Week 9: Have I Improved?

Pictures taken by me!

A Trip to the Nunobiki Herb Garden

When I was visiting Japan, I went to the Nunobiki Herb Garden, which is located on top of the Mount Rokko in Kobe. It is known as Japan's largest herb garden consisting of 75,000 herbs and flowers. 

I went up by riding on the cable car from downtown Kobe and I really enjoyed looking at the view. When I looked down, I noticed that the buildings were getting smaller and smaller every second we were going up. You could also see the Bay of Kobe, shining from afar. Almost halfway through, everyone noticed a beautiful waterfall. The Nunobiki waterfall is the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen. Although the sound of water pouring down the waterfall was very loud, I felt calm just by listening to it. There were many kinds of trees and shrubs. Other than that, there were also trees with orange and yellow leaves. Below the ropeway, I saw a pathway with shrubs. Some people were walking up there. I waved at them and waited for anyone to wave back. No one noticed me. I shrugged and continued taking pictures.

When I stepped out of the cable car, the first thing I noticed was the view from below. You could see the bay and almost the whole city of Kobe. I was mesmerized because of the view. The bay was even prettier than seeing it from the cable car. Although the sky was gloomy, it was one of the views I will never forget. The wind was quite strong and it almost carried my beanie away from my head. The buildings were very small and the people who were walking downtown were barely even visible. The only way to see them properly was to use a binocular, which cost a few yen.

The Herb Garden had many flowers and herbs as expected but the flowers were not that pretty. In the brochure, there were tulips, roses, lilies, sunflowers, orchids, etc. but actually, it was mostly plants and flowers that could only be planted in winter like violets. At least I was not disappointed and I understood that they were like that because we visited in winter and the weather in winter was quite harsh.

We explored the front area and there were shops for souvenirs and a hotdog stand. I walked in deeper and there was a fountain right in the middle with more flowers and shrubs. They had a concert hall also known as "Mori no Hall" or Hall of Forest (mori means forest). The hall was surrounding the fountain with other buildings. I walked inside the concert hall and I could feel the warm air from the fireplace. The feeling was very different from outside. They had couches and tables with decorations. The second floor of the theatre was very large. The windows were tall and the roof was curved into a dome. There were many chairs arranged in rows for people to sit and watch. When we exited the dome, there was more area at the back filled with trees, flowers, and shrubs but my family decided to stop because it looked like it was going to rain.

On our way back to the cable car, I glanced back at the herb garden. It was a wonderful place and I had a wonderful time there. I absolutely loved this place and I would love to come back here again.