Return to Kobe, Day Four

Since we were staying in Kobe, we ordered some cake from an allergy-friendly specialty shop in Akashi, a few train stops from the city.  We should have been able to hop off the train, find the store, and see the castle ruins in under 2 hours.  But Google couldn't tell where the address was, and every time we checked someone's iPhone it placed the store in a different place.  This lead us on a 2.5-3 hour hike, until a nice lady finally told us the map was wrong and the district we were looking for was... by the station.  How no one else we asked knew this, I don't know.  We luckily ran into a Max Value grocery store, where the baker picked us up and drove us back to the station.  On the way, she showed us where her store was - sure enough, it was around the corner from the station, beside the park - exactly the opposite way from where the maps sent us.  Oh well, we got the cake and it was delicious: mango raspberry, zebra, mont blanc, and strawberry mousse.

We were so tired and hungry after our adventure.  We bought some treats and picnicked in the park at the base of the castle ruins.  After eating we climbed up (not fun after our walk), and enjoyed the view from the guard towers.  Close to the castle is the world's largest suspension bridge, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.  It's almost 4km long and spans the Akashi Strait, a dangerous waterway in which ferries (carrying passengers) often sunk in the dangerous storms that passed through.  The bridge was completed in 1998.  There is a toll of 2,300 yen, or about $23 (at current exchange rate much higher), so the $5 billion price tag can be earned back by commuters.  We didn't cross the bridge, but we did go up under the bridge.      

Going under the bridge was fantastic.  We took an elevator up and walked through a long section of the bridge, even over the water.  Apparently we were 47m over the water, explored 317m of the bridge, and went 150m over the strait.  We arrived right at dusk and experienced a gorgeous sunset over the strait with the bridge, ocean, and shipping boats as scenery.  Once dark, the bridge lights up, and the lights look like little pearls along the suspensions.  Kobe is known for its beautiful pearls, so this light design earned the bridge the nickname of "Pearl Bridge."  It is beautiful, although I prefer the view in enough daylight that there aren't any lights.  From the bridge we were also able to see Awaji Island (the bridge's destination) and the architecturally interesting Kobe coastline.  There's even a camera setup on the highest support tower that we controlled from an observation deck, so we were able to see in all directions!  The bridge itself, as you can see from the picture below, was incredible.  It was amazing to walk among the girders, to see the system of support and the perfect symmetry.  One of my favorite parts: a section where we could walk over a transparent surface and see the water below us.  For under 300 yen a person, you really cannot beat this as a site-seeing destination.