Kōbe - Hearts made of wood

Breakfast with a view

Today I dare to try the breakfast on the 9th floor. I take a seat by the window, from here I have a view of the driving school and the harbor below me. I can look far into the distance, to Kōbe. It feels good to be able to look into the distance, to let my gaze wander. The breakfast will be... 'interesting'. The thing that takes the most courage is the egg, blanched in the Kobe style. An egg in the shell, somewhere in limbo between raw and 7 minutes. I manage to eat it, for the first and last time in my life. 🤢

Big laundry for small coins

I make my way to the city, I have to do laundry at the coin laundry. On the way, I see the train pull in, I'm still two minutes away. No problem, I think to myself, the next train will come ten minutes later anyway. I look at the schedule on site. Wrong thought, the train doesn't come every ten minutes. It comes every five minutes. How nice it would be for Germany. I snap out of my daydreams.

On the way to the coin laundry, more election posters. I can hardly believe my eyes, a candidate poses in a Dragonball costume. Japan, please never change.

In the coin laundry, a very nice young woman helps me with the operation. While I wait for the laundry for 50 minutes and write on the blog, she cleans the whole time. Once again, this dedication, the focus, the mindfulness. After the washing machine is finished, I roll up my clothes. T-shirt, boxer shorts, socks, elastic band around them, done. My kind of textile sushi roll, which I master perfectly. My menu is ready for the next city, I am not.

Metropolis whirlpool

Next stop is exploring the city. I go to Don Quijote, want to browse. I'm about to buy a power bank with an integrated power outlet. I get caught in the whirlpool of floors and corridors. Not every corridor leads downwards, not every elevator goes to the ground floor. I need to get out of here. No experiments, I take the same way back that I came.

Feeling hungry, I venture into the city. Finding fast food stalls is no problem, finding a place where I can order decent food is. I choose a ramen restaurant, get lost in the mall and instead find an inviting sushi restaurant.

I still find the tea culture impressive here. With us, you pay a lot of money for hot water with flavor. Here in the restaurant, you have a tap with hot water and a dispenser with free tea at the sushi bar. In this part of the country, you are practically showered with Matcha tea. I order via the tablet, it is presented to me after 30 seconds. Since the incident with the leakage, the conveyor belt is no longer used in most stores. While I eat, I see plates on the wall with prices. I take a closer look and recognize my two red plates. Clever. Each plate represents an amount. Add them up and pay. 🤯

I'm glad I didn't go to KFC.... Not yet. 😅 I'm curious. Especially at Christmas, KFC is a big thing for the Japanese, everyone goes there. Oh boy, I might be surprised here.

I like the place. Only the music is hectic, otherwise it's relaxed. The employee cleans the seats and the cards to the right and left of me with calm precision.

When I'm happy and full, I click on "Pay". An employee comes, counts all the different colored plates and gives me a small electronic device with the price on it.
I go to the cash register and give it to another employee. When I pay with my card, I am prompted to enter my PIN. Despite the privacy screen, she turns around exactly 180 degrees and bends down, even though she couldn't see anything, and lets me enter the PIN. Totally cute, super friendly and in a good mood, she comes out from behind her counter to say goodbye, we bow deeply and happily to each other. With delicious and unusual food and a good mood, I'm off to the shrine and then to nature.

Same prayer, different location

On the way out through the crowds, I put my headphones back on. "Hang Massive - The Secret Kissing of the Sun and Moon" is playing. Exactly the contrast I need right now.

When I arrive at the shrine, "Ben Zimmer - Forest Interlude" is playing, and the cherry blossoms are chosen by a gust of wind through the gate. I calmly put my headphones back into the case with the usual movements. As usual, I stop at the first gate, bow, and enter the beautiful grounds. It is probably the oldest shrine in Japan.

Now I go to the main entrance and check again for the lucky charms. I buy one for each of my parents, one in black and one in orange/red. Both are supposed to ward off bad luck. I take a third charm for health and recovery.
Then I return to the main shrine to perform my beloved routine: I bow, clap my hands, and send out energetic carrier pigeons, and finish with a bow.

I continue walking through the grounds and look at the ema again, the wooden plaques. The things I can read have something touching and melancholic at the same time. The melancholy is also intensified by the falling leaves around me. Not cherry blossoms, but whole leaves.

The train of thought slowly picks up speed. I think about old times, good and bad days. About missed opportunities. The train makes a stop in the "what if" valley. It's an express train, and it quickly arrives in the "I should have" village. I quickly get off before it continues to the "what could happen in the future" castle. It's time for me to move on. Apparently, it's the right time, because a group of tourists appears and brings unrest to the otherwise peaceful energy. I could use some nature now. I head towards the waterfall.

My new old friend

I get off the train, look up, and almost fall backwards down the stairs. The size of the building is truly impressive.

I search for the path to the waterfalls for 10 minutes. Despite navigation, I can't find it. Instead, I see a cable car and decide to go there. Luckily, Google Maps works in the malls too, and it also shows the floors. I still get lost. I can feel it getting overwhelming again.

Slowly, my motivation fades and frustration looms on the horizon. I try something. Google Maps offers augmented reality navigation. My motivation is reignited. Well, finally.

Once at the top, I realize that I am exactly two minutes too late, the cable cars close at 4:45 pm today. Fuuuuuuck! 😤 Sigh. 😮‍💨 I sit down on the bench and think. Go up alone in the evening? No, I learned from the disaster in Norway, I also want to go back to Germany. I look for an alternative. It starts to rain, and I don't have an umbrella with me. Well, at least that limits my options. That's also a positive thing. How about some shopping?

Feierabend

Arriving at an electronics store, I browse the mobile phone department. At some point, I notice out of the corner of my eye that I am being followed. One of the numerous employees approaches me, offers me help. Language barrier. He takes out his phone, Google Translate. I read: "Search together". "Iie, arigato," I politely decline.

A short time later, a second one. So if a third one comes by, I'll leave the store immediately. In Germany, people hide from you, here you have to hide from them.

I walk through the mall again. The same mall as at noon. It still smells like toilet freshener, all along the mall. And that, even though the mall looks very well-maintained. Maybe they like it that way?... 🤷‍♂️ I go to the coin locker where I had deposited my textile sushi, and I have to consult my new best friend again, Google Maps AR.

As I search for my coin locker, groups of penguins come towards me. The famous young men in suits, called Salary Men, who work themselves to death for the company and don't leave until their supervisor does. I chuckle inside. "Celery Men". 🤭 Quite early for Feierabend, it's 6 pm. I dive into the rush hour water of the train station, swimming with the current towards the hotel. A hot bath, good idea. I'm too tired for the sauna.