Kinosaki Onsen: Mikiya

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Tabi-Boots

More beautiful views and things to do in Hyogo’s best onsen town!

For this trip, we stayed at Mikiya. With over 300 years of history, Mikiya is one of the oldest ryokan in all of Kinosaki.

Mikiya is also famous as the lodging that notable Taisho period novelist Shiga Naoya stayed at for months at a time. He even wrote a novel featuring the town called “Kinosaki ni te”. The room is preserved as it was during his stay.

Longtime readers won’t have to guess what dinner is at a Kinosaki ryokan – of course, a Japanese-style multicourse meal featuring crab and other delicacies from the Sea of Japan.

Many Kinosaki visitors go out for a stroll around town and another dip in the baths after dinner.

It’s fun to see everyone wandering around after dark in their yukata, and there are plenty little places to amuse oneself. Kinosaki is anachronistic in some ways, and one of the most fun things you can do at night is go to an arcade – not a video game arcade, but an old-fashioned arcade with manual (!) pinball, target shooting, and other entertainments from days gone by.

After a final dip in the baths, return to Mikiya to sleep in fluffy futons. In the morning, a hearty Japanese-style breakfast awaits you.

When the weather is nice, wandering around town is the perfect way to learn how to have a non-goal-oriented vacation (for once!).

You might encounter Onsenji, or “hot springs temple”, an entire Buddhist temple dedicated to hot springs.

Behind the temple is a ropeway that takes visitors up the mountains that surround the town.

Some beautiful mountain views await at the top.

There is also a hiking trail, so you could always decide to descend the mountain the old-fashioned way. (Or ascend, if you are particularly energetic.)

Exploring the rest of the town will reveal lots of interesting sights. So take it slow!

Mikiya
Hours: Check-in: 2 PM – 5 PM. Check-out: 10 AM.
Address: 487 Yushima Kinosaki-cho, Toyooka-shi, Hyogo 669-6101
Telephone: 0796-32-2031
E-mail:
https://kinosaki-mikiya.sakura.ne.jp/contact/

Website:
http://www.kinosaki-mikiya.jp/en/
(English)

How To Get There

Kinosaki Onsen
From Kobe Sannomiya, take the JR special express train “Hamakaze” to Kinosaki Onsen Station (2.5 hours). Three “Hamakaze” trains depart per day, so we recommend buying tickets ahead of time, especially during the busy winter season.
From the station, a free shuttle bus will take you to the ryokan.

Izushi

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Tabi-Boots

Izushi is a small castle town now part of the city of Toyooka in northern Hyogo. It’s famous for its old-Japan atmosphere and distinctive soba noodles.

Izushi is a destination for castle enthusiasts and other fans of Japanese history. It boasts not only Izushi Castle, but also Shinkoro Tower and an old theater playhouse called Eirakukan.

When you arrive in Izushi, your first stop will be the castle. Izushi Castle is small but fairly well-preserved and has a hilltop location that commands a view of the surrounding area.

The castle is connected to a Shinto shrine with a picturesque series of torii gates.

The whole town is visible once you’ve climbed up into the castle grounds.

Nearby is Shinkoro Tower, an imposing-looking clocktower. Apparently, this used to serve as a drum tower, where a drum would be struck every morning to summon the townspeople to work.

Now it’s a famed symbol of the town. It’s even featured on the Izushi manhole cover!

Next, a short walk through town leads you to Eirakukan, a wonderful old structure that is my favorite place in Izushi. This building used to serve as a venue for traveling theater troupes back in the old days. Theater was one of the main forms of entertainment in pre-modern Japan. Plays gave way to movies in the 20th century, and the building turned into a movie theater for the golden age of cinema. As the times changed again Eirakukan fell into disuse, until it was recently renovated and turned into a cultural landmark.

Now, it is used as a performance hall for all different kinds of traditional Japanese arts, and you can take a tour that shows you the secrets of the Japanese stage.

Here’s a full view of the theater. Note that guests sit on cushions on tatami mats (of course). The pine tree backdrop is a traditional symbol of good fortune.

