The Phenomenal Mama: Kobe Beef

Click here to read ALL my JAPAN posts.

We spent the morning with a leisurely walk around the Kitano district, and then after a failed attempt to locate a teppanyaki restaurant for our Kobe steak lunch, we resigned ourselves to just enjoying what Kobe Chinatown had to offer. To be truthful, visiting the Nankin-Machi wasn't on our plans because what I feel about Chinatown is that once you've seen one, you've seen them all! Di ba? Except for that one time when I visited Singapore's Chinatown.

So anyway, after lucnh we took the kids next to Meriken Park since I wanted to let the kids see the extent of the damage brought about by the 1995 Kobe earthquake. In 1995, Kobe was hit by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which killed over 6,000 people and made hundreds of thousands people homeless, and destroyed tens of thousands of buildings. It was one of the costliest natural disasters in modern history. The earthquake measured 7.3 on the Richter scale and reduced entire neighborhoods to rubbles.

Meriken Park is just walking distance from Motomachi, a covered shopping street in Kobe... almost like Osaka's Shinsaibashi. I was very careful to not let my teen wander off too far; shopping and teens are a very dangerous mix.:)

There are variety of shops ranging from cosmetic stores, boutiques, patisseries, restaurants.

Like everywhere else in Japan, the streets are clean, almost immaculately so!

Here we are at the harbor

Meriken Park is a waterfront park in Kobe's port area. It is home to Kobe's iconic architecture such as the red Kobe Port Tower and the Kobe Maritime Museum.

The name "Meriken" is actually a take-off from the word "American" in reference to the port where foreign good, mostly American, landed.

One of the most interesting features of Meriken Park is the Earthquake Memorial, which is dedicated to the victims of the earthquake that devastated the city. It shows the preserved damage sites from the earthquake, featuring broken concrete, railings, and lamp posts in various positions of disarray.

Visuals explain the extent and recovery of Kobe from one of Japan's biggest disasters.

While this area is not really a top tourist attraction, I wanted the kids to see this and realize that in life, with persistence and resiliency, anyone can get through a major set-back, and still come through the experience on top - none the worse for wear!

A small section of the damaged waterfront has been retained as a reminder of the earthquake's destructive power.

The Kobe Port Tower is famous as a symbol of Kobe. The tower was opened in 1963, and won several architecture awards for its unique design. Due to its clever structure, it is one of the few to survive the earthquake.

It's our 8th day already of non-stop walking and the kids have been very cooperative. I figured it's a good time to let them run around freely for a few minutes... while C and I used the time to rest our tired legs. Meriken Park is a good place to relax and just enjoy some chill time. There are a lot of benches, and the cool breeze of the harbour makes it hard for us to leave.

On our way back to the train station, we saw a long queue outside on store. Of course, I couldn't walk by just like that. I have to find out what the long line is for...

Kobe beef pala! All packed in boxes, ready for pasalubong!

I've updated this post to provide a link to ALL MY JAPAN POSTS!

1. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/03/phenomenal-tip-my-10-step-guide-on-how.html
2. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/04/japan-2014-osaka-kyoto-nara-kobe-trip.html
3. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/04/japan-2014-websites-and-apps-to-help.html

4. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/04/japan-2014-snippets-of-our-vacation.html
5. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/04/japan-2014-where-to-stay-in-osaka.html
6. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/04/japan-2014-where-to-stay-in-osaka_25.html

7. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/04/japan-2014-how-to-get-around-kansai-how.html
8. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/japan-2014-day-1-arrival-at-osaka.html
9. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/japan-2014-day-2-universal-studios-japan.html

10. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/japan-2014-day-2-ippudo-ramen-osaka.html
11. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/japan-2014-day-3-eastern-kyoto.html
12. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/japan-2014-day-3-eastern-kyoto_16.html

13. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/05/japan-2014-day-3-eastern-kyoto-kodaiji.html
14. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/07/japan-2014-day-4-western-kyoto.html
15. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/07/japan-2014-day-4-western-kyoto-kinkakuji.html

16. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/11/japan-2014-day-5-downtown-kyoto-nishiki.html
17. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2014/12/japan-2014-day-5-southern-kyoto-fushimi.html
18. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-5-nara-nara-deer-park.html

19. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-6-osaka-kuromon-ichiba.html
20. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-6-osaka-tempozan-harbor.html
21. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-7-osaka-shinsaibashi.html

22. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-8-kobe-kitano-district.html
23. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-8-kobe-kobe-steak-lunch.html
24. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-8-kobe-meriken-park.html

25. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/01/japan-2014-day-9-osaka-hanami-picnic-at.html

26. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/02/japan-2014-day-9-osaka-doguyasuji.html

27. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/03/japan-2014-day-9-osaka-osaka-castle.html

28. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/04/japan-2014-day-10-osaka-osaka-museum-of.html
29. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/04/japan-2014-drainspotting-in-japan-art.html
30. http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2015/04/japan-2014-ways-to-save-so-you-can.html

Click here to read ALL my JAPAN posts.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

We hailed a cab right after we ended our leisurely walk around the Kitano district. Our next stop was to look for this restaurant which we read about in a local magazine claiming to be one of the best restaurants in Kobe.

It is almost unthinkable for my carnivorous brood to be in Kobe and NOT enjoy the exquisite melt-in-your-mouth taste of Kobe beef! We gave instructions to our cab driver to bring us to Kobe-Grill Kobo. It was a restaurant that came highly recommended by the local travel magazine.

Here is C discussing with the driver where to take us. We took with us a magazine article showing the best restaurants to eat in Kobe. Since everything is in Japanese, we had to ask the can driver to read the directions. As you can very well see, with my family, anything that pertains to food IS serious matter!

The Japanese cab driver was friendly and super chatty. It wasn't such a long drive, but when we got to the destination, it seems like the address in the magazine was quite tricky to locate. We had to go around the block several times, but we couldn't see any restaurant signage, or any restaurant for that matter! The cab driver was quite helpful as he parked the cab, and insisted on walking with us to help us locate the restaurant.

One walk around the tiny alley did not prove successful... no resto in sight. So he tried calling the number listed on the magazine. No one is picking up...

And because we seemed really determined to have some of that Kobe beef, he even knocked on some of the establishments within the area to ask. Here are the three Japanese in deep discussion, with our cab driver showing them the magazine article.

I think after close to an hour, we finally accepted defeat... the magazine must've printed out the wrong info. We thanked our cab driver profusely for his time... but parang he is close to crying na! teehee!:) He suggested mag Chinatown na lang daw kami.

And because we were really hungry already by that time, we did follow his suggestion. Off to Nankin-Machi!

Kobe Chinatown, also known as Nankin-Machi, is one of the three largest Chinatown in Japan. Nankin-Machi originated in 1800s, when Kobe's port was opened to foreigners including Chinese immigrants. During that time, the Chinese people were referred to as "people from Nanking" by the Japanese, hence the name "Nankin-Machi" (Nanking Town).

Nankinmachi is like any Chinatown elsewhere in the world -bustling and touristy. The place is fun for a quick stroll, particularly for grumbling tummies since restaurants and food stalls abound in both sides of the street.

This is the small plaza at the center of Nankin-Machi.

And this is the kind of Kobe Steak lunch that we had been relegated to. BooHoo! I really pitied C because even before we left for Japan, it was already one of my husband's priority to eat Kobe beef in Kobe. Kobe beef pa din naman ito... we just had to settle for a food stall version na nga lang. Teeheehee!