The day begins with one instant noodle shared between two people in the early morning. The conclusion, it was not good. I won't buy it again but I forgot the brand...lesson learned, do not trust the cover.
Next, we had to choose a drink to bring with us to the hike. We are well stocked! I think I bought too many of the Calpis, I thought the bottled one was carbonated but it wasn't. So disappointed. (╥_╥)
Peach Coca-Cola - pretty good with a hint of peach flavor (I can actually taste it)
Suntory peach alcohol - YUMMMM!! I LOVE!! ONE OF THE BEST ALCOHOLIC DRINK!
Gokuri Peach alcohol - taste just like carbonated peach soda, so good!!
Kirin Milk Tea - WOW! It is not overly sweet but very refreshing!! I WILL COME BACK FOR YOU.
Ito En - Oi Ocha Green Tea - Bitter, will not buy again.
Fast forward outside, I am not sure what was going through my brain but I did not check the weather report and just judged the temperature based on the temperature the day before and thought it would warm up in the afternoon so I wore a t-shirt and leggings. To be honest, it was pretty chilly in the morning.
As we approached the train station my sister headed back to the AirBnb to grab her cardigan while I stood by the station and waited for her. As I waited for her I can see people looking at me oddly as I am the ONLY one in a t-shirt while everybody was in COATS AND JACKETS. IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT COLD ENOUGH FOR JACKETS. (☼Д☼) It was perhaps 14-16 degrees that morning. In the end, I did make a HUGE mistake of not grabbing my cardigan as well. ALL THE AWKWARD STARES I had to deal with. I rather be cold than too hot as I can't stand the heat at all.
The trip to Minoo Park was over an hour from Osaka.
Namba Stn (Midosuji Line to Senrichuo) 7 mins → Umeda Stn (Hankyu-Takarazuka Line) 21 mins → Ishibashi Station then take (Hankyu-Minoh Line) 25 mins → Minoh stn (last stop) → walk 15 mins to start of the trails.
Once we got off at Minoh station, we followed a group of elderly Japanese tourists up the hill towards the start of the trail (or so we thought). The grannies were headed up a hotel (Minoh Kanko Hotel) and so we were left standing in front of the hotel a bit lost as we did not know which path to take. Good thing we found a map near the entrance and we took a picture of it so that we can follow. A bit of caution though, there was a typhoon back in 2017 that damaged part of the trail so some parts of the trail is off limits. Make sure to be aware of the signs around you. The hike to the waterfall is supposedly around 45 minutes by foot.
It is not till after our trip that I found out the Minoh Kanko Hotel where the grannies entered have an elevator you can take up to a platform and take a 360 panorama view of Osaka for free! They also have a free foot bath in front of the elevator!! (╬ಠ益ಠ) And I was wondering where the free foot bath was as I was trying to find it during the trail. SIGHHH.
And we are ready to start our journey up the mountain. It is a relatively easy hike except for a few long uphill stairs to work those legs.
Very touching.
As we ascend the mountain we encountered rivers, bridges, temples, cherry blossom trees, etc. It was very scenic.
Look at this stairway. Super long. But this is nothing compared to the other one further in that have a very steep incline. It made me HUFF AND PUFF (like a dragon). (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)
Most of the shops here do not open till 9-10 AM. On our way up, we bypassed the insect museum (EWWW). (☉_☉) There is a small admission fee.
Once you reach this area, you are at the midpoint. Right here is the famous "Ryuanji Temple" that was established in 658. This is also the birthplace of lotteries in Japan. Due to it being early in the day, there were virtually nobody here except a few stragglers taking a hike. ٩(●ᴗ●)۶
As we continued to trek up the mountain, after the never ending stairs... while my sister was far ahead, I saw her coming back my way and was told that this was the wrong way. Σ(꒪ȏ꒪) There were noises that sounded like a highway but we were not sure as we could not see through the trees. Initially, there was another family who were hiking behind us but we bypassed them and trekked further in. When we backtracked our steps they were nowhere to be seen (they ended up going a different route). So after taking the wrong path, we had to backtrack onto the right path...
So pretty, somebody placed flowers all along the fence.✿
Not sure what the sculpture is for.
Finally arrived at Minoo Waterfall.
Eating candy while admiring the waterfall.
And then it was time to say goodbye to the waterfall.
