Kaiju Creative Returns to Japan – Episode 09 – Day Trip Dreaming – Japan Travel Vlog June 2025
Day nine began with a 30inut or so train ride into the capital city of the Hyogo Prefecture, Coobe. Japan’s seventh largest city was bustling with activity from the get-go, and Nicl and I were keen to discover what hidden treasures this port city had to offer. First up was going to be a quick stroll through Nankin Machi, otherwise known as Coobe’s Chinatown. This area dates back to 1868 when Coobe’s port first opened to foreigners and Chinese immigrants made the area their focal point, and it is now considered an important part of Coobe’s identity. But a bit further along, we’d find one of the main spots we wanted to check out on this day. Coobe Tower. Opened in 1963 and having gone through recent renovations that completed in April of 2024, the tower is one of the major landmarks in the city. Views for days. Yeah. Up here on the Coobe Tower. taking in the sights. Can’t use an umbrella or a selfie stick because could go right over, but not a bad way to spend a sunny day. This 108 meter tall tower was designed to look like a suzumi or a Japanese drum and features amazing 360 degree views of the city throughout. The top five floors of the tower encompassing the sightseeing levels feature all sorts of great spots including a rotating cafe. You can see that’s getting closer to my head. soon. It’ll be a text. 20 minutes for a rotation, I think. So, what do you got? Observation deck. Mhm. Sport gallery rotating cafe restaurant. That’s where we are. Yeah. Mhm. And then stairs down. Going to go everywhere. fruity. It’s a very good combination. The combination of flavors. That’s what I’m here for. Yep. And strawberry. Who doesn’t love strawberry? And another level features a small museum of light whose theme is based on brilliance. You could sort of think of it as like a mini teen labs that’s a few hundred feet in the sky. Oh, don’t leave it. straight on today. We didn’t really know any of this info going in and we were actually pretty blown away by all the experiences Coobe Tower had to offer guests. And apparently I’m a big tower guy now and Coobe Tower definitely deserves top ranks for its unique design, breathtaking views, and all the fun to be had within. But it was time to move on across the harbor for a little retail therapy. and Nicola’s eyes lit up when we came across a branch of Donguri, the official Studio Ghibli store chain across Japan. And there was a little shop nearby that even piqued my interest. But you know how these videos go by now. After spending most of the day walking, we began to build up a pretty big hunger. And thanks to one of my favorite creators online, I knew exactly where to head. Under this busy shopping street in Japan, there’s over 80 hidden restaurants. and I’d like to try every one of them. We’re out of our comfort zone and going in completely blind. And while we won’t be ranking them on a tier list, if we had, I’d imagine Tonkatu Nagatai would be toward the top. It’s pretty big. Hand for scale. And the beers weren’t the only thing that were big, because look at the size of this succulent fried pork cutlet. The tonkatu meal set included all the trimmings, and it should come as no shock, but it was a meal that filled us up and left us with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Fried pork wasn’t the only thing this shopping plaza had to offer, as up from the underground levels was another retro gaming paradise just waiting to be explored. This is Ojakan Sanomia, and besides having the latest releases, it also comes packed to the gills with retro gaming treasures. And trust me when I say I could have spent hours going through every inch of this store, but ours we didn’t have. What did you get, Frank? Many things, many treasures. Spent all day there. I believe we did. Um, I need to put this in my bag. And goods acquired. Our time in Coobe was coming to a close as an adventurous day was back on deck in Osaka. Okay. See you.
We’re up early and heading out of Osaka as a day trip to Kobe is coming up on our 9th day in Japan.
We’ve only got one day to make the most out of Japan’s 9th largest city and there are a few spots that we set out to see including another terrific tower, some fantastic food and a heap of groovy games.
Being just a 30 minute ride from Osaka, Kobe is a port city with so much to offer and it’ll be hard to see it all in just a day but with some amazing weather and the wind at our backs we’ll try our best in Episode 9 (the half-way point f the series!!) of Kaiju Creative Returns to Japan!
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As always we aim to entertain and inform with these travel vlogs and hopefully we might even be able to help you come up with some ideas for your future trip to Japan.
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The third in our Japan Travel Vlog series is finally here as Frank and Nichola hit up Tokyo, Hiroshima, Beppu, Osaka, Hakone and more over 18 days during June 2025.
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