Walking around the quiet neighborhood my hostel was located was a very pleasant way to start off the day in Kobe. After a while I discovered that it is one of the best places for Sake in japan as there are over 10 breweries within a mile radius of each other. I really wanted to go on a tour of one but they did not seem to understand what I meant so I kept hopping from one to the next until finally I got somewhere that had an English version video that explained the process. As my time is limited on this computer I will go into more detail later on this.
After strolling around for an hour I retrieved my bags from the hostel and headed off for downtown Kobe. Once I checked my bags at the station I was off to explore all Kobe had to offer...which isn't all that much. It is a city of about 1.3 million people but it was almost completely wiped out by an earthquake in 1995. Over 40,000 people were killed and close to a quarter million homes were destroyed. It was pretty unbelievable to see how far they had come in 13 short years since then.
The people of Kobe are very down to Earth and friendly so I can see myself living here if Osaka does not work out. After a few hours I catch a train to Hiroshima...3 hours later I am here. Really excited to see the Peace Memorial tomorrow. All in all not a very eventful day but I am sure I will find some tonight.
