My exit from Japan was just around the corner. But first I had to get Maggie back into a box for our journey on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kobe and my flight home. A nearby bike shop was contacted and it was all arranged, so after fond farewells to the WFC, Maggie and I pedaled off to the shop and on the footpath of a busy street, Maggie was taken apart and stuffed into a rather large box, along with everything else and an hour later I hitched a ride up to the railway station with the son.
First I was met by a young uniformed girl, who fussed and fidgeted with rule books and measuring tapes - tut tut, this is too big - but after her calculator was checked, I was given the all clear and shown the way to the lift - where I was met by another uniformed railway employee, this time a bloke who was sure I wasn't getting through the gates - thankfully I already had a ticket and after a bit of a discussion with another guy, they let me past. yet another lift was ridden up to another level and soon we were waiting on the platform lined up with the symbol for Door 7.
The Shinkansen ride was uneventful - the Japanese countryside flashing past in brilliant sunshine one minute, the next, plunging into black tunnels. The 300km disappeared in just over an hour and soon I was out on the footpath with Maggie and her box and no taxi drivers prepared to give me a lift. Thankfully the young girl at the Information desk found a maxi taxi driver who was prepared to take me to the rather regal Rei hotel, just next door to Kobe's Chinatown.
I went for a walk around Chinatown, looking for something vegetarian and edible... eventually going into a small cafe where I ordered an omelette, once again over a pile of rice (no meat!) but swimming in a meaty tasting soup. A Tsingtao beer helped to wash it all down!
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| Ready for our ride up to the Box |
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| Boxed |
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| Taxis everywhere, but none willing to step up |
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| China Town |
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| Tucker time!!! |
I had most of Friday to walk around in Kobe. Apart from Chinatown, there was a long arcade of shops that stretched over several blocks. But I wasn't really interested in shopping and just wished I was back at the beginning of my holiday riding through those beautiful mountain forests....
Of course there was a drama when I needed a taxi to take me to the ferry to the airport, but eventually it was sorted and although I missed the first ferry, I caught the second one and arrived at Kansai in plenty of time to check in and eventually board my flight for the night time flight back to Cairns and then onto the Gold Coast.
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| Chinatown in the daylight |
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| Shopping arcade stretching along several blocks |
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| Godzilla - but not for sale! |
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| Coffee & cheesecake cafe |
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| Yum! |
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