Right before I went to bed last night, I discovered all my clothes in the bag are wet, because of the gay towel. First and foremost, I tossed that POS away in the most hateful manner possible. Then, I got sent on a wild goose chase to find a coin laundry, only for it to be closed (it's 1am).
Last day in Kansai, so I was a little miffed by this incident. On top of this, today's the start of the Obon holiday, the worst time of the year (besides New Year's) to be on a train or near a train station. Scoured the entire Osaka Station before I found an available coin locker.
Off to Kobe, and no, I didn't see Kobe Bryant there. I was hoping to meet my friend and his new wife there, but no luck. I guess it'll just be another day on the trail of tears.
I found a full-size Gigantor (Japanese: Tetsujin #28) statue. This is an old classic anime/manga from the 50's and 60's. Took a bunch of funny photos and selfies for Instagram. Looks like a festival is being set up around the statue, so I may return later.
Next was more tourist stuff - Nankinmachi (Chinatown), Kawasaki Museum, and Kobe Port Tower. Chinatown's the same everywhere - a tourist gimmick with exorbitant prices. It's nearly the same setup as the one in Yokohama, except cleaner. I'm a bit surprised by the name though, considering what the Japanese did in the real Nanking about 75 years ago. But for the sake of capitalism and conservative denial, many things can be easily forgotten.
Kawasaki Museum was nice. Lots of hands-on stuff, makes me want to get back on a motorcycle again (had a bad accident a year ago).
Kobe is apparently home to some famous sake breweries (along with Kirin beer, but no time for that on this trip). So I went to the Hakutsuru Brewery. The self-guided tour was fast, on purpose, because there's almost always a tasting section in any respectable breweries. The yuzu sake was the best.
I did go back to the festival at Tetsujin #28 park, but it's lame. Tim from Miyako had me hunt down a keychain. But for something this fairly famous, there's no dedicated souvenir shop around. I accomplished my mission nonetheless.
Final highlight in Kobe: the beef. Found this place called Steakland near Sannomiya Station. It's supposed to be only medium grade Kobe beef, but man, it's unlike any beef I've ever tasted (so good). And the dedicated chef will grill and serve the whole meal set from start to finish in front of you. I came up with analogies for how good it is, but they are highly inappriopriate for the general readers.
The guy next to me at the restaurant was subtlely macking on these two Asian girls (whom he's first mistaken as Chinese, but they're Korean). Good looking, but like all Korean girls, they look good because of plastic surgery. For someone who's supposedly been in Japan for 15 years, the little bit of Japanese that I heard from him sounded pathetic.
Pumped by my successes today, I went for a big gamble: go to the big fireworks show back in Osaka. Despite the sweaty subway train, numerous bug bites, and 2.5km forced march back to Osaka Station after the show, it was worth it. A very symbolic send-off after a mostly successful tour of Kansai.
So yea, everything worked out, even had enough time to buy omiyage. New things to see, good food, cute girls - makes me want to stay if only it wasn't so hot.
Starting to miss simple Miyako. Making my way to Tokyo now.
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