When it comes to luxurious hotel accomodations, the ANA Crowne Plaza in Kobe pretty much takes the cake. The Asakusa View Hotel in Tokyo will always be dear to us, despite being slightly dated, because it was the first hotel we stayed in in Japan, and the Hotel Granvia in Kyoto will always seem like our home away from home. The Crowne Plaza, however, beats ’em both in the Gee, It’s Really Nice To Be Self-Indulgent Now And Then category. Nice views, too. In about 15 minutes we’re heading up to the 37th-floor lounge for cocktails with our friends Sid and Takako Makino.
We had dinner at the Makinos’ house last night. Takako stuffed me with an abundance of her gyoza (dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and hot oil), spring rolls, a seafood-and-asparagus salad, and a dish with Chinese noodles, several kinds of fish, and what I think was either seaweed or mushrooms. At her insistence I also had a brief lesson in gyoza assembly and cooking.
Sid has finally retired from his work as both a guide for foreign visitors and an instructor for new guides. After 10 years in the guide business (preceeded by a lengthy career as an executive with Matsushita/Panasonic), he’s decided that he’s ready to take things a bit slower and turn his attention to studying Japanese history. Sid’s enthusiasm for showing visitors around his country is warm and infectious, and his departure will be a loss for the tour-guide community. On the other hand, I can completely understand how one would eventually grow weary of leading gaijin from one destination to the next. We are very fortunate to be befriended by him and Takako, in part because he continues to suggest interesting places for us to visit in Japan.
Tomorrow morning we head to Kyoto by shinkansen.
