20251029 Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 25– Kobe, Japan

Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 25 – We've got no beef with Kobe

Today was a virtual sea day for us. The only excursion offered today was the included Kobe Highlights tour that we took yesterday. We had also taken the shuttle and walked through Chinatown, so this morning, we turned our attention to other matters, like laundry. With the cruise coming to a close, Arlona reasoned that the washers would get busy this afternoon and tomorrow. She scored a pair of washers, so we finished the morning with all our clothes freshly laundered.

We had a nice start to the day, courtesy of Chef Isabel. She revised her recipe for biscuits and sausage gravy, and it was spot-on today. We appreciate the extra effort that she put in to make it right for us. She also got a kick out of learning a new dish. It was a win-win.

Today was a short day in Kobe with the all-aboard time set at 12:30 and sailing at 1:00. With everyone on the ship, Arlona caught the crew sealing up the gangway door on deck #1.

As we sailed away, we were treated to an impressive drum serenade by extremely skilled Japanese drummers.

Viking provided a Taste of Japan lunch in the World Cafe. We didn't see anything that moved us, so we enjoyed burgers on the pool deck. The roof was partially retracted, and we had a somewhat al fresco dining experience.

When we returned to the room, our departure information was waiting for us. That included the tags for our luggage as well as transfer tickets for our transfer to the airport for our flight to Mongolia.

This is today's travel plan.

We will make our way this afternoon and overnight to Shimizu, where we'll spend the day tomorrow.

Viking held one final trivia contest this afternoon. We gave it our best effort, but just like every time, we came up one correct answer short and finished in second place.

We started with a picture round again. This time, I remembered to take a photo so you can play along.

What phrase is represented by each image? From left to right, top to bottom:

1. West Indies
2. Six feet underground
3. Reading between the lines
4. Rising (or growing) economy
5. Jack in the box
6. Making up for lost time
7. Pain in the neck
8. Two down, one to go

We got all those correct. Here are the misses that cost us the game:

• What kind of animal can be Siberian or Caspian?
• We thought tiger, but two members were sure it was a sturgeon, so we went with that - of course, it was a tiger
• An array is a group of: Hedgehogs, Rats, or Moles?
• We guessed moles - it was hedgehogs
• What company invented the laser printer (Brother, Canon, Kodak)?
• We reasoned it was likely Kodak - it was Canon (although research shows it was actually Xerox), but rule #1 of trivia is that Arann's answer is correct, not necessarily the actual right answer
• Which is the best conductor of electricity, Gold, Silver, or Bronze?
• We guessed gold, but surprisingly, silver is a better electrical conductor
• What is Jupiter's largest moon?
• We said Titan, but should have known that it was Ganymede
• Aronophobia is the fear of (metal, the internet, shiny surfaces)?
• We guessed shiny surface - it was the internet, although I find very little evidence of this word online

We still had fun, and really had a good team with everyone contributing at different times.

We both did some packing this afternoon, getting a jump on it so tomorrow won't be a crazy packing rush.

One of the guests from our pre-cruise extension arranged a farewell get-together at the pool bar tonight. It was fun meeting up with all the people we spent the first ten days with, traveling around China. From there, we headed to dinner and then back to the room to watch the farewell show on our TV.

Before that, we spent time in Guest Services. It's a long story, but the bottom line is that we have unused onboard credit that we want to move to a future cruise. Viking came back and said that not only do we not have unused credit, but we owe them nearly $1,000 for items purchased on the ship, like the drink package and excursions. None of that is correct, and our paid invoices show that we have prepaid all of this. So now, we have to get Viking to sort this out in the one day we have remaining on the ship. Suffice it to say that we're not very happy with Viking at this point, and it sure tarnishes an otherwise great trip. We'll see what they come back with tomorrow, but I don't expect it to go well.

We should dock in Shimizu tomorrow around 9:00, and we'll head off for our final excursion of this cruise. 