There are raised wooden walkways running through the seating that servers used to walk on as they offered guests food and drinks.

I can’t get enough of the old hand-painted ads for businesses that line the theater.

Or the movie posters. I bet a collector would be interested in these.

You also get a chance to learn a little bit about how the stage works. This is a trapdoor through which performers magically appear or disappear located on the “hanamichi” stage walkway.

The tour takes you under the stage, to this massive mechanism that workers would push around by hand to rotate a portion of the stage above.

There’s lots more to see, including performers’ dressing rooms and baths. Anyone who is interested in Japanese history or performing arts must give Eirakukan a visit. At the end of the tour, you receive this cute little flag.

The must-try local specialty during your stay is Izushi soba noodles. The town is absolutely packed with soba shops, and you can buy an awesome pouch of coins at the tourist center that entitles you to a serving of noodles at three different shops of your choice.

Here’s one soba restaurant.

A serving of soba is presented on three little plates, with a variety of different sauces and toppings to slurp up along with your noodles.

The idea is to try three different soba restaurants and compare the noodles to find your favorites. Apparently noodle softness/firmness and lightness/darkness are the main variables, along with the taste of the sauce.

So go explore! After finishing my noodles at one restaurant, I even received this awesome badge, which is now proudly displayed in my home.

How To Get There

Izushi

From Sannomiya, take the Hamakaze express train to Yoka (2 hours and 20 minutes). Then, take the Zentan Bus to Izushi (30 minutes).

From Toyooka, take the Zentan Bus to Izushi (30 minutes). Because of its proximity to Toyooka, this is a good side trip to combine with visiting other destinations in northern Hyogo.

Izushi is a small town, and all the sights listed in this article are a short stroll from the bus stop.

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Ako hot springs – Ginpaso

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Tabi-Boots

We’ve already featured the great little town of Ako in a previous post: A weekend in Ako

But there’s so much to do in Ako that we just had to go back for more!

This time, my big goal was to stay at Ginpaso, a seaside ryokan with a legendary hot spring. We arrived at the ryokan in the late afternoon and checked into our beautiful Japanese-style room.

Here’s the view from our window.

Okay, just teasing. Here’s the real view from our window. Pretty impressive.

As soon as we were settled, we started getting ready to take a dip in the hot springs before dinner. Why before dinner?

To see this.

The hot springs provides a panoramic view of the Seto Inland Sea, and what’s more, it’s an outdoor hot springs with an infinity pool. As you sink into the pool, your eyes can’t distinguish the boundary between the hot springs and the ocean. It’s magnificent.

We dragged ourselves out of the hot springs reluctantly when it was time for dinner.

Dinner is, of course, exquisite Japanese cuisine served in your room.

Fish from the Seto Inland Sea is prominently featured.

The beef shabu-shabu is also delicious.

After one more relaxing dip in the hot springs, we were all ready for bed, and futons had been conveniently laid out for us on the tatami floor.

The next morning, we woke up for a healthy Japanese-style breakfast consisting of various egg, fish, tofu, and vegetable dishes… and of course, rice and miso soup.

Another dip in the hot springs provided a view of the inscrutable morning sea.

After breakfast and bath, we sadly said farewell to Ginpaso and headed to our first destination: The Ako Marine Science Museum. This is a museum dedicated to sea salt, one of Ako’s regional specialties.

Here you can see an authentic old-fashioned Japanese salt-processing facility and salt fields.

The facility is still in use, and salt is being produced there every day! Seawater is pumped in through canals and spread out across the salt fields, where the water evaporates and the salt crystallizes. This is rinsed with successive infusions of seawater, gradually increasing the salt concentration of the water until the extremely salty water is drained out and boiled in the buildings nearby.

After a tour of the facilities, we got to give salt-making a try ourselves! I was especially excited about this because I’ve been using sea salt a lot in my cooking recently, and I’ve turned into a bit of a sea salt nut.

