IMG_5421.jpg
Kobe Tarumi District 4 Nov 2007
This photo was taken in the Tarumi district of Kobe (west of the central areas of the city). The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge is said to be the longest suspension bridge in the world. It goes from Maiko, (a neighborhood?) in the Tarumi district, to Awaji Island, a large island in the Inland Sea (which, despite its name, IS connected to the Pacific Ocean -- I suspect it is, more properly, a sound).
We went to the bridge by train. Maiko is perhaps 8 stops from the Hyogo Station, which was, in turn, about a block from the first Kobe hotel. The Japanese rail and subway maps are pretty much schematic diagrams, better for telling the sequence of stations than for showing distance -- or for showing where the station is, relative to stuff around it not associated with the railroad. Based on the map, it LOOKED like the Maiko Station was the closest one to this bridge, so we bought tickets to Maiko. Turned out the Maiko Station was directly under the approach ramps at the north end of the bridge. (There were other times when we had considerably less success with trains and subways.)
(IMG_5421.jpg)
