Not too early a rise this morning, in fact I'm only woken up by a new arrival in the dorm, Bob from Holland. We get to chatting and he has been travelling for a year now, workin in Australia, just booked a 3 week trip to Japan. He is up for heading out tonight so the 3 of us will probably head in to town. I mention that I'm going to go to Kobe today, and he offers me his JR rail pass. Do you know what that means? That means I can take the Shinkansen!!!! For free!!! I can't believe he offers me his pass, it's like £200 and without it he will have to pay for trains. He has known me 10 minutes. I can't believe my luck! I though I'd be leaving Japan without experiencing the bullet train. What a result! I work out that it only takes 13mins on the Shinkansen, still it's all about the experience. If I had been more prepared for this act of unbelievable generosity then I might have gone to Hiroshima. Aww well, Kobe it is.
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I bounce in to the ticket office in Shin-Osaka to book my seat. Really simple process, just hand over the pass and get some tickets! When you walk in to the Shinkansen departure area it's more like an airport than a train station. Big boards hanging from the ceiling displaying trains and tracks, in this station the are 35 different Shinkansen lines!?! So I get my way round and get on to my train which was already waiting for me. What luxury! It's like sitting in your armchair at home! The most leg room I've ever had! Announcements in English, super smooth, super fast, brand new, modern and comfortable. You don't even feel the speed you are doing, it's only when you look out the window that you realise. My 13 minutes are over in no time, so off the train, show my pass and ticket again and I'm in Kobe.
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I head over to tourist information so see what the craic is. Get told there is a nice walk a short way from the station, through the forest up to some falls. Sounds nice. I'll do that, she says about 40mins so I buy myself some lunch to have when I get there, then off I go. I literally walk out of the station, turn left, walk under the station and I'm in the forest. Weird. It's a nice walk, though the woman neglected to mention the brutal incline. I though I was going for a gentle stroll, after 20mins I'm still going up. I gets up to the falls and it's beautiful, so I pick a spot and get my lunch out. As usual I have the constant ant battle, along with various other insects who all want my food or my sweat! Kinda takes away from the setting if you constantly have to kick your legs to remove ants. Not only that, but it looks ridiculous. I complete the loop circuit and get back to the station.
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I want to see the coast, so one station away and I'm I'm downtown Kobe. I have a really bad map, but there are plenty of info boards on the street so it's not too bad. Kobe looks big and modern. The main street is bustling, and there is a nice vibe about the place. It takes me nearly an hour to get down to the sea. It was nice to walk along the pier and get a little sea breeze. Kobe is a shipping port and so there are a lot of boats about the place. I get to walk the promenade for an hour or so before I have to head back. It's no Ballyholme, but is nice all the same. I wish I had got up earlier, then I could have spent a bit more time here. I get on a couple of trains back up to the Shinkansen and then home.
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Great day getting to try out the Shinkansen, really awesome bin lent me his pass. The three of us head back to namba for food and drinks. Great sushi!! Back to the hostel, another wee sneaky beer then bed.