As we made our descent down the mountain, I started having heat rashes? My skin was getting all bumpy and patch-like as well as itchy and red. SCARY. Thought it was hives.
This area is famous for their deep fried maple leaves and is perhaps the only place where you can buy them. There were several stalls that sold the maple leaves and we decided on one where we saw a granny making a fresh batch. We asked the granny for a fresh batch of deep fried maple leaves as it will taste better instead of the ones already in a bag on the table. We had to use our hands to indicate what we want as the granny only spoke Japanese. I believe it was pretty cheap to grab a bag (less than ¥500. To my surprise, it tasted very delicious. There's some sweetness to it as well.
Next destination, KOBE.
The trip from Minoh to Kobe took over an hour as we had to transfer several times.
Minoh Stn ( Hankyu-Mino Line各停Hankyu-Umeda) 7 mins, 3 stops; Continue on the same vehicle Hankyu-Takarazuka Line Hankyu-Umeda, 22 min (8 stops) → Juso Stn (Hankyu-Kobe Line - Shinkaichi 29 min (5 stops) · Platform 1) → Kobe Sannomiya Station
Make sure if you want to go to the ropeway, you get off at Shin-Kobe station. Otherwise, if you want to go to the harbour then Kobe station. Know which area you want to explore before getting off.
TIP: Get the free coupon book inside Kobe Station at the Kobe Information Centre (there's a discount coupon for the ropeway).
Our first stop was to grab a late lunch as we were starving and we really wanted to try Kobe beef. When in Kobe, you must TRY KOBE BEEF. Good thing we bought the portable WiFi from the Airbnb otherwise we would be really stuck as to which restaurant to eat delicious Kobe beef from. (Though outside the station, the entire street is lined up with Kobe beef restaurants) The first restaurant we went to was full, so we found another place nearby but they did not have the seats/reservations available for those that want to see the meat being cooked in front of you. We told them it was okay, so they told us to walk upstairs to the second floor as there were seats available.
Kobe Kikusui Steakhouse
We were seated at the back in the inner tables where you do have to take off your shoes and leave it just before the table. We ordered two different sets of Kobe beef. One of which was around $50 CND and the other around $100 CND.
Before the beef is served, you will will be served a small bowl of salad and same sauces as well as garlic chips, miso soup and rice. The meat itself tasted SOOO damn GOOD!! It literally melted in my mouth!! The pieces of meat was very small for the price you are paying though.
And ice cream for dessert!!! YUM!
Once we finished our expensive lunch we headed off to the Kobe Nuunobiki Herb Garden and Ropeway. It was a long walk over. We passed by Crown Plaza mall to use the washroom in the basement as it was near the parking area. Pretty ghetto. We did some shopping at the daiso there as well then continued the trek to the Ropeway. The cost for the Ropeway is ¥900 one way. You can opt to hike up or hike down thus buying the one way ticket. To save time, we bought the return ticket which cost ¥1400 including the admission to the herb garden at the top. Too bad we did not have the discount coupon otherwise could've saved a couple of dollars.
Arrived at the entrance to Herb Gardens Ropeway.
The ride up to the final stop was around 10 minutes. On the way up, you will be able to see several landmarks (Nunobiki Gohonmatsu Dam and Nunobiki no Taki Waterfall).
Nunobiki no Taki Waterfall
Nunobiki Gohonmatsu Dam - difficult to take a picture from up here
Here is the "Kaze no Oka Mid Station" where you can get off and then walk to the top. From the top you can also take the ropeway down. Most people get off at the very last station and then make their decent to the mid-station and then take the ropeway down.
The spectacular view from the top. There were a lot of tourists at the viewing spot so it was hard to take pictures.
There are several restaurants up here as well as souvenir shops that sell herbs. There's also a shop here that have a lot of different fragrances for you to smell.
A lot of the buildings here are free to enter so make sure you explore all the areas as you might stumble upon great photo ops.
Concert Hall building
Heading over to the glass house.
Passing by some pretty flowers on the way down. ❀‿❀
LEMONS!!
MORE FLOWERS.
Kitchen Garden - Potager.
I wonder if anybody tried taking some home to eat?
So sad, barely anything is blooming. Only see DIRT.
Glasshouse!!! PRETTY!
Inside the Glasshouse. A lot of photo opportunities.
On the second floor inside the glasshouse, there is a room full of herbs. There was nobody here so we had the place to ourselves. You are able to touch, feel, and smell the different herbs.
