Its Monday night here in Japan. I am on the Shinkansen (bullet train) heading back to Osaka for a few days. Besides missing Tracy and Sean it has been a really good trip.
I worked all last week in a town called Hamamatsu and other than having a few great meals did not have a whole lot of fun. For the weekend I got to go to the Osaka/Kobe area (where we will live) to check it out. I enjoyed the area and think it is safe to say that it exceeded my expectations. I am on my way back to Kobe now to meet with a realtor on Tuesday to look at apartments. From what I saw over the weekend I don’t think we will have a problem finding a great place to live (at least for Japan).
Some highlights from the weekend:
- I got to visit with some friends Friday night who live in one of the apartment building that we will look at. It is a great location and very expat friendly. The apartment are actually US sized and I think we would fit quite nicely.
- Rokko Island (where the above mentioned apartment building is located) is great. It is a expat community in Kobe. They have everything there you could ever want – hotels, bars, restaurant, hospital, schools. I think you could actually never leave the island and be just fine. When you get tired of the island it is only a short trip (15 minutes) into downtown Kobe.
- Most of Saturday I wandered around Kobe. The city is great. It seems to be about the perfect size. I walked around the bay/harbor and then headed into town. In the port area they have lots of great ports, cruise and sightseeing ships, shops, hotels, an amusement park and lots of other fun stuff. That will definitely be a place we take people when they come visit.
- Downtown Kobe is full of shops and restaurants. We wont run out of places to eat.
- The city is not quote as Western friendly as Tokyo. There are not as many signs and street names in English. I think that is good – it will force us to learn the language.
- People in Kobe seemed more open and friendly than in Tokyo. People told me that it would be the case and I agree.
- Japanese culture is pretty cool. On Rokko Island I met a family that has two young kids (they are from New Jersey). In Japan they let the kids play outside and don’t worry about anything happening to them. Another example – I was traveling on the Shinkansen Friday with a friend of mine He left his suit coat on the train somewhere along the way. He called the rail line – they found the coat and were going to return it to his local train station. Can you image that happening on the subway in New York?
I have my camera with me and will be documenting every square inch of every apartment shown to me. I hope to give Tracy a good idea of what our options are.
I am coming home Thursday and am counting the hours. I hope Sean didn’t forget about me!
Pat
We miss you very much! Love,