When I got to Sannomiya, there were no shops open, so I headed towards the pier. Even though I didnt have any idea of the area, there were maps all over the place, so I figured out how to get there. The station was a few blocks away, so I had to walk through a few blocks of the street. なんとか, the streets I passed by reminded me a lot of Honolulu, particularly the Downtown, business district. Like in Honolulu, the sidewalk is wide enough to give people plenty of space, but not as wide as the street. The buildings were very tall, and undoubtably held offices of business firms and other important type things. But it wasnt completely urban; there were trees and hedges lining the streets, but they were rather large. Like some parts of downtown Honolulu, there was a good mix of concrete and greenery.
When I got to the port, I didnt know what to make of it. I mean, it looked like any port you would come across. There were ships in dock, and there was the ocean. A hundred years or so have passed between my great grandfather's time and now, so I have no idea where exactly he departed from Japan. At this time, I must admit, I thought that coming to the port was a mistake. With that thought, I walked to the area by the Kobe Port Tower. When I went up the tower, it was still fairly early in the morning, so I couldnt see very far. But even with the clouds, it was still a nice view of the city. After I descended, I decided to check out the small open market that was starting to open. There were a lot of food stalls, one of which was karaage, which of course I bought from. The other stalls were selling used clothes, kid toys, and a few that had accesories like necklaces and bracelets. I wanted to support the vendors, but the only vendor I bought from was this sweet old lady that was selling things she had sewn. I wanted a bag to hold my shamisen stuff, and I found it today. It's made with a blue, Super Mario pattern. It is supposed to be for little kids to hold their shoes or something, but I think it's the right size for my shamisen stuff. I'm very happy with it.
What really made my visit to the port worthwhile, though, was the Kobe Maritime Museum. It is a museum devoted to the history of Kobe Port, and starts from its beginnings in the Heian Era, to its current condition. I was very surprised to see a small entry that talked about its role in the immigration period, near the turn of the last century. The English translation was very short, and the original Japanese wasnt much longer, but still, just that little mention was way more than any Japanese person I've met knows. The panel explained that the first immigrants to leave were the Gannenmono, in 1868. About thirty years later, the government contract period began, which is when my great grandfather left. Also in the early part of the last century, immigration to Brazi and Peru began, and would continue until the 1970's. I feel that the Japan Japanese these days dont know nearly enough about their brethren abroad. They always express amazement at the amount of Japanese people in Hawaii, and seem surprised when they hear about us doing Japanese things, like お正月 and お盆. Seeing a Japanese exhibit on Japanese immigration was gratifying, and it seemed to reaffirm my belief that while the Japanese abroad are not like the Japanese in Japan, we are still more a part of them than they would like to believe.
After that, I decided to check out the shopping district. Like Hiroshima, part of the shopping area in Sannomiya is called 本道 Hondori, and like Hiroshima city, there are about a million little shops that line the area. I dont know exactly how far I was walking, but it was a lot. My legs were so sore! But I found a lot of interesting shops. There were quite a few kimono shops which I checked out. I want to buy yukata for bon dance, but as one of the ladies explained, it's still too early. Maybe later this month they'll be getting more yukata, and that'll bring down the price. Even though I'll probably never be back, I received a lot of 名刺. I didnt know how to turn down those sweet ばちゃんs！ At any rate, I picked up a cheap white obi. The woman that sold it to me said that I could use it with the black yukata that I picked up the last time I was in Japan.
After the two streets that comprised that shopping area, I started walking around the Ikuta area. This area was even more crowded than the hondori area! Not necessarily because there were more people, but the walking area itself was so small! Maybe only three people could walk together at the same time, it was so narrow. But the shops here were definitely a class apart from any other shopping area I've been to in Japan. There were two shops that were selling earrings and other piercing related stuff. Not like Claire's, but more like Hot Topic hardcore. The first one I went to was run by girls that had brightly dyed hair (blonde and pink, in case you wanted to know), and the girl that helped me had multiple cartlidge piercings, nose piercings, and a few on her lips. They had a fair selection of cartlidge piercings (products, not them), but unfortunately, they only had plain bars for my industrial (in Japanese, インダス←新しい単語). The other shop I think is a branch store of the store I patronized when I was in Kyoto. There were a lot of rings and necklaces, which didnt really appeal to me, but their selection of earrings was pretty big. The pair I decided on buying was a pair of skulls in silver. The sales clerk here, like his counterpart in Kyoto, really knew how to butter me up. When he saw what I had in, he said "星はかわいいですよね。Those stars are really cute, arent they?" and when he asked where I was from, he complemented me on my Japanese. "留学生と言われても、信じられないんですよ。Even though you say that you're a foreign exchange student, I cant believe it!" Having said all of that, I couldnt very well not buy from him, now could I?
At this point, it was about three in the afternoon, but I was in pain from yesterday's running. However, I felt that I shouldnt leave Sannomiya without visiting a few of the nearby department stores, so I steeled myself for more walking. Like other department stores in Japan, the majority of the products for sale were quite expensive, so I didnt do much more than look at them. I saw a lot of things I wanted, but seeing how much money was left in my wallet, I decided not to buy anything. I did really nice smelling body wash, which I decided to get for my mother. And I also picked up some candy to give to my other nephew.
Getting back to the hotel was another adventure. I got really mixed up today, because "Sannomiya Station" is the English name for three different places. There is the Japan Railways station, the Hanshin Densha station, and the Hankyu Line station. It took me a while to remember that I came on the Hankyu line, but even after figuring that out, I had to figure out which building with 「三宮駅」 on it was the right one. After getting on the right train, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I got off at the wrong station. Luckily, I noticed that only a few seconds after getting of the train, so I didnt have to wait for a new train, but still. After hobbling back to my hotel (my legs were so tired, you dont even know), I bought a bento at a newrby convenience store and have been resting in my room since then.
Although I didnt really plan for it, I enjoyed my trip to Kobe today. Going to Kobe Port and seeing a legitimate discussion of Japanese immigration reaffirmed my Japanese identity. And the open market in the area was filled with a lot of fun sights and things to buy. The Sannomiya shopping was also spectacular, and allowed me to cross off some things on my omiyage list. It's late, and I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow I'm heading to Kyoto, to visit a few stores that I enjoyed the last time I was here. I'm hoping that it'll be a 楽 kind of day. But, who really knows what tomorrow will bring?
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