The process was simple but very time- and effort-intensive. After boiling the water, you need to use a series of different techniques to grind constantly until the salt becomes a fine powder.

I was thrilled to be able to take home my very own homemade sea salt at the end! It was a very fine powder – completely unlike table salt, but similar to the powder that is sometimes served with tempura in Japan. It also contains a variety of trace minerals from the sea not found in ordinary table salt, so it has a deeper, richer flavor.

Later in the day, we also visited Ako Castle and Oishi Shrine – read more about these landmarks in my previous post, A weekend in Ako

Ginpaso
Hours:
Check-in: 3 PM (be sure to arrive in time to see the sunset!)
Check-out: 10 AM
Address: 2-8 Misaki, Ako-shi, Hyogo 678-0215
Telephone: 0791-45-3355
E-mail:
http://www.ginpaso.co.jp/mail.html

Website:
http://www.ginpaso.co.jp/index.html
(Japanese/English)

Ako Marine Science Museum (Ako Shiritsu Kaiyou Kagakukan Shio no Kuni)
Hours: 9 AM – 4:30 PM
Address: 1891-468 Misaki, Ako-shi, Hyogo 678-0215
Telephone: 0791-43-4192
E-mail: ako-kaiyo@memenet.or.jp
Website:
http://www2.memenet.or.jp/~akoharm/marine/
(Japanese)

How To Get There

Ginpaso
From Sannomiya: Take the westbound JR line to Banshu Ako Station (74 minutes). A shuttle bus can pick you up from the station. (Be sure to call in advance.)

Ako Marine Science Museum
The museum is a 10-minute taxi ride from Ginpaso or the train station. It’s also an interesting walk if the weather is good.

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Genbudo: a second visit

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Tabi-Boots

I was lucky enough to get back to Genbudo, the awesomest cave in Hyogo, the other day.

(View my previous post on Genbudo here: Genbudo Park)

There was a lot of snow on the ground for my last visit, but this time the weather was much warmer.

First, a little bit on location. Genbudo Station is located right between Toyooka and Kinosaki Onsen, so it’s an easy stop if you’re visiting anywhere in northern Hyogo.

So you’d think that once you arrive at the station, it’d be an easy stroll to the cave, right?

Wrong! The cave and the train station are actually located on opposite sides of the formidable Maruyama River!

Once you arrive at the station, you need to call for a ferry to come and pick you up. The ferry is run by the Genbudo Museum located right by the cave, so this service is available during museum hours (9-5).

Just give them a call, and in a few moments, the tiniest little boat and the awesomest museum employee ever will come pick you up for a three-minute ride across the river!

Genbudo is acutally a series of caves composed of really unusual hexagonal rock columns – at a massive scale.

While we were visiting, a tour group happened to be there as well, and the tour guide told us some fun stories about the origin and discovery of the cave, as well as showing us this dragon statue which was apparently constructed impromptu by tourists.

Visitors throw coins and try to land them on the dragon for good luck. We gave it a try, but didn’t have much success. We’ll just have to come back!

Next, I’m hoping for a chance to visit Genbudo in mid-summer. I’d love to see the caves covered with greenery in the bright summer sun.

Bonus: if you visit at certain times, you’ll get to meet Gen-san, the most hilarious and awesome local mascot in all of Japan, in my humble opinion. Here are three reasons why Gen-san is better than any other regional character:

1. He’s made of hexagonal slabs of granite.
2. He is dressed like an “oyaji” (middle-aged Japanese man).
3. He is always either angry or drunk.

I mean, seriously, could you come up with a better character to represent your region?

Note that many unique Gen-san items, such as sake and underwear (?!) are for sale at the Genbudo Museum.

Gen-san appears on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM, so be sure to time your visit to meet him!

