MINGLING WITH THE LOCALS ONE HOT SUMMER AFTERNOON IN KOBE

   21st JULY 2024    ~ After the boat cruise, we decided to walk to Meriken Park. The name "Meriken" derived from the American Embassy that was located nearby.

Even though it was scorching hot as the sun was shining brightly that summer afternoon, the park was crowded with many Japanese. First, there was a concert at this huge roofed stage. People were still partying despite the hot weather.

Another reason people came here was to get themselves photographed at the prominent "BE KOBE" stone structure by the ocean.

Then there was another concert at another spot done in the open air. There was also a crowd, singing and dancing together with the performers. People did not seem to care of the heat and they just continued partying.

We stayed there for quite some time, and I had the rest I needed to walk balk to the train station.

[MY KOBE TRIP MAIN PAGE]

WALKING THE STREETS OF KOBE ONE HOT, SUMMER AFTERNOON

         18TH JULY 2024       ~ The walking tour around the city started as soon as I dropped my luggage at the hotel front desk. I had already told my ex-student, Mr. Muhammad Iqbal, much earlier not to walk too fast as I had an issue with my knees. Luckily, he obliged to my request and I tried my very best to keep my pace under the hot summer sun.

The first part of the walking tour took be to one mall and then there was this old shops with narrow lanes. This place would become lively at night as there were many shops selling liquors for people coming back from work.

To get to our first destination which was a bit far, we took the Loop Bus which looked like a special bus for tourists.

There was one part of the city which looked like the old quarters that were one inhibited by the Europeans a long time ago. The place was interesting but I did not spend too much time taking photos here as I was already tired and hungry.

I had the first glimpse of Kobe and I was impressed with its cleanliness and the recycling culture. Throwing rubbish properly was even a challenge as I could not find dustbins anywhere except at designated places like train stations. Kobe was also not a busy city, unlike Tokyo and Osaka, so life here seemed more relaxed. It was summer time in Japan and the hot weather made feel at home. 😀

The walking activity was only about to begin and I might have walked thousands [or may be millions of steps] during my stay there.

This was just only the beginning.

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A WALK AROUND SHOWA KINEN PARK - PART TWO

[THE CONTINUATION FROM PART ONE]

[DAY 2] 3rd June 2014: It was getting late, I was getting hungry and was actually trying to find my way out of the park. I even had to ask a few people how to get back to the first gate where I entered the park from. Suddenly, from far away, I saw a scene that was beyond belief - bright red flowers in the horizon. As I walked nearer to the spot, right in front of my eyes was the most beautiful scene that I almost cried tears of joy.

I hate taking selfie as it always makes me look uglier but I think I took the best selfies here.

There were very few locals who walked past this area but I did not hesitate to stop them and help me take more photos despite the language barrier. They all seemed happy to do that for me and I didn't forget to say "Arigato gozaimas" and bowed a bit.

Too bad, the park was about to be closed to the public and I still had to find my way out, if not I would have spent longer hours here. Anyhow, that was one memorable discovery of the park. It reminded me of the trip I had when I was in Lake Tekapo in New Zealand. If I were to come back here, I would go during spring or autumn. Have a look at the amazing scenery of the park at this website that I found. 

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