Monday - Finals Week

I was finished with school around 12 on Monday, so I headed into Kobe to meet a friend and show her where the immigration office was. After my friend finished her business, we walked around the old foreign settlement for a while. I know I have gushed about it before, but I really do love Kobe. It is just so charming and I love that while it doesn’t have the huge tourist attractions that Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo have, it has so many hidden characteristics that would take a lifetime to uncover. My friend and I discovered a “big and tall” store, for example, and wandered over to it to check out what they had. What we discovered upon closer inspection was a sign commemorating the site at the first American consulate in Kobe, founded in 1868 (the same year the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo). The building was naturally close to the water, considering Kobe was a port city at the time, and of classic western architecture. I have also seen the old consulate building in Kitano (a trendy area of the city located closer to the mountains), so I was surprised to discover the "big and tall" building and was even more enticed to learn more about my own country’s past relationships with Japan. Commander Perry, for example, was the American who forced Japan to open her ports to the world. Less than two decades later, my countrymen had set up shop around the country and – if you have seen the last Samurai (not a true story, but well researched!) – you know that America was influential in westernizing Japan during the Meiji period (starting in 1868). This discovery was another little peice of that puzzle.
Walking a little further, I came upon a large sculpture of a fish that caught my eye. I suspected the sculpture might be a work by the same artist that created the large, glass fish in the Walker Art Center Sculpture garden in Minneapolis. The materials were different, but the placement, dimensions and effect seemed very familiar, so I took some time just enjoying it before moving down to the pier. My friend and I were hungry and decided to eat in the Harborland area, so we were headed that direction, when we –AGAIN – came across yet another discovery. I knew the city had preserved several destroyed streets from the 1995 Hanshin Earthquake, but I wasn’t sure exactly where they were until we literally stumbled upon one. There was a small dedication and explanation of the tragedy and memorial to the recovery efforts that followed the earthquake. It appeared that the boardwalk had actually crumbled into the sea; what was left of the walkway, railing and lights had been preserved. Again a little frightening to consider the possibility of an earthquake so close to my new home, but also healthy to increase my understanding of it and grow a little more comfortable with the concept in general. We also visited the model, western ship on display at Kobe Port (which even after several unsuccessful internet searches and a lot of questions for my colleagues, I still do not really know the significance of).
A few hours later, we finally made it to the Brazilian restaurant. The waiter, an old man in his 40s or 50s, flirted with us a bit and spoke Spanish (or maybe a dialect pf Portuguese?) with my friend, which was cool to hear. The restaurant is actually on the harbor in a really trendy part of town. It’s an all-you-can-eat joint, where they carve huge slabs of meat off of a spear in front of you at your table. The view is spectacular, it was a lot of fun and that was definitely one of the most delicious meals I have had in the past few months. Mike and I had tried to go once already when he was here on holiday, but we ended up at the German place next door. I will definitely be going back.
I am still fighting a cold and wasn’t feeling well, so I ended up going home and to bed (instead of Japanese class) after dinner. Monday was an excellent day full of small discoveries and unexpected adventure.