Big Buddha, Big Bridges and local trains.

At last some time to blog. Work has been hectic and exhausting so I haven’t really prioritized blogging, terrible really. Actually this weekend was almost a wash out. My plans for Saturday fell through and so I spent the day moping about in my apartment. This is exactly what I’d told myself I wouldn’t do this year. That evening I flicked through my guide book and decided to just go on a little adventure.

Rising early on Sunday morning I headed down to the station and headed over to a town called Hyogo. It’s just outside of Kobe and not particularly big, but it does have one thing going for it. One of the three daibutsu (giant Buddha statues) of Japan has Hyogo as it’s home. I figured it was worth a visit since it’s not so far away.

Sadly the weather wasn’t so grand, but hey I’m English I can handle a bit of drizzle. Hyogo whilst not so large does have a rather large number of temples. I figured that finding a giant statue of a Buddha wouldn’t be too difficult and set off in the direction of the waterfront.

I stopped of at a number of temples and shrines along the way, whilst they don’t have the grandeur of those found in Kyoto or Nara they were still fairly pleasant. To my surprise there were a number of people dressed in black at one of them. It’s not so shocking that people would go to a temple for a funeral really but it caught me a little off guard and reminded me that I was venturing into other peoples sacred ground.

 

After going the length of the promenade I couldn’t find the daibutsu but I did have a lovely hit of nostalgia. Ok so it’s not a spectacular little promenade but it just made me think of New Brighton, especially with all the drizzle. I started heading back towards the station since I’d come to the end of the temple quarter.

Still having not found the statue I was about to walk into a convenience store and ask for directions until I noticed another temple just behind it. I was happy I hadn’t as getting a bit closer I saw the top of the Buddha’s head. I would definitely have looked very silly.

The temple grounds were plain, nothing like the daibutsuen in Nara, but the statue is still quite a sight. I don’t believe it’s the original sadly, it was reconstructed in 1999, though it is a feat of craftsmanship nonetheless. Satisfied with my find I headed back to the station.

My initial intention had been to go to Kobe but for some reason I decided to ride the local train and see where I ended up. On the journey to Hyogo I’d noticed that there were many stops close to the sea and for some reason, maybe just a touch of homesickness who knows, I decided I wanted to just gaze out the window.

After about 20 minutes of riding I came to a stop under the giant Akashi Kaikyo bridge called Maiko. It is famous for having the longest central span (nearly 2km) of any suspension bridge in the world. I’ve passed it by so many times I though it was about time to give it a visit.

The first thing that caught my eye upon exiting the train, excluding the giant bridge above my head, was that there was a small pine forest right alongside me. It was really pretty and quite unexpected. In fact most of the stations environs have been converted into parks and other facilities for tourists. It was surprisingly peaceful, though that could have been down to the weather, so I sat there for a little while.

Some quick facts about the bridge. It’s total length is nearly 4km and it is about 300m above sea level. It was designed to withstand earthquakes upto 8.5 on the Richter scale and winds of upto 300km an hour. All great facts though you really can’t get a good handle on how impressive it is until you are up close. Standing below it with giant metal girders spread out above and the deep thrum of cars going by I felt pretty small and over awed.

 

After leaving the ‘pine forest’ I set out to the bridges visitor and exhibition center. On the way over a strange looking western-style building caught my eye and so I had to take a little look inside. To my surprise it was a museum dedicated to the Chinese revolutionary, Sun Yat Sen, and his connection to the port town of Kobe.

For those who don’t know Sun Yat Sen was a prominent figure in the 1911 Chinese revolution, helping to overthrow China’s imperial rule and start the formation of the Republic of China. I won’t go into the details here, google is a wonderful thing, but I will mention why this small museum is located in Kobe.

During his lifetime he was exiled from China multiple times for his revolutionary activities. He spent a fair amount of time in Japan where he had made contacts with other democratic revolutionaries. Quite a few of these were based in Kobe and also I’m sure Kobe’s large Chinese population. He also gave his final speech about his “Three principles of the People” in Kobe.

I’ll be honest he was a historical figure I knew next to nothing about and it was a nice surprise. I’m always up for coming across new things. The exhibits were almost all in English as well as Japanese and, thankfully, presented in a clear type face which is fairly unusual. The building itself is very nice, it put me in mind of some of the smaller rooms in the Williamson art gallery from the inside and the outside reminded me of the old Queen Vic.

My final stop was the Maiko Promenade. This is a small, about 200m, elevated walkway that is within the structure of the Akashi bridge and extends out into the Seto inland sea. After taking an elevator to the 8^th floor (about 45m) you can then walk along the underside of the bridge as well as check out a few viewing platforms.

There is not too much in there really but the views make it more than worthwhile. I’ll admit it would have been nicer on a clear day but I also like a good stormy seascape. Other than the views you can fiddle about with a camera mounted on one of the suspension towers and eat at Tom’s Café, which seemed to serve only octopus based dishes.

All in all a bad weekend turned good with a bit of enlightenment, education and exploration. I need to get back to my wandering routes and just hop on a train to somewhere when I’m bored for sure.

Ja mata neeeeee.