Arrived at this town in the morning but the gloomy sky made me feel unpleasant and unwelcome. This was the opposite of what I had expected - a bright, cheerful, and friendly Kansai as I were always told. The architecture and style of Sannomiya Station gave the impression that this place was somehow different from typical Japanese cities. The walls were tiled with reddish yellow tiles of brick layouts with a well thought out lighting placements. It was a bit modernized and westernized in some sense, yet still retained the detailing features of Japanese railway stations.
The walk around town is a bit hilly, but surprisingly not tiring. The city seems quite old, the road are worn out, and the buildings seem tattered. Around the main stations were crowded with people. It was also dirty but it gets cleaner when I walk deeper into the city. Somehow this city feels familiar. The buildings in these areas are more culturally diverse than the people here. There was many churches, multiple Western-style buildings, Chinese business establishments, and also the oldest mosque in Japan 1. The glass windows in this mosque reflects a retro-style reflections on the prayer space indirectly hinting that she is almost turning a century old soon.
The whole city looks very beautiful from the harbour. During the day, I could see the town was made of three layers God-man made structures - the hills, the cities, and the piers/sea. At night, the town were filled with bright lights and illuminations, though the lights were probably meant to be turned on only during winter, like the rest of Japan. Despite the pretty view, the scar of the Great Hanshin Earthquake 2 cannot be removed. The remains of the fractured roads and buildings were still kept as they were, in remembrance of those who left us. The city never let people to forget what she had lost.
The city was filled with cafe culture. There was one cafe with cobalt blue walls furnished with golden oak wood that really caught my attention, but I did not get the time to try its coffee. This town really feels like home. Only later that I realized that this town shares a lot of similarities with the place I lived in currently, Yokohama. I had a feeling that the architect for these two places might somehow be the same person because both cities shares so many signatures in their designs.