Whiskey Betrayed Me

Turns out that me and Whiskey don`t mix that well and that my brief flirtation with the stuff will be ending sooner rather then later. Iv`e apologized to the respective parties, but at least I could get into bed properly, hey Basim? Anyway, fo-pars aside the evening began with a few drinks with a very cool Mr Harrison, a teacher from Kobe, and his Manchurian friend in Motomachi, It was a real pleasure to talk about Football for a good hour with people who actually know what they are talking about. After this was concluded we headed to Berber to celebrate my flatmates birthday, and lets just say its a good thing this was the last of my planned evenings out this month.

Universal Studios Osaka

As promised, a blog about our little visit to USJ in Osaka. It was new years eve and the weather was fine, if you ignore the disgustingly cold wind that chilled us to the bone the whole day and put the main roller coaster out of order. The park was wonderfully tacky in a Japanese kind of way as you might expect and the rides were inferior to those of Thorpe Park but it was still an awesome day out.


Rides of note were Spiderman 3D and the Jurassic Park log flume, which we went on despite the freezing cold and the high chance of hypothermia, hence the lame ass raincoat. A lot of the highlights of the day were have-to-be-there moments so I guess I will just let the pictures do the talking. Its my flatmates Tony`s birthday tomorrow so expect some pictures of Basim doing something stupid on my next blog. Although prehaps not as stupid as shouting "Suck my nipples!" to me when I was on Skype with Mummy dearest...

D-Day + 118

So its nearly 4 months since I took off from Heathrow and into the relative unknown. The temperature has plummeted here in Kobe and I`ve forgotten what its like to be warm... why did i choose the bedroom without air con! As for my Japanese ability I feel like I`m making progress. The more formal and complex grammar and vocab from the syllabus last year has abandoned me but my writing, speaking and listening has improved, although a lot of that is simple down to feeling more comfortable with the language.

In a couple of weeks I have my first round of exams although apart from the social sciences class I feel relatively confident I will be ready. The business modules are no-brainers and one is 100% course-work based, and my ability to talk rubbish seems to be a much more rewarding practice in that format.

Been meeting up with people from Kyoto more and more so visits there at the weekends is becoming an attractive option, whilst the scene in Kobe dies down a little. Money is holding up but there is still a large question mark over my travel plans for March.

Anyway I will just stick a few more good photos up and leave it there, once Basim gets round to it I will have some good pictures from Universal Studios Japan to stick up. Laters x

Kobe Beef

Having spent just about as much money as is possible in one week, it was decided that this was the perfect time to try Kobe’s world-famous but very expensive dish, Kobe beef. The meal was fantastic and the restaurant was fantastic. In Japan the standards are generally very high regardless of price range but the difference is in the details, the chopsticks or the décor for instance. For the price of the meal we got rice, vegetables, soup and two dishes of beef, which has come from cows fed beer, massaged and played classical music to. I’m not sure about the last method but the beer and massaging definitely worked as it was one of the best culinary moments so far.

We didn't eat this raw, but they bring you out the cut for your inspection before it is cooked in full view by the chef and this was the result... Shame about the portion size, I could have eaten 5 times as much.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve was spent in our collective favourite watering hole, Second Chance. After a spot of all you can drink, Joss, Basim and I left for the prospect of some clubbing and more random adventure. It was pretty much a night like any other, bar the extreme cold and the whole countdown thing. But thanks to Basim, Duncan and Joss it was one of the best nights out so far. Cheers lads.

Joss, Boar and Drinks on the 37th floor

In the week from boxing day to the 2nd of January, Mine and Basim`s friend Joss visited from the southern city of Kita Kyuushuu. Its already a bit debacle when Basim and I are together, so throw in another Cardiff legend in the shape of Joss, and for most of the week Duncan from Kyoto and you have a recipe for awesome disaster.



Amongst horrendous drinking binges, we did actually do some things of note. Firstly, we visited an all you can eat Brazilian meat joint followed by a stroll through harbour land. As a perfect example of how strange Japan can be, we saw two dog like creatures about the size of a small handbag running at about 2mph to keep up with their owner, whilst wearing human clothes. Just after this was a man singing "Your Beautiful" to the sea and a man who attracted so much attention from Japanese seagulls that he had drawn a crowed 50 strong.

After this we made it in into a modern park like area and posed for a few photos before heading to the Hanshin Earthquake memorial where a plot of land about 20m by 10m was fenced off as a testament to the earthquakes power. Old concrete water fronts and iron pillars were left twisted and smashed and there is no wonder there are still empty plots around the city today and that 5,000+ died. The city credits itself by even existing today. A video showed the end of my road, and a skyscraper that had buckled in the middle and was bent over like a winded man which no longer stands today.


Having been humbled somewhat, we headed back to Sannomiya via an impressive, if not small, China town. Flirting with the idea of retiring for the afternoon, we decided to head for the tallest building in the city and go to the top floor for kicks. What we found was a pleasant little bar that offered a panoramic view of the city. It was breathtaking, if not the scariest lift ride ever, considering it was a mostly glass lift and that it runs along the outside of the building.


Me and Duncan split from Basim and Joss to head home, and on the way we spotted 3 massive fully grown wild boar and proceeded to chase them through the back streets of north Kobe.


Joss forced a lot of complacency out of my system as far as local haunts were concerned, and running around building and finding a transsexual Santa, a brothel and a bar named "chance" whose door opens to nothing but an electrical circuit board are all classic lol moments. A more dignified discovery was that of a small French named shot bar. I love Whiskey now.


We also went to Universal Studios Japan and ate Kobe beef proper, but until I get hold of the photos I`ll resist blogging.

A Student Christmas

Feeling homesick, I headed to Port Island for some Christmas eve festivities and the promise of wine and food. 10 glasses of red, 20 slices of toast and pate and one plate of roast beef hotpot later and some of my seasonal depression had been lifted and we retired for the big day proper.


Christmas day started as well as any, waking up in a beautiful French girls room, albeit curled up on the floor. Me and Lilly got ready and headed into Kobe proper to have "Christmas dinner". Thomas took us to a restaurant in the middle of Motomachi`s posh shopping district. It was small and hidden up some stairs, but the place had an atmosphere that was warm, welcoming and in keeping with the season. I got a present too, a proper burger and chips and a huge slice of Cheesecake.


Later that day, alone again in my internet and flatmate free apartment, I rang Basim, and promptly arranged something to do. This was a mistake. As mentioned before, Basim knows of a small British themed pub/bar/hole called Andi`s Imagine. After skyping home, we headed down through the bitter cold. Fast forward 3 hours and we have had a magician, a very "intense" visit from the police, 3 plates of cold Christmas dinner and a wedding engagement. All in a nights work at Andi`s. Back home, me and Basim curled up tight and weaved dreams of Christmas home.