Day 66 Taking Tango Steps with Burgers in Kobe
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Loading ...Kobe Beef. Kobe Bryant. The name of this beautiful port city in western Japan has spread itself for its world-class gourmet flavor. It’s not just the beef, but they are also known for delicious patisseries and bakeries that make people melt in oo’s and ahh’s. As with some other port cities in Japan, quite a few retro Western buildings can be seen in Kobe, but I wasn’t doing much sightseeing there. More than anything, I was looking forward to seeing Eri, a good friend of mine from university back in Los Angeles.
Eri is an artsy type with many friends in Kobe as it is her hometown. She invited me to their barbecue birthday party in a park. As I had just had my birthday while I was stuck in rain in Awaji Island, she celebrated it for me too with just about 30 of her friends! I wondered if my luck with food and friends would run out somewhere during this trip, but I tried to just enjoy the timing in life that kept smiling at me and my bike.
This party in the park was everyone’s home-cooked food extravaganza, plus a professional burger cafe owner friend, who brought his restaurant kitchen out to the park. He made the buns, the bacon, the patties and the barbecue sauce, all by himself. His silver van spoke for his lifestyle; “No Burger, No Life.”
Saying cheese with the wonderful Burger Man!
From delicious Thai curry to spring rolls, slow cooked meatloaf and marinated octopus, we had way more than we could consume over the course of 8 hours. This was some serious potluck, and I happened to cycle by this city just in time for it.
To top this off, there was a musician, and then there were dancers! What was a serious potluck suddenly became a serious dancing scene. I had been to many barbecues and potlucks before, but this one topped it all not just for its food, but in its surprise factor. It was a free-style performance in a park with constant laughter.
There was a tango dancer too. I had never ever taken a dancing lesson before, and I was in awe while some of us were trying it out for the first time. I decided to stop being shy and gave it a try. What was remarkable was that it was so easy, as long as I was looking at just under his neck. I could see the steps he was taking without looking down, and all I had to do was follow. Boy, did I find a new “thing-to-do” in my life! Dancing!
These dancers were so free in expressing themselves, it gave me so much energy and courage to not sit small and be shy. (I know, I’m not the shy type to begin with, you’re thinking.) Expressing one’s feeling outward in an art form is a great thing to do, whether it be through dancing, writing, playing music, painting or even cooking. I always enjoyed watching dancing, but it has now become something I want to do in the future. Cycling, cooking, dancing, why not?
We were out eating and laughing in the park until after it got dark. By the time I got back on my bike to get back to Kobe’s backpacker’s house was past 10pm. This isn’t the greatest shot, but I cycled through the sparkling city of Kobe that night, filled with happy energy.
As if they had a theme for my visit, I cycled by a crowd of teenage hip hop dancers in practice under a highway in Kobe. This had to be a sign I should pick up on dancing!
Eri and I couldn’t stop laughing when we saw each other as I arrived on my pink bike. Neither of us would have ever guessed that I would actually cycle all the way to Kobe to see her, let alone head to Hokkaido alone. No, I was never that type. But, life is a surprise, even when it comes to myself whom I think I know well enough.
Thanks to Eri, the purest smiler of all my friends, I had the most wonderful time in the delicious Kobe with the beautiful artsy minds and soul.
About the Author: Sachi
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