Tag: kobe

Traveling to Namba Yasaka Shrine and Osaka’s Most Aesthetic Cafes

The Lion’s head at Namba Yasaka Shrine is a sight that you won’t soon forget!

After spending two days seeing Ginkakuji and eating aesthetic food in Kyoto, I decided to make my way to Osaka for the final leg of the trip. Osaka is another iconic city that I’ve been to countless times, but there are always new things to experience there. This time I made a reservation to a planetarium-themed bar that I had always wanted to go to, and also discovered the wonders of pizza takoyaki at Takotako King. I also stumbled upon a very cool shrine in the heart of Namba and made a day trip to Kobe to see friends the next day. I was happy to see that tourism was finally picking up here after the covid emergency state. If you go to Osaka, definitely be sure to check out all of the street food stalls and hidden shrines around the city!

Here is my latest article on Namba Yasaka Shrine and my top gourmet recommendations for winter 2023:

Namba Yasaka Shrine

Located in the heart of the city close to Nankai Namba Station, Namba Yasaka Shrine has a very iconic design that blends retro with modern culture. The lion-shaped head (that is actually a stage) is believed to swallow evil spirits and bestow the shrine with good luck. The shrine is small but has a lot of neat characteristics, especially considering the fact that it’s located in one of Osaka’s flashiest districts. I enjoyed seeing the lion ema with various wishes written on them hanging near the shrine’s main building, plus all of the visitors staring in awe at the lion’s head. I’ve been to Osaka many times, but never knew that this shrine existed until I researched local shrines with a map application. I would say this is one of the most unique city shrines I’ve ever visited, not to mention it has very easy access, so I would recommend it to all of my friends!

Address: 2 Chome-9-19 Motomachi, Naniwa Ward, Osaka, 556-0016
Admission Fee: Free

Tables Coffee Bakery Diner

While searching for recommended sweets cafés in Osaka, I stumbled upon the best strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had in my life at Tables Coffee Bakery Diner. This restaurant has both full meals and flavorful desserts alike. I loved how the cake was coated in creamy frosting that resembled wax burning off a candle. It was thicker than most frosting I’ve eaten in the past and was definitely one of a kind. The fresh strawberries on top and strawberry syrup surrounding the cake were also fine details that enhanced the taste of this already delicious cake. I can’t stress enough how much both the sweet flavor and aesthetic appearance of this cake blew my mind!

Address: 2 Chome-9-10 Minamihorie, Nishi Ward, Osaka, 550-0015

Star Café Spica

Star Café Spica is a planetarium-themed bar that has been on my list for quite a while, but I haven’t had the chance to visit it until this trip due to its crazy popularity. This bar requires a reservation in advance due to its timed planetarium shows that are projected on the walls to make you feel like you’re stargazing. On top of that, it also has a galaxy-themed cocktail menu and and planet lamps that create the perfect atmosphere. I ordered two meteor shower drinks that come with konpeito candies. When you drop the sugary candy in the champagne-like cocktail, it produces an effect that truly does look like a little meteor shower or falling stars! I also ordered caramel ice cream that came with a moon-shaped cookie. All of the food and drinks were great quality. It was fun learning about the galaxy in Japanese and the staff were very kind and professional. If you decided to come here, be sure to make a reservation at least a few weeks in advance.

Address: 4-18 Matsuyamachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0067

Space Station & Takotako King

Of all of the gaming bar I’ve visited in Japan, Space Station has got to be one of my all time favorites. I love the retro neon aesthetic and all of the interesting travelers I run into here. I also really enjoy talking with the owner, Matt, because he’s also from the US and has lived in Japan multiple years so we have a lot in common. This bar has an extensive collection of not only games and consoles, but also insanely rare gamer-themed alcohol. I enjoyed seeing the Pac-Man anniversary sake and the Level Beer on this visit, and ordered a lot of cocktails with Dr. Pepper in them. I also tried the cream cheese bagel for the first time since a mini blue Donkey Kong figure was advertising it! The bagel really slapped because I was hungry after wandering through the city.

