Arrived in Kobe, home of the Sake breweries

Kobe, Japan
Saturday, April15, 2006

For Grant’s birthday, we made a point to be in Kobe so we could enjoy Kobe Beef.

When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Kobe is a prime Sake brewing region of Japan, and as such was blessed with many sake breweries within stumbling distance of each other.

Oddly, the Lonely planet didn’t mention anything about Kobe’s sake breweries! That might explain why there were so few other tourists around. People at the wineries were extremely welcoming and eager to have us visit their tasting rooms. At the first tasting room we visited, the host offered us various snacks with our tastings, and then proceded to top up our glasses for free! She didn’t speak english, so we communicated through our phrase book, and eventually learned that the tasty snack we were enjoying so much (Shirako, or milt) were actually fish testicles!

At our second tasting room, thanks to our lack of ability to read japonese, we ended up following some arrows back to a building that apparently was being used for a home renovation show. But before we reallized that this wasn’t a tasting room, some young women there were guiding us inside, and encouraging us to sample the prepared foods, to check out their building displays, and to participate in a “tatami mat making workshop”. They were loving it. Flashes were going off from all directions. We felt like movie stars.

After we managed to sneak out of there, we continued our pursuit of the best sake. We learned the difference between the different types and grades of sakes. The type of sake depends on how much the rice has been polished. Daiginjyou (Rich, Smooth, fruity sake) is from rice that has been polished down to 35% of its original size. That’s our favorite.

Jyunmai = rich, moderate acidity, dry aftertaste. (65%?)
Ginjyou = fruity flowery aroma, low acidity (55%)
Daiginjyou = rich, smooth taste, w/ light, mild flavor (35%)
Koshu = aged sake, w/ light golden color, spicy nutty taste, reminiscent of sherry.

We spent our second day in Kobe touring some beautiful gardens and the waterfront. We visited the Kobe earthquake memorial, and reflected on the damage that was caused, and lives lost, in their recent earthquake. For Grant’s birthday supper, we splurged and visited the best kobe beef restaurant in town. The presentation and experience were both incredible. You’re assigned your own personal chef, who slices and cooks your food right in front of you. The beef was very good, but it’s more about the whole experience. But for the price, it’s something we’ll probably only do once.

01 Kobe Port TowerScenic Kobe Port.

02 Kobe at sunsetThe city is nicely wedged between the ocean and the dramatic mountains in the background.

03 A little Kobe beefOf course, while in Kobe, had to try the authentic Kobe beef. We saved this one for a special occassion (Gran't birthday), and took out a second mortgage for a truly grand culinary experience!

04 Some Sake testingA little know fact that just outside of Kobe is the major Sake producing region home to plenty of distilleries (complete with tasting rooms of course!). We stopped at this friendly little spot for some wonderful Sake and an introduction to the interesting and disturbing taste of fish testacles.

05 Tatami MatsDon't ask. Well OK I'll tell you anyway. We were attempting to stumble into a sake tasting room, when unable to interpret the large sign written in Japanese, followed an arrow into a home show instead. Once in, we became instant celebrities. We were strongly encouraged to test our skill at tatami mat manufacture and later treated to complimentary heaps of food and drink while we mingled and learned all about Japanese architecture. OK, now where is that sake tasting room again?

06 Old with NewWith many of our experiences in Japan, we shared the impression that there often seemed to be a theme of old blended with new. If not the historical architecture of Kyoto's skyline blended with the talking escalators, or the ultra-hip and fashionable youth passing by the Geisha's sipping tea at a traditional tea ceremony, then certainly this example. Here an historic building in an old European section of Kobe expanded upward with concrete and glass.

07 Kobe Earthquake MemorialHere the city of Kobe has preserved a section of the water front where the massive 7.2 earthquake of 1995 devastated the city. During that event, thousands of people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. The truly amazing piece of this is the speed at which Kobe was rebuilt with the larger community of Japan rising to the occassion lending labor, machinery, money and untempered optimism to the task.