Genbudo Museum
Hours: 9 AM – 5 PM
Address: 1362 Akaishi, Toyooka-shi, Hyogo 668-0801
Telephone: 0796-23-3821
Fax: 0796-24-0913
E-mail: genbudo1@viola.ocn.ne.jp
Website:
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~genbudo/
(Japanese only)

How To Get There

Genbudo
From Sannomiya: Take a limited express “Hamakaze” train to Toyooka or Kinosaki Onsen (2.5 hours), then switch to the local train and travel one stop to Genbudo Station.
At the station, call the Genbudo Museum to be picked up by ferry.
(For those who don’t want to bother with the ferry, I recommend taking a short taxi ride from Kinosaki or Toyooka instead.)

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Amarube Bridge

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Tabi-Boots

Here at Hyogo: The Heart of Japan we like to feature areas of Hyogo that are little-known but unique. Amarube Bridge in Kami-cho is one such spot.

The original bridge was a red steel structure that was completed in 1912 and was in service for almost one hundred years before being replaced by a concrete bridge.

It was the largest trestle railway bridge in all of Japan, and its picturesque red color made it a draw for railway enthusiasts and photographers.

The bridge also has a sad history: in 1986, an out-of-service train was blown off the bridge by strong winds and fell to the ground below, killing six. Following the accident, rules on canceling train service during strong wind were implemented.

The construction of a modern concrete bridge to replace the steel structure finally began in 2007, and is complete as of 2010. The new bridge is faster and safer, but some are sad to see the picturesque old bridge go. A few of the old steel supports will be left in place as a monument.

Let’s go ahead and take a tour.

Congratulations, you’ve arrived at Amarube Station! There goes your train. The next one isn’t coming for more than an hour, so you have an ideal opportunity to explore.

Hiking up the short distance to a mountain viewpoint behind the station gives you this view of the bridge, town, and Sea of Japan.

Going down a little further, you have a chance to view the bridge in cross-section.

Here, you can clearly see the remains of the old bridge and the new bridge side-by-side.

The trail leads you down to the valley level, where you get a chance to view the bridge from below.

The brand-new concrete bridge is surrounded by the old-fashioned homes and shops of the town of Amarube.

In this next photo, can you tell that the bridge has a subtle S-shaped curve? The bridge was built this way in order that construction could proceed while train service continued on the old bridge. The new bridge was built while the old bridge was still in use, and then at the very last moment the old bridge was moved aside and the new bridge was ever-so-carefully rotated into place. You can watch a video of how they accomplished this at the “Michi-no-Eki” roadside station. It’s definitely worth taking a look at.

Finally, this is a statue of Kannon (Guan Yin) memorializing those who lost their lives in the 1986 accident.

Bonus: two classic views of the San’in coastline as viewed from the train. I love this part of Japan. It has a kind of austere beauty to it.

How To Get There

Amarube Bridge
Amarube Bridge is located at Amarube Station on the San’in Line that runs between Kinosaki Onsen and Tottori. This is an easy side trip from Kasumi, Hamasaka, or other locations on the northern coast of Hyogo.

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Hiking in Hyogo: Takeda Castle

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Tabi-Boots

It’s what you’ve all been waiting for… another installment in our popular Hiking in Hyogo series!

This time, our destination is Takeda Castle, an absolutely stunning castle ruin located on the top of a mountain in central Hyogo.

Takeda Castle　has become a popular destination for nature photographers, castle junkies, and even couples planning unique weddings in recent years.

There are two ways to enjoy Takeda Castle – you can go up the opposing mountain range and view the castle from afar, or you can hike right up to the castle and stand among the ruins yourself. This time, I’ll show you how to hike up to the castle ruins.

After you exit Takeda Station, you’ll need to turn around and go back under the tracks to reach the other side.

There are plentiful signposts to show you the way. If you need extra help, you can get a map at the information center by the train station. (They’ll even loan you a walking stick!)

You should find yourself at this path entrance.

The hike itself is approximately 800 meters. I consider myself fairly healthy, though far from an experienced hiker, and I found the route somewhat strenuous. It only took me about half an hour to reach the peak, though, and it was all worth it to reach this castle entrance:

Walk the winding path…

And reach the top of the tower:

You’ll be rewarded with this view:

You also get panoramic views of the valley below:

Hey! I was just standing there!

