must have to live fairly modestly. When it came to shopping though, we went with a plan to just look at the sale racks as the prices are similar to the those back home. We realized it must've been around the time retailers change seasons or turn around their goods as there were quite a few sales wherever we went. Nonetheless we left satisfied and couldn't wait to do more on the last day of our tour. I really had to withheld myself from buying jewelery, especially earrings as I'm a sucker for them.Alright, the best meal (or should I say meat) and most ridiculous amount of money I ever spent on one thing was this evening. We opted out of the sashimi boat add on, but went with the Kobe steak for the grilled bbq dinner as this area was known for it. All the side dishes, raw meat, and veggies were all you can eat, but this beef was to die for. I thought it be cook when we had placed an order, but it came raw, which made sense seeing that we grill everything ourselves. Well, we savored every moment (and bite) of this expensive piece of meat. It was about the size of the palm of your hand and evenly marbled with fat. The only seasoning we had on it was pepper and that was enough to get our taste buds sizzling. The texture was tender, the bite juicy as the fat had melted, and flavor-so delicious. It was definitely worth every piece of yen.
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