Retracing Kuro-ouji’s steps in Kobe

16 April, 2017.

The morning after attending Kento’s Satomi Hakkenden opening show at Chiba, I took the 6.34am shinkansen out of Tokyo and arrived at Kobe at about 10am. It was my first time in Kobe. After leaving my luggage at the hotel, I went immediately to the tourist information center wanting to buy a Kansai One Pass. That’s when I realised that the Suica card can also be used on Kobe city buses (despite what the official homepage says…). Anyway, thankfully I went there cos that’s where I found the Ookami Shojo to Kuro Ouji locations maps!

Bus #101 brought me straight to the DRI, also known as the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake museum. In the movie, it was where Erika, Kyoya, and the rest of the students went during their school trip.

And this was where Kuro-ouji walked out from the building, stopped in his tracks and looked at Erika. One of my favourite scenes from the movie.

From the movie:

They also filmed inside the museum, but unfortunately I was on a tight schedule so I didn’t enter. I really wanted to visit that floor where one can experience what it was like before, during and after the earthquake. But I guess I’ll do so the next time I visit Kobe.

Next location on my list was Venus Terrace.

I was lucky that the only direct bus (Bus #25) to Venus Bridge operates only on Sundays, and it was a Sunday. The bus comes only once an hour, so do take note of the bus schedules if you are planning to go there. There were more people there than I expected though. Most of them drove or climbed up. There was also a couple who went there to hang their love-lock.

From the movie:

And the making:

Venus Bridge is that bridge leading to the terrace. Erika and Kyoya both ran along the bridge to get to the terrace. I came by bus so I actually came by the other way and reached the terrace first before seeing the bridge lol.

From the movie:

While admiring the view of Kobe, I had Starbucks Club Sandwich (which was so delicious!! Why can’t the Starbucks here make better sandwiches…) and Classic Tea Cream Frappuccino for lunch, caught some pokemons lol, then took the next bus back to the station.

From there, I took the JR to Kobe station and walked to the waterfront area of Harbourland. I did a lot of walking but the view was very pleasant. Maybe cos it was a Sunday, the place was buzzling with activities from music performances to street dances.

There was no easier way over to the other side except by foot. So I walked again, over to Kobe Port Tower, down the long bridge, and to the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel – where Erika, Kyoya and classmates ‘stayed’ during the school trip. Due to certain circumstances, I walked up and down that bridge 3 times that day lol.

I took the chance to rest my feet in the hotel lobby, which was also one of the movie’s locations. The Sata vs Kamiya scene took place here. And I realised that that scene was filmed from inside a restaurant. The camera was placed behind a piano inside the restaurant, and the chandelier also belonged to the restaurant.

From the movie:

I walked back along the long bridge and that’s when I realised that the path that Kyoya ran wasn’t only this but also the one behind the tower, along the building where Kiss-FM Kobe was. In the making, this was also where Kento was stretching his legs before the run. Although I was tired from all the walking, I thought of Kento having to run numerous times along those two bridge/path…and I didn’t feel so bad LOL.

From the making:

As you might have guessed, I walked back along that long bridge (this was the 3rd time) to the hotel again. I was thinking if I should 1) walk over to Nankinmachi from where I was… or 2) take the hotel shuttle bus to Sannomiya station and change a train to Motomachi (then walk to Nankinmachi). After calculating the walking distance, my tired legs voted for the latter. So… yeah I walked back, and it was a good move, cos I found the location where Kusakabe approached Kyoya to talk about Erika haha.

It was just beside the waiting area for the shuttle bus. So while waiting for the bus, I took these pictures. The area where they placed the camera was out of bounds so these pics were taken from another angle. And the sun was starting to set by then.

From the movie:

When I reached Sannomiya station, I decided to check in to the hotel and rest a little first. Then I headed out to Nankinmachi – for dinner too since there were many restaurants there selling Kobe beef. It was a short walk from Motomachi station, which is just one stop away.

Nankinmachi (Chinatown in Kobe) was the location where Erika and Kusakabe saw the lion dance in the day, where Erika went back at night to search for her lost kamelonpan charm, and where Kyoya and Erika had their final ‘showdown’.

From the movie:

And this was where that famous kiss took place!

From the movie:

This was also where Kento and Fumi-chan wrapped up their filming ne.

Not forgetting this street which Kyoya and Erika ran down, the very last scene of the movie!

From the movie:

After a satisfying but sinful Kobe beef dinner (although I still prefer Hida beef, but having Kobe beef in Kobe was something I wanted to do lol), I took a slow walk back to my hotel, via Piazza Kobe, a shopping street under the train tracks. This was also one of the places that Kyoya was running in search of Erika.

From the movie:

I thought I could do some shopping but unfortunately, it was getting late and most of the shops have closed. orz. I really wanted to try that yakitate melonpan ice! Anyway, that kinda concluded my short stay in Kobe. I got back to my room and tried to get as much sleep as I could, as I knew I’d be having the two most exhausting days of my trip ahead LOL.

I shall write about that…soon.