Japan 2013 - Kobe

The city, what i thought I will never visit :) And it would have been such a waste!
Kobe is really very lively, 賑やかです. Full of people and looks really expensive, in some areas like I am walking on a business or diplomat district.
The only famous building I knew, was that red port tower, so I chose a hotel next to it. My most expensive stay so far, however the hotel hadn't got really elegant rooms :(

The first shrine I visited was a shinto temple, called Ikuta. Beautifully equipped and that orange red color was so vibrant! And I was lucky to watch the miko dance - there were 4 priest girls practicing with live music. Has anyone seen Brave10? My first PS manipulated manga/anime drawing was the lovely blue-hair girl, Isanami, who was a miko.

Here it is my recording, and just for the reference, Isanami:

I found two big shopping area in the city: the Kobe Motomachi and the Chinese town :) Surprisingly the latter one was full of steam bun stands.

On my way back to the hotel I accidentally found a lovely jazz cafe, exactly the type I was looking for and imagined in many Murakami novels. Got my first Japanese curry and a local beer (and some nice twinkle from a very tall Japanese guy - not on the picture ;)):

That orange sun-shape thing is raw egg. The waiter was so lovely, that after I ordered this curry, in some minutes he run to me with his mobile phone and showed a translator with "raw egg", whether I can eat it or not :) The whole curry was sprinkled with cheese, it was really very yummy!

And here we go, the typical Kobe night shoots about the harbour, the Ferris wheel and my hotel.

Kobe Port Tower and the Maritime Museum 

In the morning I got this panorama from my hotel room:

And finally some foods from the stations (I was in a hurry) and my newest favourite drink: the Matcha Frappuccino from Starbucks!!!!