Another amazing food that I tried on this trip was pizza takoyaki from Takotako King (recommended to me by Matt). This takoyaki place is conveniently located about two buildings down from the bar so it was easy to locate. I loved the tomato sauce and creamy cheese on the takoyaki because it was savory. Last time I was in Osaka, I tried takoyaki topped with egg, so I’m excited to see what the next big topping trend is here when I visit next!

Address: 2 Chome-13-3 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0086

CBD Cafe 4:20

CBD Café 4:20 is a small café that I visited during a previous trip, but I decided to revisit it with some friends to see what new products they had in stock. Unfortunately unlike last time, this time they removed their food menu and only had shisha and CBD smoothies on their side menu. However, I was delighted to see that they had CBD suckers and “Green Crack” with a hilarious design that resembled kush. Though these products are more expensive than what you’d find in other countries, they have a sense of originality and novelty to them making them unique to Japan. I enjoy visiting CBD shops just for the meme and seeing what crazy products they have. My CBD sucker definitely relaxed me and I felt a sense of ease while walking through Namba and Shinsaibashi. I would say this is still one of the best centrally located CBD places in Osaka even without its full menu.

Address: 3 Chome-2-15 Minamikyuhojimachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 541-0058

Dining Bar Shape Beach (aka the Sand Bar)

Dining Bar Shape Beach is a beach-themed bar with real sand in it, so you are prompted to take your shoes off before entering to preserve the “beach”. Like Space Station, I really enjoyed the neon retro aesthetic of this bar, not to mention the the all-you-can-drink menu you can have access to for a cheap price. The cocktails at this bar are fruity and light, so you can drink a lot while feeling like you’re on vacation in Hawaii or Okinawa. You can also choose to order stronger drinks with vodka and tequila in them to your liking. The bartenders are pretty chill and laidback here. I went here with one of my Japanese friends for a quick drink, but coming here with a group and smoking shisha together would be a more ideal choice for this bar. In the future I hope to come back with friends because as a beach girl, I really like this place’s atmosphere.

Address: 2-2-8 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan

Day Trip to Kobe

Before taking the shinkansen back to Tokyo, I decided to stop at Kobe to see some friends. First I went to the Harborland and took a nap under a palm tree in the bright sun, the I wandered over to Greenery for a fresh mermaid-themed smoothie bowl. The mermaid tail and shells look real, but they’re actually made out of white chocolate! I would recommend trying this place to everyone because they have the best smoothies in Kobe. Afterwards I wandered around Kobe Tower, which was sadly under construction, but there was some awesome graffiti art drawn by children that I really enjoyed. Though this was my third time to Kobe, I am happy that I was able to discover new things!

If you are interested in more in-depth activities that you can do in Kobe, please see my previous Kobe article.

Thank you for reading my latest three part article series on Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka! This was an amazing trip since I got to spend it with so many people that I love. At this moment I don’t have any further travel plans as I am going to Europe for a month in April, but I may decide to cover small events and cafes in Tokyo in the meantime.

I appreciate you all for reading and hope that I stumble upon more aesthetic food in my travels so I can write about it. Hope that everyone is having a fantastic new year, and thank you once again for supporting my writing.

Finding Paradise Within a City: Exploring Kobe

Over the weekend I went on the ultimate countryside paradise road trip to Kobe and Awaji Island with my friends from Yamanashi who own a car. I have been to Kobe three times total—once during my study abroad trip, another time to Nunobiki Waterfall, and this past holiday weekend because Shin Kobe Station is the closest shinkansen station to Awaji Island. Kobe is a small city you can easily see in a day but it has a beautiful harbor and amazing food. I had a nice stroll down memory lane visiting Chinatown, Harborland, and seeing Spiderman defend the city from atop a Kobe beef store. Glad to know that the city is still safe from heinous crime after all of these years! Without further ado, here are my top recommendations in Kobe:

Dick Bruna Table

When most people come to Kobe they go straight for the beef, but since I don’t eat meat I decided to search for the cutest restaurant in town which I deem Dick Bruna Table. This bunny themed restaurant has delicious entrees, wine, and cute desserts with unique interior decor. I loved how they used giant bunny plushies to help enforce social distancing too. I decided to order the rabbit rice with a fish à la carte for lunch and it was delicious! I notice the sekihan (sweet bean rice) in Hyogo has a defined texture and is less sweet than sekihan I’ve tried in other areas of Japan making it go well with a lot of dishes. Overall the food here was very high quality and even on a weekend I was able to get in without much of a wait. I would definitely recommend this place for lunch, and Chinatown for dinner!

