Hanshin Henshin, Part 1

Because I don't have nearly enough Engrish around my blog here's a sign just outside Sannomiya Station.

I'm telling you, the only way to travel long distance in Japan is by slow boat. Sure, the Shinkansen can barrel along at, what, 300kph, but you can't have drinking parties on it, or take a bath, or order curry and miso soup at the restaurant. And you certainly can't feel the soft, cool mists of the Seto Naikai caressing your face as you pass under some of the world's most spectacular suspension bridges, power by fleets of fishing boats and sparsely inhabited jungle islands while the sun sinks into the west.

OK, the trip takes eleven hours, which is over twice as long as by train from Fukuoka and ten times as long from the airport, but it's cheap cheap cheap in comparison, I could take my bike without a fuss, drink beer and read books, fall asleep and wake up magically at Kobe's Rokko Island Ferry Port. Rokko Island is one of two or three large landfills created in the bay and was especially hard hit by the '95 Hanshin Earthquake. If it weren't where the ferries docked I'd wish it'd gone under during the shaking as it's one of the more ugly places in Japan. Somehow even the Oakland and Long Beach port facilites look "nicer" than this place. Yeesh. I flew out of the ferry's gaping maw between semis and family wagons, found the first bridge out of the place and made for the greener pastures up the hill.


This park appears to be built on an old castle foundation. This pic looks east towards JR Sannomiya Station.

Kobe reminded me a lot of Nagasaki, which in turn reminded me a lot of San Francisco. All three cities are hilly, by the water and have comfortable, cozy atmospheres about them so I felt right at home. With the exception of finding the location of a hostel to stay the night at I had really done little to no planning on where to go and what to see prior to departing. First order of business was to buy a map and find the city center, which I knew to be west, but still...better safe than end up in Okayama. The plan finally formed that I would hit downtown around the Sannomiya/Kobe/Shin-Kobe Stations then hop a few trains to reach Arima Onsen over the Rokko Mountain Range. No damn way I was going to tackle that range with the gear I had. Maybe due to scaremongering about what prodigious thieves the Osaka-dwellers were from my colleagues or maybe just my own twisted process of justification ("It's going to be ass-kicking, curb-jumping urban riding, I'd better take the hardier frame.") I decided to bring the old Trek instead of the Cervelo and use street shoes instead of my cycling pair. The jury's still out on those decisions. On one hand the Trek's utterly filthy, I rode over many more than one patch of jarring tarmac, hopped some curbs at speed and was getting on and off fairly regularly. On the other hand the Trek's crank is shot (a problem previously, not something I did in Kobe), she's got a noticibly fatter ass than the Cervelo, the shifters are harder to reach, which sucks on hills and finally my feet were killing me thanks to the soft-soled street shoes I was sporting. Those pedals really cut into the balls of the feet.

Signs of the Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake around Kobe are everywhere and nowhere. You won't see any toppled buildings, of course, but everything's just...just so new and fresh. Mind you, this was the single costliest disaster to ever befall a country, racking up a $200 billion bill and rendering almost half of all buildings in the city uninhabitable. Other than the new city smell, my first indication something bad happened here were flowers laid out at a streamside park I happened by. Then some more. And more. In fact, all over the city there were boquets and memorials to be found for those with a keen eye. If it's any consolation to the people of Kobe, here's one visitor who's impressed with how you've picked up the pieces. Cheers.


View from the Weathercock House terrace in Kitano. If I were rich and famous in Kobe I'd probably try to swing a condo around here.

I rode out the rest of the day--literally--exploring downtown and the very cool hillside Kitano neighborhood. With such fantastic views and local retail/services real estate here must be exorbitantly priced. Strangely enough it was also where my supposed lodging for the night, the Kitano International Youth Hostel, is located, however I failed to make reservations beforehand and discovered it all booked up. I resigned myself to sleeping in a park again and went around systematically to all the parks on my map looking for a suitable crash bench, finally finding one at the city library.

I caught a train from downtown's Sannomiya Station and headed north under Mt. Rokko to Arima Onsen, one of Japan's oldest hot springs towns where Toyotomi Hideyoshi himself is said to have frequented. I must be spoiled by Beppu, Kurokawa, Yufuin, Kokonoe and so on and so forth, because Arima was disappointing to say the least. I, and perhaps everyone riding the train with me, came here to enjoy the same waters that Hideyoshi did, not sit in one of the gaudy concrete monstrosities that dot the mountainside. The wooden mecahnical toy museum, onsen temple and historical street were nice to see, but hardly worth the 1500 J-buck roundtrip train fare I had to pay. Live and learn.

One of the things I like most about Japanese urban planning is its fantastic economy of space--virtually anything has real estate potential. Back at Sannomiya Station I found Kobe's contribution to this architectural tradition with the Nishikaidouhonsen, ummm, commercial strip? Shopping complex? I don't really know what to call it now that I think about it. Whatever, it's like this: in America the space underneath raised train tracks and highways is essentially wasted space, but in Japan where space is at a premium it's just another place to put a business so why not make the building the track/highway support? But the raised Japan Rail aerial runs about half the length of the city, so imagine a several kilometer long building holding up tracks and containing countless businesses to get an idea of this thing. Walking into its dark belly is very cyberpunk--you become Decker hunting down replicants, if only until you reach the inevitable crosswalk and sunlight that separates sections.


Between and under the JR tracks, the left pic is near the high-density Sannomiya area while the right is a really cool bar under the tracks near Ooji Park Station. If they look deserted it's because these pics were taken at about 8AM~9AM.

As night fell I admit I was becoming worried about my choice of lodging thanks to a short rain shower. Even the cheapest business hotels were asking upwards of 6000 J-bucks, and that was a bit out of budget. Lady luck was smiling on me though. As I prowled slowly down the hill from Kitano I turned a corner to find--OMG--a freakin' capsule hotel! Capsule hotel! Like, the places that resemble mausoleums where you hop into a coffin on the wall and sleep! Sleeping at one of these places has been a dream of mine for some time, but I rarely have the foresight to search them out prior to travelling. The places really are brilliant, saving space and housecleaning costs over regular hotels, it leaves plenty of room for a comfy rec area and bath with the value being passed on to the consumer. I only paid 3000 J-bucks for this unique lodging opportunity and it's among the best money I've ever spent. I stayed out a on the town a bit longer before retreating to my literal hole in the wall, even finding a bar that serves Red Stripe.

That's enough for tonight. Tomorrow I'll let loose with my second impressions of Osaka from the bike saddle!

--Matt