The ruins are quite spacious, so you can do a bit of exploring.

Takeda is a beautiful hike at any time of year (I’ve climbed it in midwinter), but it’s most atmospheric on spring and autumn mornings, when the castle summit peaks out of a sea of mist into the warm sunlight. It’s also popular during cherry blossom season.

Takeda Castle
Address: Takeda, Wadayama-cho, Asago-shi, Hyogo 669-5252
Telephone: 079-674-2120 (Wadayama Tourism Center)
Website:
http://www.city.asago.hyogo.jp/0000001275.html
(Japanese)

How To Get There

Takeda Castle
From Sannomiya: take the Limited Express Hamakaze to Teramae Station (75 minutes). Then, transfer to the Bantan Line and disembark at Takeda Station (39 minutes).

If you need refreshment before embarking on your climb, there are several cafes and restaurants around the station. Also, definitely pay a visit to the helpful staff at the information center.

Ikuno Mine

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Tabi-Boots

Ikuno Mine is a fascinating piece of Japanese natural history. Ikuno was hand-mined for silver and other minerals by laborers for years before the advent of the industrial era, then converted to modern mining methods in the 1800s.

The mine buildings have been preserved in the old Japanese style.

There’s a waterfall by the mine entrance.

Exploring the surrounding areas will reveal actual silver veins in the rock.

Inside the mine itself, you’ll find modern tunnels and equipment that was used to mine up until the 1970s.

You can also see remains of the unbelievably narrow tunnels that the miners used to climb through in the Edo period.

After your tour of the mines, you can browse the museum and pay a visit to the activity room, where you can learn how to pan for silver! Finding the silver is harder than it looks – there’s a trick to it. And of course, you get to take home any silver you find.

There’s also a restaurant where you can try the famed Ikuno Curry, which apparently was beloved by the miners who worked here.

An interesting historical site in central Hyogo that would make a good side trip on your way to Kinosaki.

Ikuno Silver Mine
Hours:
April-October: 9 AM – 5:30 PM
November: 9 AM – 5:00 PM
December-February: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
March: 9:30 AM – 5 PM
Address: 33-5 Ono Ikuno-cho, Asago-shi, Hyogo 679-3324
Telephone: 079-679-2010
Fax: 079-679-2755
Website:
http://www.ikuno-ginzan.co.jp/index.php
(Japanese)

How To Get There

Ikuno Mine
From Sannomiya: Take the Hamakaze limited express to Ikuno Station (87 mins). From the station, take the Ikuno Ginzan-guchi bus to the mine (10 mins).

Miki, my new home town

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Tabi-Boots

Recently, I enjoyed the chance to stay with a host family and attend Banshu Miki Matsuri, the autumn festival in Miki City, Hyogo.

An autumn festival is a quintessential part of Japanese culture and is a must-see if you visit at this time of year.

During the festival, men from each neighborhood carry around gigantic mikoshi, or portable shrines, finally carrying them up the 85 perilous stone stairs of Omiya Hachimangu, the city’s big shrine, for the climax of the festival.

First, all the mikoshi gather and set up for their long day of parading.

I got a chance to see them getting ready and was lent a happi coat for the occasion!

The happi coats are pretty interesting – there’s a different one for each neighborhood in Miki.

The mikoshi are so huge that each one is housed in a special structure built specifically for it. This one is three stories high!

In the evening, traditional food stalls line the road leading up to the shrine, and the streets are filled with reveling festival-goers.

After the mikoshi finish their suspenseful and terrifying climb up the stone steps of the shrine, everyone gathers at the top to sing traditional songs and celebrate.

Festivals like these really embody the spirit of community togetherness that you find in local areas of Japan. You can tell that the festival has been enacted in the same way for untold years. The collective effort of the mikoshi carriers is truly amazing.

I also had the chance to see some other sights in Miki. Miki is famous nationwide for its hardware and cutlery. Craftspeople there have been making high-quality tools and knives for centuries.