Address: 2 Chome-16-1 Takashima, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0011

Dessert at Kobe Milk

Kobe Milk is an adorable stand outside of the entrance to Chinatown that sells top quality ice cream and pudding. You can customize your order by adding cookies and decorations on top or just order a regular ice cream cone or jar of pudding. I decided to get creative and request the bear and the Kobe Milk jug on top of mine. I’ve been eating a lot of ice cream this summer, and next to goat milk ice cream on Amami Island, I would have to say that this was the best that I’ve had!

Address: 50-0022 Hyogo, Kobe, Chuo Ward, Motomachidori, 1 Chome-1-1 Shinmotomachi Building 1F

Exploring Rokko Island

In hopes of entering the Kobe Artists Museum which I had never seen before, I decided to ride the Rokko-Line to Kobe’s man-made island with beautiful fountains, museums, and restaurants. To my dismay upon arrival I found out that the museum was closed until mid-December due to the pandemic, but fortunately the weather was sunny and there was a lot for me to see. The most shocking part of being on Rokko Island was seeing so many near naked children swimming in the fountain water while their parents idly chatted on the benches like this was some kind of giant onsen. My brain swiftly shifted gears from “shocked” to “I want to set up my tripod and get in too” so that is exactly what I did! Though I just dipped my feet in, the water was very pure and soothing on a warm summer day. Rokko is a lot similar to Odaiba in Tokyo except smaller in scale but it has the same kind of vibe. I would definitely recommend coming here to kill time during the day because it’s prettier than most of the parks that I’ve seen in central Kobe!

China Town

Chinatown is one of the most iconic spots in Kobe and has a lot neat stuff to see. Though there are a lot of Chinese restaurants here, you’ll see Kobe beef specialty shops strategically placed in between them. There are also arcades and souvenir shops here making Kobe’s Chinatown feel like a miniature version of Yokohama’s Chinatown. What makes Kobe’s Chinatown unique is definitely the statues of Spiderman. They’re definitely authentic and add to the culture of the city.

China Town Food

Since we were starving and on a time crunch, we decided to eat at literally the first restaurant we saw which was called 荟華源 and had an all you can eat menu for 1298 yen for an hour. We were the only people in the restaurant and did major damage in terms of how many dishes we ordered. My personal favorite is the shrimp chili, but the dumplings and vegetable tofu dish I ordered were very good too. The only thing I didn’t like was this bamboo wrapped fried rice with meat in it that was listed on the dessert menu by mistake (either that, or the waiter made a mistake with our order) but all the other food we had was amazing. You really can’t go wrong with any food you order here.

Kobe Harborland

After eating to our hearts’ content, we decided to walk to Kobe Harborland and end the night there. Hardborland is the ideal place for a stroll because it has wide paths and a glistening ocean, not to mention a variety of colorful ships. There are ferries here that you can ride to other places of Japan such as Shodoshima and Oita if you’re up for the long journey. There also is a giant ferris wheel that you can ride. I came here again on my morning run because it’s one of my favorite places in the city due to its cheerful atmosphere.

One thing that really surprised me was how well Kobe followed the emergency state guidelines by completely shutting off the majority of lights from shops and attractions at 8pm. Chinatown was a ghost town after we left. Parts of Harborland were still illuminated but it was darker than what I remembered. Additionally, no bars or restaurants on the central street were in operation at night. Though some might find this disappointing, I actually was impressed. I also saved a lot of money by not drinking!

Access & Accommodation

From Tokyo Station, Shin Kobe Station is around 3 hours and 15000 yen one way. Kobe is best seen on a combined trip to Osaka because there is more to see and do between both cities and they are very close.

Usually I always spend the night in Osaka, but since we were panning on going to Awaji Island early the next day we decided to stay in Kobe Luminous Hotel which was 5000 yen per night. This was a tad expensive compared to what I am normally used to paying, but it was close to the station and ideal for travel. My room was very high quality, extremely quiet, and I slept well here which was important because I had a lot of activities planned for the next day.

Please look forward to my next article on all of the best places to see on Awaji Island!