Golden week has come and gone.

Somewhere across the line of April and May lies Golden Week. A period of 3 National holidays within the space of 7 days. With the addition of the weekend, the majority of the week is now rest days and most business and people simply take a much needed vaction. It is a period of travelling abroad or returning to your home town. A time for relaxing. Of quiet contemplation or social catchup.

I was still playing catchup with my pay. Monthly deposits are a challenge to manage but when the last packet included mostly training rate (50% less then standard rate), I was acting catious. I was, however, talked into 2 trips.

Kobe. A port city. A miracle city. Last time I visited Kobe was almost 10 years ago. In the early '90s, Kobe bore the brunt of a devastating earthquake which flatten most of its countryside. I remember staring at its scarred landscape, and seeing the beginnings of life slowly creeping and stretching back up towards the sky. This time I found a bustling harbour town full of life, growth and energy. We arrived at Sannomiya, a central station and wandered towards the mountain. A distant memory told me the Ropeway car to the top was at the side of the JR station. For 550yen, we took the one way trip. The car rocked nervously in the wind, this was never meant for 4 forigners with their McBellies. The view over the city was refreshing and expansive. After a short peek into the 'perfume museum', the gang oogled a strange hairy insect for 25 minutes, pocking and proding it with the amusement of a young child. Our 1 way fair had been chosen to encourage us to walk down the mountain side, and eventually we found the narrow path off into the wilderness. We stumbled down the track for the next hour and 1/2, stopping many times to either jump out from behind trees to scare one another, or wander back and forth in a desperate bid to find the track again. We eventually emerged at the bottom, hot sweaty and covered in twigs, leaves and undergrowth. After hiking, we headed for food and eventually found a nice turkish resturant in downtown Kobe.

Part II coming soon ...