You can see some of the coolest of these old-fashioned tools at the Miki City Hardware Museum.

Here’s an example of Japanese-style bellows. Western bellows are pumped with both hands, but Japanese bellows are worked with a pole that can be operated with one hand. Apparently, Japanese blacksmiths used to pump the bellows with a foot while using both hands at the forge!

Here are some gigantic saws, with their distinctive shapes.

Finally, Miki knives! Knives from Miki are prized for their quality. After my visit to the museum, I actually stopped by a hardware store and picked up a (fairly affordable) luxury knife of my own! Apparently, foreign tourists often purchase Japanese knives to bring home. The knives are not only highly functional, but have attractive traditional designs as well.

When I brought home my Miki knife later, I was astonished how different it was from the cheap knives I had been using so far. Cooking is a lot easier! My Miki knife simply falls through vegetables like they were thin air. (And, yes, it has neat swirls and Japanese writing on it.)

After spending a lovely night with my host family, I visited the Miki Horse Land Park.

I had never heard of this facility before, but I love horses (used to ride as a child) and was amazed to learn that anyone can visit the park for free and watch professional horse events!

There’s a lot on display inside the buildings. Here’s a carriage that was once used to carry the imperial family.

And here I am on a hilarious exercise machine that is supposed to make you feel like you’re riding a horse.

On the day we visited, there was a dressage event going on. Here’s one competitor after her run.

And check out this sweet pony! There’s a lot for children to do, like carrot feedings and pony rides, and the park also offers riding lessons for a reasonable price.

This scale was once used to weigh horses. I love how it says “no springs – honest weight”. You can also see the logo of JRA, the Japan Racing Association. Horse racing is very popular in Japan.

The grounds are big and beautiful, and there are also trails, campsites, and lots of things to do for the non-equestrian.

I took first place! (I wish.)

Even the manhole covers around the park are decorated with　馬, the character for “horse”.

Well, my one-night stay was only enough for a small taste of all that Miki has to offer! Miki is famous for its sake and fresh vegetables, and is also blessed with plentiful historical sites and shrines and temples. It also has a large number of sports facilities, including a huge skate park!

Of special interest is the Miki Hardware Festival, or Kanamono Matsuri, which will be held this year on November 3rd and 4th. You’ll be able to shop for tools and the beautiful Japanese knives, see blacksmiths in action, and more. Not to be missed!

More info on the festival here (Japanese):
http://www.mikicci.or.jp/kankou/matsuri.php

Miki City Hardware Museum
Hours: 10 AM – 5 PM. Closed Mondays and December 29th to January 3rd.
Address: 5-43 Uenomaru-cho Miki-shi, Hyogo 673-0432
Telephone: 079-483-1780
Fax: 079-483-1780
Website:
http://www2.city.miki.lg.jp/miki.nsf/0/4FDA3D607DEC0D1E49256CA7001AC7C2
(Japanese)

How To Get There

Miki City Hardware Museum
From Sannomiya: Take the Hankyu or Hanshin lines to Shinkaichi. Change to the Kobe Dentetsu (Shintetsu) line bound for Arima and get off at Mikiuenomaru Station. (Total trip: 60 minutes)

Miki Horse Land Park
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM. (Closes at 4 PM November through February.)
Address: Miki Horse Land Park, Bessho-cho Takagi, Miki-shi, Hyogo 673-0435
Telephone: 079-483-8110
Website:
http://www.miki-hlp.or.jp/
(Japanese)

How To Get There

Miki Horse Land Park
From Sannomiya: Take the Hankyu or Hanshin lines to Shinkaichi. Change to the Kobe Dentetsu (Shintetsu) line bound for Arima and get off at Miki Station. From the station, take the bus to Asahigaoka bus stop (10 minutes), or take a taxi. (Total trip: 70 minutes)

Kobe Concerto – A Deluxe Cruise Experience

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Tabi-Boots

Kobe is world-famous as a port town, so seeing the cityscape from the water is not to be missed on a Kobe visit.

