Kobe - Beef, and Gaggles of Gaijin

Another one of my favourite cities in Japan is Kobe. As a JET Programme participant, we have the choice of re-contracting for up to 2 additional years, and if we choose to, we get sent to Kobe for the re-contracting conference. I am sticking around, and so I got sent there in May. I thought originally: "Ho hum, boring business conference, yawn," but I was pleasantly surprised. We still had to sit through a bunch of presentations, but many were useful, and even entertaining, like my friend Natalie's on how to learn kanji. Others were like sitting through a root canal, but not many.
The evenings were ours however, and we made the most of them. I went out the first night with Raph, a guy I had met on the Shinkansen on the way up. He is from Oita city, and when we met I kicked myself for not talking to him earlier because he's a really cool guy. We and a group of others went to Kobe's Chinatown for dinner, and had a spectacular meal. The buildings were as incredible as the food too. After, we wandered through the colorful electric cityscape and had some very good beer at a Belgian beer bar (say that 3 times fast). I was surprised however that I still couldn't get Stella Artois there, which in my opinion is one of the best beers made by man.
The next day was more workshops, and after that it was time to really get down to business, as it was our last big night. We went out and found a cozy little restaurant that served the world-famous Kobe beef, and as I've said many times since, it was one of the top 5 best meals I have ever had. Not only is the beef itself tender, juicy and perfectly marbled with the ideal amount of fat, but you sit directly in front of the grill as a master chef cooks it to perfection, piece by piece, before your eyes. This way each mouthful is warm and fresh from the grill as you bite into it. Sea salt, cracked black pepper, and roasted garlic are given to season, and the result is an A-list party in your mouth, with everyone invited. Kobe beef is to regular steak what regular steak is to week-old cow poop. Or MacDonald's.
Anyway, after this we went out for a few more drinks at a pretty authentic Brit-style pub, chatted to the wee hours and called it a night. The next morning there was some free time, so naturally it was dedicated to some souvenir shopping. I discovered that Raph is a raging manga fan, and for the first time I got a proper introduction to it in the many, many manga stores around Kobe. It truly boggled my mind there was so much, but when you consider that Japanese people read about 57 a day, largely in lieu of actual novels, you begin to understand why every convenience store has at least one shelf devoted to it. Then I went shopping for clothes, and managed to snag some very nice jeans in Kobe's trendy fashion district, before finally catching the Shink back to home sweet Beppu. I'll end by saying that if you are a visitor to Japan, or live here and plan to travel, the top cities to see in my books are as follows: Kobe (for the beef), Kyoto (for the culture), Tokyo (the beating heart of Japan), Osaka (for nightlife) and Miyazaki (for beaches, surfing and natural beauty). This is it so far, but if I find any others, you'll be the first to know. Next time: Japlish Part II.