On my last day of freedom before having to return to work we spent the day on the Kitano area of Kobe. Kitano is a great area, it is in the foothills of the mountains that we had visited earlier. When Japan opened the port of Kobe for trade with foreigners in the 19th century, many of them settled in Kitano. Because of that it has a very western feel (architecture, restaurants, etc). There are many old mansions that you can tour. It is a very nice little place to visit – bring comfortable shoes (very hilly).
2009 is the year of the Ox in Japan (2008 was the year of the rat). You see little calves all over. The calf is the symbol used to represent the year of the Ox. The Japanese use the same Zodiac calendar as the Chinese. The calendar has a 12 year cycle of animals. The ox sign “symbolizes prosperity through fortitude and hard work”. Sounds like a good thing for 2009, right?
We visited a nice shrine while we were there. People were throwing money into a bucket, saying a prayer, and ringing a bell. We opted to just look around and hope that some of the good luck would rub off on us.
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