Happy 4th!

In honor of Independence Day, two blurry fireworks pictures from the summer fireworks festival in Kobe last year.


They set off the fireworks above the harbor. On the way down, we could see them from underneath the raised highway, past the boats, out over the water.


It was crowded. And pretty. And I sat on the asphalt road in my yukata.

Kobe

Building, ads, and park...taken near the train station in Sannomiya, Kobe.

Harbor

I hereby declare this "cool older pictures week"...'cause I have a cold and don't want to go out and take more pictures. And also because I have quite a few cool pictures that I could post.

Today - a harbor on Awaji Island, across from Kobe, which you can see in the distance.


Taken last summer on a trip with my school's photo club.

Shrine Vending

...the best of both worlds?

The End of the Excursion

At the end of our climb down the mountain, we ended up going out through a shrine. It was rather surprising...one minute we were on an (admittedly well-paved) mountain trail, the next we were descending into a shrine.


Actually, thinking back on it now, the trail markers with the little Buddha/Kami figures on them should have been a hint.

One of the students I was walking with was actually not happy about the shrine. She said something about it being bad for progress to enter a shrine..."and once you go through the gate, you're in the shrine until you leave." So technically, since we only went through the gates on the way out, we might still be in the shrine? (She was not happy with that thought.)
It was odd...I didn't realize some people viewed shrines so negatively.

Anyway - this is my last update for a few days. I'm off to Tokyo for Golden Week! Yay!

Oh yeah...

...maybe we climbed it 'cause of the nice views like this.


Looking out from Mt Rokko at Kobe...you can see the harbor and sea, too, out past the city. And you can see a bunch of kids in PE class. We actually walked past the field where they were practicing later :)

Cable Cars

Look! There are cable cars!


...so why did we walk up the mountain, again?

Danger

There are apparently wild boar living on Mount Rokko. If there were any nearby on the day we climbed it, I'm sure they were frightened away by the noise of several hundred high school students long before we got anywhere near them.


Japanese word of the day - "wild boar" is "inoshishi"

Mountain Climbing?

Yesterday was our school excursion...we went "mountain climbing," though I would probably have classified it as more "light hiking," or maybe even "nature walk." We climbed Mt. Rokko, near Kobe. When we got to the top there was a park next to a highway where we got to have lunch. Somehow the highway was disappointing.

We did get to see some very nice views on the way, though, including a couple waterfalls. Here's the first one:


Isn't it purty? I like the spikes and keep out sign, too.

Fishy

...small and cute!
This was a mini taiyaki from Chinatown in Kobe. It was filled with chocolate...yum.

Also, you can see a (very) little bit of Chinatown in the background.


(Don't bother clicking on the picture for a larger version, by the way...this was a cell phone pic, so it doesn't make much difference :p)

Oh no!

I have no excuse. I simply forgot to post a picture yesterday...

In penance, I offer three scenes of Kobe:


First, a torii (shrine gate) at the entrance to Ikuta Road - which, coincidentally, leads to Ikuta Shrine.


Next, a view of the port. The boat is only blurry 'cause it was moving!


And lastly, another view of the Kobe Port Tower. For some reason I really like this one.

Look!

Kobe has glowing buildings!

Kobe Harborland

Went down to Kobe Harborland today, right by the water. It was *cold* - by the time I finished taking pictures my hands were almost numb...but I got a few good pictures. This one was the best. (Look! You can even see the evening star - Venus? - on the left side!)


I should go to Kobe more often.