Awaji Island (Awajishima)

Tracy deserved some much needed R&R on Wednesday so Sean and I loaded up in the car and went for an afternoon drive. From our balcony on a clear night you can see this really cool bridge lit up in the distance so we went to check it out.

Near Kobe there is an island called Awaji. It is only a short hop by car - maybe 45 km. Awaji is known for having whirlpools, beaches, ancient burial mounds, and onions! It also has several hot springs (we need to check those out sometime). The island also has the dubious distinction of being the epicenter for the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.

Connecting the island to the mainland is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. The bridge is almost 4 km long and it's main span is the longest in the world (about 4 Brooklyn Bridges, or 8 Sears Towers end to end). The bridge holds three records: it is the longest, tallest, and most expensive suspension bridge ever built. We drove over the bridge and stopped at a rest area to look around and snap some photos.

The epicenter of the earthquake in 1995 was actually between the two towers of the bridge - it was under construction at the time. Only the towers were erected so it was largely unharmed. The quake did move the towers apart by almost 1 meter, so the design and construction of the bridge had to be altered as a result.

Pretty impressive. It was a pretty clear day so you could see across the bay back to our island. When the weather gets better in the Spring I hope to go and check out the beaches. After leaving the bridge we spent an hour or so just cruising around the island. It was nice to be in a rural area after being in the city for so long.