Kobe – Beef and Capsule Hotels

My summer holiday is here and travel beckons. While my holiday is comparably hefty with 6 weeks in the summer alone, there is a lot of Japan to see. So, as we were on our way to Nagoya to see a Sumo tournament it only made good logical sense to hit some other places on the way. The first stop was a night in Kobe. This gave me the chance to cross-off some more items off my 'bucket list'.

I've wanted to try Kobe beef for a long time. After tasting reindeer steak in Finland, I thought I had found the holy grail of all meat, until I heard on a cookery program that in most peoples options, the succulent reindeer steak came a close runner up to Kobe beef. For those of who you don't know, Kobe cows are the most pampered livestock I've ever heard of, as the cows are given massages and beer to drink. The aim is to make the cows as calm as possible which does something rather surprising to the meat. It makes the fat more evenly dispersed thought meat, creating a tender and juicer steak with a marbled effect of white fatty veins running through the meat. After waiting so long to try this, I never though it could live up to the hype after so much time. I was wrong. Kobe beef is amazing. It has such a burst of flavour and the steak is so tender it almost melts in your mouth. The texture is oddly similar to a mince beef burger. If you ever get a chance you must try it. It's not cheap but well worth it. FYI, if you intend to try a steak in Japan ask them to cook it a little more than you would normally. Once, I asked for a rare steak and it came raw.

The next item to tick off the list was sleeping in a capsule hotel. Capsule hotels are a cheaper alternative to standard business hotels, but what you take away on price you sacrifice on space. They are aptly named as all you are given is 'capsule' of a bed; a plastic coffin like tube fitted with a bed, a TV and a clock. The one we stayed in was somewhat dated with an 80s theme in a non-ironic way and clothing that looks like an MC Hammer Jimbe (Jimbe is a traditional Japanese summer casual costume). Men and Women are segregated and you must shower and onsen before slipping into your allotted hole for the night. The general clientèle seemed to be the older Japanese business man travelling alone. Not a word seems to be spoken between the men and this combined with the nudity in the onsen can be a little disturbing. I've seen more naked, saggy, old Japanese men that I care to see for a while. The capsule itself is actually quite comfortable and while the thin curtain that covers the front of my capsule doesn't keep out the noise I was asleep as my head hit the pillow.