VCBCers Hang Out

Jan 13-15

All we were missing was Wynne from the chinese side and we would have the VCBCers of Japan in one place... KOBE!!!! I wanted to use the rest of my seishun18 kippu (youthful18 train tickets) and it just so happens that I got a saturday (well really they kinda didn't fill the holes of my schedule, luckily my supervisor is a nice guy and let me work another day...) Shan had that day off tooo and well Raph is just a lucky guy that lives in Osaka which is the heartland of the Kansai region - Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Osaka... need I say more?

So early in the morning Shan and I get on the trains to meet in Osaka then Kobe. Good fun there, we start off with... COFFEE... then we go hunting for this building that supposed to be created by a famous architect that did the 'Church of Light' which Shan via Alicia (her architect in the making sister) says is really cool cause the building is concrete and the only light is a cross shape window... anyways when we go back thats our next stop... suppose to be in Osaka too...

So its was the Kobe Art Museum...

Then in about the same area is the Kobe Earthquake Museum - They had chronicled over hundreds of accounts, plus videos, recreation sets and science world-like displays... It was so sad!!!!! Least to say, we're all going to die in Vancouver when the big one hits ^^''...

Just outside of it we ran into a High School mascot -
Also there was a live duo guitar group playing... maybe I'll link a clip later... they're pretty good... Doki Doki

Then we headed off to the UCC Coffee Museum... I think my enthusiasm speaks for itself...

Then we wandered into the Chinatown, after going to a Cake decoration exhibition which we weren't allowed cameras, while we waited to meet up with Raph for dinner.

Day Two - After a very cold night at Raphs, in which both of us didn't get sleep - Raph because he was sleeping in a chair/on boxes, and me cause of the cold... hahaha Shan was smart cause she had her super blanket from Vancouver... We head off to a Sake Plant to see their musuem...and tasting of course

Then we headed to the Fashion Musuem cause we wanted to see cool clothes... but no cameras allowed :(

Then we headed to the...

Where Raph climbed more things... Behind me is the Kobe Tower and Maritime Museum...

Kobe Memorial - They preserved a wrecked part of the port from the 1995 earthquake in rememberance of all the people that suffered.... over 6000 people had died.

I used my last ticket (5 tickets in total, 2 to/from Tokyo, 2 to/from Kobe, 1 - Toyota)

Jan 15 - I spent my day with my coworker to hunt down the Toyota Kaikan...
It was quite sucky to get there without a car....
But cool!!!

They had a robot that played the trumpet and we got to see some wierd gadgets... not too much stuff there but enough to stasify the geography nerd in me... *ahhhh* Just-in-Time Production...





Then of course I had to get coffee... Muu Muu Coffee? Flavoured... it was pretty good....