Category Archives: Kobe 神戸

Baumkuchen バウムクーヘン A typical Kobe cake

バウムクーヘン Baumkuchen is a typical cake originating in Germany, but which was introduced into Kobe and from there it became the local 名物 めいぶつ meibutsu (=famous local product). The pictures make it quite clear how the cake is produced. Baum means tree and Kuchen means cake.



おいしい  oishii  delicious
うれしい  ureshii  happy
このサイズ  kono saizu  this size



The batter-like dough is brushed onto rolls and slowly baked. The effect is that the cake appears to have tree-rings, hence tree cake バウムクーヘン.





ユーハイム, or Juchheim, is a famous バウムクーヘン cake specialist.












The chocolate variety.



Add an apple…

寿 ことぶき コトブキ long life



A slight variation in spelling – same type of cake.
The book on cake!













More filling possibilities.





Add a peach…














Jumbo Baumkuchen



Tokyo German Village



Add green tea powder… why not?









やわらか  yawaraka = soft (here: fluffy)











寿 ことぶき コトブキ Long Life Cake.



If you eat it once, you can never eat anything else…
(death by cake – if you think about it)









The perfect souvenir gift.






Ma-cha is high quality green tea.



Caramel Baum.




White Baumkuchen




(pictures from internet for educational purposes)

Limousine holiday outing; a real hen-party!

Today is a special day! It doesn’t matter if it rains.
Let’s go for lunch and dinner and stay in Arima!
And let’s go in a limousine! Just for fun!
Let the Hen Party begin!


The restaurant – hotel is so expensive that the crockery is matched to the guests’ outfit! And each and every dish is different crockery!



 It doesn’t matter if it rains today.
Today is fun and exquisite and civilised.
Nothing a limousine can’t attend to.

  

Oh, what fun!

Arriving in Shin-Kobe 新神戸到着


新神戸駅
しんこうべえき
Shin Kōbe Eki
Shinkansen Kōbe Station
Bullet-train Kōbe Station

Shinkansen Kōbe Station is about half-way between Hakata 
(= Fukuoka City in Kyushu)) and Tokyo, the capital city of Japan

新幹線乗り場
新幹線のりば
しんかんせんのりば
shinkansen noriba

Shinkansen entrance to the trains
  
  
It is so beautifully organised, you just cannot go wrong
  
新神戸駅
しんこうべえき
Shin Kōbe Eki
Shinkansen Kōbe Station
Bullet Train Kōbe Station
Important:
Shin-Kōbe Station is high up in the hills, quite a way away from Kōbe Station, which is downtown. Shin in this context means Shinkansen, which means bullet train. People who arrive on the bullet train in Kōbe still need to get down to the city. Mind you, there is plenty of transport – very convenient.
view from the station towards the city further down the hill

Bullet Trains 新幹線 しんかんせん

新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん


This is your seat ticket travelling from Nagoya to Kyōto, Tokyo to Nagaoka etc. on the Shinkansen, or Bullet Train.



For tourists from outside Japan there is a much cheaper option to travel longer distances. This is easier if you buy a so-called Japan Rail Pass outside Japan first. You can exchange the voucher for a pass, which would entitle you to unlimited travel on JR for one or two or three weeks.  Remember though that the Rail Pass can only be bought OUTSIDE Japan.  Here is the link to more information on this subject.  




It is an important piece of information to know that all Shinkansen (Bullet Train) stations are quite separate from ordinary stations. The Shinkansen stations tend to be “upstairs” and you need your tickets before you can get in. In order to separate the two stations, the Shinkansen stations are talked about as “Shin Osaka”, or “Shin Yokohama”, or Shin Kōbe “; that way no one is confused.


On the platform the space where the train doors will be opening, with their numbers, has already been marked.




新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん


First class Green Seat Compartment




博多 はかた Hakata
 
is the old name for
 
福岡 ふくおか Fukuoka
 
 and it is still used by the railways

(for the western line, it is the end of the line)



The lady with the trolley will travel up and down the train for passengers who would like to buy some food or drinks and who do not wish to make use of the dearer option in the dining car. You could of course bring your own prepared food with you, as long as you do not impose on other travelling guests. 


A little commercial break

Here is an important Japanese word; Japanese HATE it, they LOATH it;
it is sooooo un-Japanese:


迷惑 めいわく imposition  meiwaku 


bother, nuisance, trouble

bubble-crushers, loud-mouthsmess-makers, whingers


To bother other people, to impose on them, to make someone else responsible for your issues, to waste other people’s time, to burden them with your problems, to not know your limitations, to play it out in public, to cause a scene, to intrude into someone else’s bubble, to bore other people, to leave your mess for someone else, to be loud and overbearing, to forget that you are a guest, to forget that life is not about you, to seek attention unnecessarily. Do these sound familiar to you? If this is your way of getting by in life, then Japan is sooo not your place to visit! 

“But what if…” – stop whingeing! Deal with it! It is your issue, not the world’s. Get help, if you need it; they’ll gladly give it to you, you can get help everywhere and anywhere and anytime, but then MOVE ON!  As a nation, the Japanese are perhaps the most helpful people in the world, but DO MOVE ON! They all have a train to catch somewhere and it is a fast train and it isn’t in your direction. Get the idea?

迷惑 めいわく imposition  meiwaku 


Now back to the Bullet Train again:



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



Don’t worry:
they also have western-style toilets on the train.


新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



“oh, dear, is that the price of petrol?”


新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



Look! There’s your “Shin” reference!


and here’s your real “Shin”! Oh, what fun!


The dearer option, but very pleasant indeed…


新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん



upstairs downstairs


Enjoy your trip!
新幹線
shinkansen
しんかんせん