Kobe

Azaleas in Kobe

Flower Festival

Sometimes Japan seems so efficient and sometimes I just wander around wondering why. For example, why are there THREE gardens using SCISSORS to cut the grass and prune the gardens? I mean, I am sure it is work that requires precision but I think this might be taking that a little too far.

Matt and the okonomiyaki

Me and the yakisoba

Since Kobe is only about 30 minutes and $4 away from Osaka, we decided to go there for the day on Monday. Kobe was in the middle of a flower festival and there were lots of impressive pictures made of flower petals throughout the streets. We wandered around, including unintentionally hiking about 45 minutes into the mountains above Kobe (no pictures of that though- I looked too sweaty in the pictures for it to be blog-worthy). Kobe has the second largest Chinatown in Japan and we ate a delicious Chinese set lunch there. The weather was gorgeous and the azalea bushes were out in full force.

That afternoon we headed back to Osaka and then to Dotonburi, the party district of Osaka. Matt experienced his first cook-your-own okonomiyaki and I enjoyed some delicious yakisoba (my very favorite Japanese food!).