Recently, I had the chance to take the Concerto cruise, which pairs a beautiful view of the city with multi-course meals and live musical entertainment.

I took the lunch cruise, which came with a seven-course meal cooked by a top-class Chinese chef. (There are also an afternoon tea cruise and a dinner cruise.)

Well, I was expecting to enjoy the view, but I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by the food, music, and service as well!

The Concerto cruise departs from Harborland in Kobe, so you get the best possible views of Port Tower, the Oriental Hotel, and other famous Kobe sights.

Lunch was served in a lovely ballroom.

First came a somewhat exotic selection of appetizers.

Then there was a wonderfully rich mushroom soup.

Next came stir-fried shrimp and vegetables.

Then, the fish! This was the highlight of the meal for me. This white fish was ever-so-gently cooked in a ginger sauce.

Next, the main course: an awesome lemon chicken.

Fried rice finished off the meal.

Finally, for dessert, we enjoyed annin-dofu, a delicious almond tofu served with fruit.

The lunch cruise travels west from the Kobe harbor and reaches one of Kobe’s most famous sights, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge. The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge connects the mainland with Awaji Island and is the longest suspension bridge in the entire world.

We also enjoyed views of the tranquil ocean and the Kobe coastline framed by the Rokko mountain range. This shot is not so far from where I live in Kobe:

I also greatly enjoyed the music. Our pianist played a few classical selections, followed by jazz standards and nostalgic showtunes.

After the cruise, I had a valuable opportunity to speak with Ms. Machiko Nambu, the president of Kobe Concerto. I can’t thank Ms. Nambu enough for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions.

She told me all about the backstory of the now-iconic Concerto. This ship was used for a different cruise prior to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that rocked Kobe in 1995.

After the quake, the ship played an essential role ferrying survivors and rescue supplies across Osaka Bay. Later, the cruise resumed regular service, but due to the devastation in Kobe, customers were scarce, and the boat was finally scheduled to be sold to an overseas buyer.

It was at that moment that Ms. Nambu’s brother happened to take a tour of the boat and hear its story of heroism during the disaster. He decided the boat had to stay in Kobe and decided to purchase it then and there.

They created the “Concerto” concept and began service on July 18th, 1997.

Concerto celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Kobe has staged a full recovery from the quake, and the Concerto cruise has become a symbol of the city.

Ms. Nambu told me that the Concerto is a “four-layer” cruise: the views, the food, the service, and the music are each essential to the experience. Similarly, the Kobe landscape is a “four-layer” view of the sky, the mountains, the city, and the ocean. These elements all add up to an experience you can’t get anywhere else in Japan.

Concerto
Hours:
Lunch cruise: 12:00 – 1:45
Tea cruise: 3:00 – 4:30
Dinner cruise: 5:10 – 6:55 and 7:20 – 9:05
Address: 1-6-1 Higashi-kawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0044
Telephone: 078-360-5601
Fax: 078-360-5678
Website:
http://www.kobeconcerto.com/English/index.asp
(English)

Lunch courses start at 4,200 yen, afternoon tea courses start at 1,200 yen, and dinner courses start at 6,200 yen. There is also a buffet option.

How To Get There

Concerto
JR Kobe Station or Hanshin Kosoku-Kobe Station: Walk 10 minutes south toward Harborland. Tickets are sold in the first floor of the Mosaic building.

Sights around Shiso

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Tabi-Boots

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Shiso, a city full of natural beauty in the Harima region of Hyogo.

Shiso is famous for its wild scenery, especially waterfalls, and it’s popular as a destination for camping, fishing, canoeing, skiing, mountain climbing, and any other outdoor activity you can think of throughout the year.

When I traveled to Shiso recently, I also found that it was an interesting, quirky little town with surprises waiting around every corner.

Whether you travel to Shiso by bus or by car, you’ll probably arrive at the Yamasaki Interchange. This area is the center of town and contains many historical temples and sake breweries, as well as Momiji-yama, a nature reserve covered with 7,000 Japanese maple trees.