Inside the glasshouse, there is a little garden as well.
OMG. I love the blue!!
We were at Herb Garden till closing time at 5PM. You need to make sure you reach the gondola before otherwise you'll be stuck up there and might have to hike down. LOL. We didn't know it closed so early and only had a couple hours here. When the first announcement came on and said they were closing in 30 minutes, my sister and I quickly headed down the hill to finish the rest of the garden and take some pictures.
Four Season Garden
Recreation Area. The sun starting to set. And it was here that we heard that the garden was closing in 10 minutes and had to race down to the mid-way station to take the gondola down. But the view was very nice from this point though.
Good thing we made it in time. I headed to the gondola first while my sister was still busy taking photos. Good thing there was a lineup to head back down. Safe.
The negative thing about going to Nunobiki Herb Garden at the end of March is that most of the flowers are not in bloom. When the flowers are in bloom, the entire garden is filled with blossoming flowers but almost all we see are buds and nothingness.
Kitano Cho
This area is around a 10-15 minutes walk away from Nunobiki. The entire area is full of western-style houses. You can enter some of the buildings for a fee. The western-style houses were built when foreign settlers came to settle when the Port of Kobe opened for trade during the 19th century.
As we were walking towards the Kitano Cho distract, I admit it was chilly, a Japanese middle aged woman who was in a coat and shivering saw me and looked at me and said something in Japanese. So awkward. T-shirt versus Coat. Dang.
French House
Kitano Tenman Shrine - They were closed by the time we got there.
Waterclock House - landmark of Kitano cho
Found the famous European-style Starbucks.
The drink selection at Starbucks sucks. I wanted to try their creative frappucinos but they did not have it. No sakura frap, no tirmusu frap, no hojika frapp. WHERE ARE THESE??? CAN NEVER FIND IT. We went for the mango passion blended frappucino instead. It was very sour. I would definitely not recommend. The Starbucks here has two floors with the first floor mainly to order and then you can bring your drinks to the second floor which does have a fair amount of seats. But during the time we went, there was a lot of tourists so the seats were all taken. We had to walk around several times before encountering an empty table. By the time we left Starbucks it was pass 7PM already, so we had to hustle.
We wanted to go to Ikuta Shrine as well but it closed at 5PM. We also had to skip Tor Road, Motomachi Shopping Street as well as Chinatown. All of these area within walking distance to each other. It's difficult to fit so many attractions into a day. Definitely need two days.
Once we left Starbucks, we headed over to the waterfront. But because it was so chilly and people kept staring at me, we had to make a detour to Uniqlo to buy a shirt. NOBODY wore a t-shirt. They wore COATS and JACKETS! Since we were at a shopping district, we did a bit of shopping as well.
On the way to the waterfront, we tried to find Kobe City Hall because they have a free observation deck on the 24th floor and it closes at 11PM. NO LUCK, there were so many tall buildings and walking in the dark on the streets at night when there were barely anyone is a bit creepy. And google maps were playing tricks as well. GAVE UP. (ಥ﹏ಥ)
The walk to the port was a very long one, especially if you are strap for time. It took us around 20 minutes. I was pretty sad that I couldn't go to the Earthquake Memorial Park nor the Animal Kingdom. Also missed out on Kobe Harbourland. There's so much to do and see over to that side.
Meriken Park
History of the Port
Kobe Port Tower
It was also here that my sister and I got separated. I think I spent 20 minutes looking for her. She did not even tell me where she will be waiting for me as she said she thought I would be able to see her in the DARK from AFAR. IN THE DARK!! By this time my feet become so sore and tired from walking all day.
We headed back to Namba station to grab dinner. We walked around and randomly decided on a restaurant that was a bit expensive for what you get. Only 2 shrimp tempura and a couple of vegetables tempura, miso soup, bowl of rice and tea. I believe this was ~¥1200. Worst bang for the buck so far. The food was not exceptionally good as well. They do have a cheaper menu but it was all in Japanese but I did see a lot of locals ordering from that menu. Nobody ordered a set dinner like us but the English menu only have sets there and is less comprehensive than the Japanese one.
The cool thing about this restaurant was that you get to see the workers making the food in front of you if you sit at the counter. During that time, I have noticed that the place was full of male office workers who were still in their suits dining there (and it was around 9-10PM).
