The overnight flight from Singapore to Osaka was uneventful. As soon as we’d taken off – this was about 1:20 AM – the lights dimmed, which was about the cue for passengers to get some sleep before the service crew went about breakfast rounds starting from 5:00 AM. I managed to get some winks in, but Ling didn’t on account that the seats on SQ were too uncomfortable for her.
The flight landed at 8:10 AM, and we caught a limousine bus from Kansai International Airport to Kobe (ticket price per adult was 1,900円). There were less than half a dozen passengers on the bus. Maybe it’s a weekday thing, or just that Kobe isn’t a usual tourist spot for people. The bus took us to Sannomiya Station, then a bit of walking involved to transfer from the rail to the subway station.
That’s when the fun began; because while Ling had laid out our transportation routes, trying to understand how the ticketing terminals work was a totally different story! I didn’t really want to step in yet but it was funny to watch her reaction as she try to decipher how station stops are represented on the ticketing terminal.
And something funnily happened; two aunties on the adjourning terminal saw that Ling was obviously having difficulty, so volunteered themselves to her aid like any gossiping pair of Hokkien aunties back at home would. They were joined soon enough by a third auntie and the group looked like a troupe of clucking mother hens as they were all trying to figure out how to work the terminal to get to Kosubu Kobe station (where our hotel was)!
Once the tickets were correctly purchased (120円 per person for a short two station trip), it was a simple matter of finding the right platform to get to. Ling liked the subways immediately, especially the soft velvety passenger seats, and added that these would never be used responsibly in Singapore.
And our hotel is situated right on top of Kosubu Kobe station! Check-in was at 1500 though, and no matter how hard we tried to put up a sad puppy look, the concierge was unmoved and would only let us check-in at 1400. That meant we had about 3 hours of exploring around on food to go.
More in the next post! :)
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