Published: 17.03.2026
It's still a bit chilly, but the sea and wind have calmed down. You can even eat outside in sheltered spots. Today is also St. Patrick's Day, and for that, the dessert has been completely themed in green.
Tomorrow we will be in Kobe. That’s where Kobe beef comes from. It is a very fatty beef, achieved by heavily fattening breeds of cattle that are already prone to gaining weight and are kept with minimal movement. Stories about feeding them beer, giving them regular massages, or rubbing them with sake are apparently incorrect. They are rubbed with sake just once for sale to make their coats shine and to fetch a better price. No beer is fed to them, but rather brewers' grains, a nutrient-rich byproduct of brewing. In blind tastings, Kobe beef is mostly rated lower than normal beef.
We have booked a ship excursion for tomorrow and will see the highlights in nearby Kyoto. The trip lasts 9 hours, but since we will be in Kobe for another two days, we can then visit the highlights in and around Kobe itself.
