Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

Saturday, April 5, 2008



So I am a bit behind...at least I am posting....



During my Spring Vacation we decided we wanted to go on a picnic at the beach and to visit the world's longest suspension bridge. So I attempted to make onigiri and packed us a bento (lunch). We hoped on the special rapid train to Akashi and then transferred to a local train to Asagiri. There is a foot bridge there from the train station to the beach. This is the same beach we went to on December with one of my co-teachers. Upon reaching the beach, RJ and Sara asked nicely if they could play before we had lunch. Of course being the cool mom I am, I said "yes". So off they went. As Mitch and I approached the playground, we found a safety sign. We only tool one picture, but thought you would enjoy it...





there is a sand toy contraption that the kids love playing with..


After they played fro a while, we set out the picnic tarp and got out our bento.
It was a bit windy that day.
You can see the foot bridge behind us. It is the long white thing coming out from the right side of the picture.


After we finished lunch we decided to walk to the bridge as we were not sure which train station to get off at and Mitch was convinced it would be a short walk. Along the way we saw some decorative stones on the sidewalk. Made me think of Trina and her stone work she put in her new house....



Mitch and the kids sitting on the way by the ocean.



RJ and Sara didn't seem to agree with daddy that is was a short walk (can you see that Sara is sitting on RJ's lap on the stroller...)

Daddy got them to pose in these "wheels" I am not sure if he was just tired of pushing 2 kids.

We finally made it the the base of the bridge.



There was a museum next to the bridge. RJ is standing on a replica of the cables used on the bridge. Pretty big, uh..


A family was at this spot and we offered to take their picture for them and in return they took ours.

So by now you are probably wondering why have we walked all this way to see a bridge up close. Well, since you asked, I will tell you. There is a promenade out under the bridge that you can walk out to and look down on the water.

This is the spot on the bridge that we are going to walk out to. (it has glass windows all around it)


Part of the walk is open air. There are metal screens on the sides, but you can feel and smell the ocean air. The kids and I thought it was pretty cool, but Mitch said his knees were knocking...(and he says he jumped out of an airplane...chicken....)

We were 38 meters (125 feet) above the ocean.

This is where the floor is glass and you can see "walk on the water" Needless to say, Mitch walked on the wooden log down the middle, closed his eyes and went very fast.

RJ and Sara thought it was a game. They went over the log many times.

The view from the bridge. This is looking towards Kobe, I think.

Another area where you can look down at the water. Sara would have stayed all day. We didn't see any wildlife. I think it was still a bit too cold.

Ok, I will eat and drink in stores interior...

Which way do we go home....

The Maiko train station is in the middle of a busy area of Kobe. But right next to it was this pine tree forest park. It looked so idyllic (we have watched the movie Holiday many times this week).

It was great day. The kids have been real troopers while we have dragged them all over Japan. As long as there is at least one thing in it for them, they seem to do good. We usually try to find ice cream somewhere along the way....

If you want to learn more about suspension bridges, here is a link. I think Mitch and I have either been on or under about 5 or 6 of the top 30 in the world. Not bad...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_suspension_bridges