Kitano & Rokko Mountain

The northern Kobe area, also known as Kitano, is covered with houses that were built by foreign visitors over 100 years ago.

Rokko mountain is also located in the very north part of Kobe.  Rokko mountain is located near Sannomiya, just to the east.

Here are the steps to a well-known shrine in the area.  These type of steep steps are not uncommon for Japanese shrines.

This was the sign posted on the golf course fence.  Hey, the captain isn't kidding- there's nothing funny about boars on a golf course.

Here is some ancient text that was probably written hundreds of years ago.

Translation:  The Catherine Anderson house (Swedish).  This is one of the many houses located in Kitano.  Many of these places allow you to tour inside for a small price.

This is the mosque located in Kitano.  A few of my Indonesian buddies here let me in on some interesting facts about this place.  First, during WWII, this building managed to stay intact while others were destroyed by bombings.  Then, in the 1960's, it stayed up through a large earthquake while its neighbors fell over.  Also, it somehow stayed together through the great Hanshin earthquake in 1995.  You can't tell me this place isn't being watched over....