Day 9 - Rokko Island, Sannomiya, Kitano

Rokko Island (man-made island)

Rokko Island Cargo ship

Sea serpent at the Canadian Academy entrance

Weathercock House, Kitano, Sannomiya

Day 9 - Rokko Island is a man-made island and a newer section of Kobe.  It is more industrial and newer than many sections.  My sister's kids go to the Canadian Academy which is an English speaking, private international school.  It is 45 minutes by train from Shioya Station.  We shopped and looked around the island for a bit after we walked down to the Marine Park Promenade close to the water.   It was interesting to see the open bay with the cargo ships and the water lapping up the stone steps of the oceanfront park.

Me, Amy, Wayne (her husband), and Talon (her son)

English Tea in heart shaped cup

Then we traveled by train over to the Kitano area of Sannomiya, a few stations from Amy's home.  The Kitano area has boutiques, restaurants and curiosity shops.  It is known for its western houses built on the hillsides.  The homes were from the 1880s and it is a popular tourist spot.  The Weathercock House (photo above) has a rooster weathervane which is a Kobe symbol for the city.  We had a nice coffee break at Starbucks Kobe which was in an old Victorian house.  It almost felt like being in America.

We met Talon and Wayne for dinner at the Kagura's Steak House for teppanyaki and a birthday celebration for Amy.  Today was her birthday.  Wayne ordered very well in Japanese off the menu.  Meals come in sets so you can have a soup, salad, entree, side and dessert all for one price.  The chef spoke with us in a bit of English and Wayne explained I was the older sister from America and the introduced the members of his family in Japanese.  Then the chef asked where I was from.  I said Boston and he smiled and said "Red Sox".  Dinner was beef with garlic and onions on the grill and vegetables as the side with fried tofu.  Dessert was ice cream and I had English tea in the fancy heart shaped porcelain teacup. 

We returned to Shioya Station and finally had to walk up the horrible steep hill up to her house.  It was a bear.  The past few times we had a taxi ride or were walking from a different direction.  All the hills are tough!  We had rose champagne and Amy opened more birthday gifts from her family. It was the end of a long satisfying day.