20251028 Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 24– Kobe, Japan

Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 24 – Highlights of Kobe

 We docked this morning in Kobe, Japan. The original itinerary had us docking in Osaka, but for what Viking called "operational reasons", the port was changed to Kobe. No matter, the two ports are just a few miles apart, and all excursions that were originally scheduled for Osaka were available from Kobe. For us, it was a win because we visited Osaka the last time we cruised through this area. You can read about our Osaka adventures here.

Kobe is a bustling city of 1.5 million residents. It is a major port for both commercial and cruise traffic. We took Viking's included tour, Kobe Highlights, that took us to a Shinto shrine in the middle of town, and a scenic overlook nearly 3,000 feet above the city.

First up was the Ikuta-jinja Shrine. Ikuta- Jinja Shrine is an anomaly. It sits right at the heart of Kobe, and in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the big city, it brings a small area of peace and tranquility to a busy world. Founded in the 3rd century by Empress Jingu, the shrine is dedicated to the Goddess Wakahirume-no-Mikoto, who is the spirit of the sun goddess Amaterasu-Omikami and is a guardian of health.

Within the overall shrine setting, many small shrines can be found

I can't explain what my phone did to the sky here, but it didn't look like that - this gives you an idea of how the city surrounds this place

The main shrine

A small, formal ceremony was underway with photographers and children in traditional wear

The elaborate entry gate to the main shrine area

Wishing walls, where you write your wish on a board and hang it

This one was specifically for love and matchmaking

A monument blessing cooking knives - seriously

There was a large forested area as well, complete with more monuments

After we toured the shrine, we boarded the bus and took a roughly 40-minute ride up Mt. Rokko to the Rokko Garden Terrace, 2,887 feet above the city.

Look to the left, and you see Osaka

Look to the right, and you see Kobe - look farther right, and you could have seen our ship if the hill wasn't in the way

It was in the 60s in the city - it was in the mid-40s on top of the mountain

Kobe Beef flavored potato chips in the gift shop

Colors were just starting - I imagine this place will be breathtaking in a couple of weeks

At the very top, they had a stylized observation tower - we didn't have time to go up there

One thing we've noted is that the Japanese love boxy vehicles - they're everywhere

And it's not just one model - all the car companies have them - boxes on wheels

We made the 40-minute ride back to the ship and grabbed lunch. After lunch, we took the provided shuttle into Kobe and the Chinatown area.

What could be more ironic than leaving China to visit Japan so we could visit a Chinatown?

Arlona's favorite vending machine

It was busy, and it was Tuesday afternoon - we can't imagine what a weekend must be like

Selling items in small, plastic capsules is a thing here

This entire store was filled with capsule vending machines

There were tons of food vendors lining the streets

One of the nicest sewer covers we've seen

There was also a huge, covered shopping street

After wandering around the shopping area, we decided to make the 2.1km walk back to the ship rather than take the shuttle. Here are some of the sights we saw along the way.

A crazy intersection with around ten crosswalks in all directions

A sign marking an old foreign settlement area within Kobe that ends at Higashi Yuenchi Park

We walked through Higashi Yuenchi Park, checking out all the art placed throughout the park.

A random Mozart statue

Tomorrow's Handprint

The wall was made of tiles with handprints of children

Marina by Yuki Shintani

Dedicated to the Aegean Sea

z

Zion by Yasutake Funakoshi

Space Eye by Minami Tada

Rojinhongoshin

Flower Clock

We exited the park and found our way back to the ship. On the way, I saw this art installation.

Silhouetted Cranes Against Tobacco Sky - artist unknown

Tonight, we booked dinner at Manfredi's, the Italian restaurant on all Viking ocean-going ships. Once again, we enjoyed a fantastic meal with wonderful service. The only complaint was the view. We had a table near the window and enjoyed a lovely view of the cruise terminal building, as the ship was docked on that side. In the grand scheme of things, if that's the big complaint, it was a pretty good day.

We popped up to deck #8 to check out the city lights. Of course, the view would be better without the cruise terminal, but it was what it was, and it was still pretty.

We will be here in Kobe until somewhere around 2:00 tomorrow afternoon, when we sail for Shimizu. Tomorrow will likely be a laundry morning as we prep for the end of the cruise and our extension to Mongolia.