Kobe at sunset

Kitano District

Yesterday, I played around the area where first stayed in Japan as an undergraduate student. This area is the Kitano district, up the hill from the center of Kobe city and Sannomiya Station.

There are many old western-style homes and building in zone called Ijinkan. Some are open to the public.

There’s an observation point at the very top of the hill.

This is my favorite picture from the day.

Snow between Shiga and Kyoto prefectures

Coming to Kobe this week, I came by the Hikari shinkansen. For the first time, I travelled by Green Car (First Class). It was a nice experience.

From the window, you could see the changing landscape zip past. If you blinked, you would miss something.

At some point between Shiga and Kyoto prefectures, the landscape turned to snow.

Kobe Harbor

For the holidays, I’ve come to stay in Kobe, and travel around my beloved Kansai region.

Here’s a photo of Kobe’s harbor last night. You can see the Concerto cruise liner, and the Kobe Port Tower.

Here’s the entrance to Nanking-machi, Kobe’s Chinatown. The only other Chinatown in Japan is in Yokohama.

Most the restaurants were still open, even late and so close to New Years.

View of Mt Fuji

The snow on Mt Fuji has been impress since last week. It’s so beautiful, but my crappy iPhone picture can’t do any justice.