When I left Kobe behind (after a short stop-off) at the end of 2005 I had a very low opinion of the place and thought it to be really boring. I realised this time that my mistake then had been to get off at Kobe station rather than Sannomiya which is the heart of Kobe and has a nice feel about it. The reason for getting off here on the way back to my Osaka hotel from Himeji was to meet up with mates John and Neil of whom the latter had recently moved nearby. I had a quick look round the place before meeting them. No major sites but I did go to the Earthquake Park to see the memorial pictured below. The clock was damaged at 5.46 on the morning of January 17th and now indicates that time as an eternal reminder of the earthquake.

Whilst it wasn’t of magnitude compared to the one in Tokyo on March 11th it obviously still had a devestating impact on the area with over 6,000 dead, 415,000 injured, 100,000 homes devastated and 185,000 homes in need of partial reconstruction.

I didn’t have the time or energy to bother going to the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park which preserves part of a concrete pier destroyed back in 1995. Some of the pictures below were taken on my previous trip and give a good idea of how strong the earthquake was.

On my way to meet Neil (pictured) and John I passed by an Indian restaurant named Gaylord! Its actually a worldwide chain and I have seen their restaurants in Hong Kong and London. I am still amused each time I see the restaurant name!