Two weeks in Japan (part 3)

The next day we went to Nara. Nara was also the capital of Japan in the 8th century. Today it is a small town with approx. over 4000 habitants. But the history remains. This year is the celebration of Nara's 1300 years anniversary.
Throughout Nara there are nearly 'infinite' amount of deers walking around for some sempei (a sort of biscuit) from tourists.
We also have visited the highest building in the Kansai region, the Cosmo WTC tower, which is about 260 m high. We had a nice and clear view over almost the whole Kansai region. Even the Akashi-Kaikyo bridge in Kobe (World's longest suspension bridge) could be seen.
Kobe would be the next place to visit. Though in 1995 been smashed by mother nature due the earthquake, Kobe has been recovered quite fast. Besides a monumentary at the Kobe tower at the port, there is not much left that reminds you of the catastrophe from 15 years ago...incredible. We also took the bus and cross the Akashi bridge to Awaji Island. There is not much to do, but it was quiet and beautiful to see some more nature. Back in Kobe we visited the Kobe Tower which is 108 m high.
A platform at about 90 m turns around in 25 minutes. We enjoyed the view with a good glass of beer.
Another day passes by and we decided to visit the Botanic Gardens nearby the Nagai Stadium in Osaka. It lies in the southern district Minami. We were amazed by the excellent sports-accomodations for public and professionals. The athletic stadium of Nagai has also a soccer-field which surpasses many reknown stadiums in Europe in facilities and condition.

On July 23rd we travelled from Osaka-City to Tokyo Metropolis. Of course, we took the famous Shinkansen, known as the bullet-train, which is a misconcept since the bullet-design dated from the 1960's and is obsolete by now.
The distance between saka and Tokyo is approximately 600 km. We did it in 2h40min. with the Shinkansen Nozumi 700 Series and a rms speed of +250 km/h....amazing.
Unfortunately there was a lot of smog that day. So we weren't able to catch a glimp of mount Fuji between Shizuoka and Kanagawa.
That's it for now. Next time, the conclusion of the Japan trip.







Japanese gardens in Nara & deers








Kimono & view on Osaka Bay








Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge & Kawasaki monument.






Botanic garden & Nagai Stadium








200m run & accomodation Kikue Osaka






Shinkansen N700 Interior