Everywhere Has a Chinatown

Today, my friends Mai and Nozomi took me to Kobe's Chinatown. We had to change trains a couple times, but the trip was relatively painless. In Kobe, Chinatown is a single narrow street. It was very crowded when we were there and there were long lines outside some poplar restaurants.

Here we are at the big gate marking the entrance into Chinatown.

By the time we got to Chinatown, the three of us were starving. And what's always good in Chinatown?

The food.

We sampled different kinds of Chinese food from the restaurants lining the street. I had gyoza and nikuman, Mai had gyoza and an unidentifiable dumpling, and Nozomi had some of the duck you see in the above photo. A lot of the food was made to order, so it was fun to talk and admire the chef's handiwork while we waited.

As we were leaving, we saw an old man surrounded by a crown. By rubbing his hands along the handles of this bowl, he could make the water vibrate and shoot droplets into the air. Very cool! He beckoned me over and showed me how to do it. It's a lot harder than it looks.

After Chinatown, we decided to keep exploring Kobe since we weren't tired yet. We wandered over to a mall/arcade/amusement park complex and hit up all three parts.

We didn't ride the ferris wheel, but we did ride the equally rickety kid's rollercoaster.

Since Halloween is coming up, one of the arcade employees was chilling out as Spider-Man.

If you want to dress up like a Nazi for your purikura, there are cosumes available!
I was expecting the schoolgirl uniforms and princess dresses, but...a Nazi uniform? Really?

This angry-looking Statue of Liberty made me miss New York.

Nozomi should've bought these glasses. But she did not.

Obligatory purikura!

The following is shamelessly taken from Wikipedia:

After money has been inserted in the machine, as many as ten customers can enter the booth and pose for up to ten exposures. Some common options include the ability to alter lighting and back drops while the newest versions offer features such as fans and bluescreen effects. Some establishments even offer costumes and wigs for customers to borrow.

Once the pictures have been taken, the customers select the pictures that they wish to keep and customize them using a touch screen or pen-sensitive screen. The touch screen then displays a vast array of options such as virtual stamps, pictures, clip art, colourful backdrops, borders, and pens that can be superimposed on the photographs.

Finally, the number and size of the pictures to be printed is chosen, and the pictures print out on a glossy full-color 4 X 6 inch sheet to be cut up and divided among the group of customers. Some photo booths also allow the pictures to be sent to customers' mobile phones.

Photo sticker booths are particularly popular among young people as an inexpensive form of recreation. The pictures can be kept as souvenirs or traded with friends.