1-Arden Kaarla - Tea Party of the Dreams

Having high tea in the midst of a garden at 51st floor, and enjoying a lovely spread of dainty high tea specialities, topped with herbs from the in-house herb garden, presented on a mini garden landscape - this is a must-try experience.

Compressed Watermelon, which is Wasabi Cracker topped with Watermelon, Crasipy Strawberry, Oregano, Yuzu and Purple Verbena Bloom, is my absolute favourite here. A mouthful of this is a like burst of refreshing medley of different flavours from sweetness, zest, herbal, bitterness to savoury goodness. I immediately go, "Wow!" upon savouring this.

Edamame Hummus Tart comes in a cute boat filled with soft green Edamame Hummus paste, with Coriander, Hazelnuts, Black Sesame and Marigold Flower stacked on top. This is a lovely earthy treat full of flavours.

Spicy Tuna Maki Roll is packed with goodies, such as Tuna, Avocado, Shiso Leaf, Furikake, Mexican Tarragon and Spicy Mayo. So it has a well balance of vegetal zest, mild spiciness briny sweetness and umami.

Shrimp Tempura Maki Roll is also packed with goodies such as plump Tiger Prawn, buttery Japanese Omelette, briny Flying Fish Roe, exciting Wasabina Leaf and creamy smoky Aburi Mayo. Such satisfying flavourful treat.

Lemon Aspen Tart comes in a cute tart shell packed with creamy, zesty Lemon Aspen Curd, cute dots of Torched Meringue around the perimeter and herbal Thyme. The zest of the lemon is so well-balanced with the sweetness that makes it the golden standard for lemon dessert.

Mini Golden Lamington looks like a coconut gummy, but it is actually a rich mix of Raspberry Pâte De Fruit, Coconut Financier, Rosemary and Rum Mousse wrapped wth Dark Chocolate.

Mini Pavlova has Pavlova Shell, made from baked egg whites, packed with Lemon Myrtle Jelly, Freeze-Dried Crispy Passion Fruit and Mango curd. I love the refreshing mix of the flavours and aroma of the three fruits.

Hana Mochi Yuzu Mochi does not have Yuzu taste despite the name. The mochi is actually into a lovely cute shape of a yuzu instead, It has the filling of Passion Fruit and Sweet Red Bean Paste. The Marigold Leaf adds a lovely, contrasting, unique fresh vegetal taste to the earthy taste of the red bean paste.

Basque Cheesecake features Burnt Cheesecake, whose rich creaminess is elevated by the fruity tangy taste of Berry Coulis and Freeze-Dried Rasberries. Apple Mint further lifts up the taste of the cheesecake. Love this too.

Thoughts: Beautiful Garden of High Tea

Scent Sachet Shop at Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway

When I pass by the scent sachet booth at Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway, I cannot help to stop and smell the lovely scents present in the air there. When I see the cute scent sachets on display, I know I have to get one of them. A lady got to pamper herself with some beautiful scents.

There is a choice between choosing three types of flowers or leaves from a huge array of options to custom-make one's own scent sachet, and the ready-formulated scent sachets. It is tempting to customise a scent of my own, but I decide on getting the ready-formulated one instead. My rational is that the vendor with experience in scents should know what blend smells the best, so I want to take home the best scent possible.

The scent sachet I get is a blend of lavender with different types of leaves and seeds. And it smells fabulous! More importantly, I get a good nice deep sleep after I get a good sniff of this before falling asleep 💝

Lavender Soft Ice-Cream at Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway

What better way to add on to the experience of admiring the beautiful blooms and inhaling their sweet scents at Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway? By eating Lavender Soft Ice-Cream!

I love this soft ice-cream. It is creamy and mildly sweet, with the floral scent of Lavender to add on to the smooth texture. The scent is very well-balanced: to be distinct while still allowing the creaminess of the ice-cream to be the main star, so that it tastes exactly like dessert instead of perfume. This is prime good example of how an excellent Lavender dessert should taste like.

Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway

One of the highlights of my trip to Japan is actually Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden and Ropeway. This is where one can admire the beautiful landscape of mountains by the sea and immerse in fantasy land of flowers. To add on to it, this place is still sort of like a hidden gem in Japan, where it is still not overrun by tourists yet. Yes, I love this place so much!

The start of the journey is a ride on the cable car to get to Herb Garden up at the mountain. And this ride in the cable is so exciting as we see how far off we are from the thick forest below. And from the cable car with clean clear windows, I get to take beautiful pictures of the mountains against the backdrop of the sea. Kobe, being near the sea, is such a beautiful place.

Then it’s adventure through the garden amid the forest. The air here is so fresh, and there are beautiful greenery and blooms everywhere. There are buildings constructed in the style of cottage houses and castles housing various shops, from food and drinks, souvenirs, Kobe specialties, essential oils, knick knacks to scent sachets. We have so much fun exploring everything here.

Beauty of Blooms:

Seamless Melding of Nature, Gardens, City, Habour and Sea:

And it is evident that Japanese is serious about their food since there is a whole area dedicated to herbs and flowers used for food. It’s eye-opening to see so many different plants that can used in our food and makes such a difference in taste. They also include plants used for craft, fragrance and tea, the other things they are passionate about.

Lastly, before we board the cable to go back to welcome station, we have some really delicious lavender soft-serve ice-cream.

Thoughts: A must-visit!

1 Chome-4-3 Kitanocho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0002, Japan