There’s also one fantastic spot to have a meal or stay the night right within walking distance of the interchange. I didn’t know what I was getting into when I entered the door of Irori Yumejaya, a traditional handmade soba noodle restaurant connected to a hotel.

Irori Yumejaya offers a variety of soba dishes for lunch and a full menu for dinner.

For lunch I chose to have a typical offering – cold soba noodles with tempura. When my meal arrived, I discovered several things that made this dish above-average.

First of all, our meals came with fresh, genuine wasabi for the noodle sauce. You grate the wasabi root yourself, releasing its flavor. This wasabi had a beautiful fragrance and pure, sharp taste quite unlike anything you usually find at a restaurant or supermarket.

The meal also came with another condiment I’m very fond of – matcha salt. Matcha salt is a mix of high-quality sea salt and matcha green tea powder. Tempura is sometimes served with regular salt as a dipping sauce, and I like that well enough, but matcha salt is a special treat!

The soba noodles themselves were also an entirely different creature than what you find elsewhere. They were firm and juicy, with a rich, nutty flavor.

When we were finished with our meal, the master of the establishment told us he had something special for us to see, and guided us to the second floor.

At the top of the stairs, I was astonished to see something I wasn’t expecting at all – a model railroad museum!

This guy had been lucky enough to use the entire second floor of his business to realize his life’s dream.

The model railroad museum is filled with familiar scenes of Japanese life.

There are models of all kinds of trains, including some familiar to Hyogoites such as the Hanshin, Hankyu, and JR.

I found this farm charming.

And this tiny Japanese house.

I thought this 7-Eleven was hilarious.

This, I believe, is an actual JR train conductor uniform.

There is also a room dedicated to his collection of wood carvings.

To conclude our visit, he gave us each a free bottle of “Koishisoda”, a carbonated drink with a pun for its name. The name means “I think I’m going to fall in love”, but it contains the name of the city “Shiso”. The soda is also flavored like the shiso leaf, a basil-like staple of Japanese cooking.

After our meal at Irori, we headed to our other destination in Shiso, the Ichinomiya area.

Ichinomiya is only a short bus ride away from Yamasaki and is full of Japanese countryside scenery.

The big destination here is Iwa Jinja. A short walk into the woods leads you to this grand and mysterious old Shinto shrine.

Another interesting sight is Nagarebashi – the “wash-away bridge”. It is built out of non-permanent material so that it can be quickly and easily rebuilt if it is washed away by a river flood.

There’s one more thing that this area is famous for – natural spring water. The water in this spot is called Enmeisui – “water of longevity”. People from all over Japan drive here to fill bottles and bottles with the sacred water.

Well, I spent the whole day in Shiso, but I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface! My ideal next day in Shiso would include a hike to see some of the flowers or autumn leaves in season, a waterfall climbing expedition, a dinner of the famous wild boar, and a soak in the hot springs before bed.

The best time to visit is coming right up! In autumn the “riches of the mountain” are at their most delicious, you can see beautiful displays of Japanese maple trees turning red, and it’s still warm enough to enjoy the outdoors.

Irori Yumejaya and Hotel Nisshin Kaikan
Hours:
Lunch: 11:30 AM – 2 PM
Dinner: 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Address: 161 Sukazawa, Yamasaki-cho, Shiso-shi, Hyogo 671-2553
Telephone: 0790-62-7001
E-mail: info@irori-nissin.com
Website:
http://www.irori-nissin.com/index.htm
(Japanese)

How To Get There

Irori Yumejaya
Hotel Nisshin Kaikan
From Sannomiya: Take the Shinki bus to Yamasaki Interchange (90 minutes). From Yamasaki Interchange, walk east across the river and a short way north.

Iwa Jinja
Take the Shinki bus from Sannomiya to Yamasaki, the last stop (95 minutes). At Yamasaki, change for the local bus bound for Magari and get off at the Ichinomiya Iwa Jinja stop.

*For those in Himeji, you can take the Shinki bus directly from Himeji to Yamasaki Interchange (60 minutes).

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