Japan | The Best Travel Destinations

Akashi Kaikyō Bridge – Japan

Akashi Kaikyō Bridge – Japan

The Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge (明石海峡大橋 Akashi Kaikyō Ō-hashi?), also known as the Pearl Bridge, has the longest central span of any suspension bridge, at 1,991 metres (6,532 ft). It is located in Japan and was completed in 1998. The bridge links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait. It carries part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway.

The bridge is one of the key links of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.

Architecture

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Bamboo Forests

Bamboo Forests

Bamboo forests can be found most numerously in China, Japan and the East and Southeast Asian regions of the world. But they can also be found in Northern Australia, India, sub-Saharan Africa and the tropical regions of the Americas. Bamboo forests differ greatly from hardwood forests, especially in terms of the growth cycle of the bamboo plants themselves.

Bamboo forests have been used by humans as a source for food and building materials for many centuries, and they are still used, especially in Asia, for those same purposes today. In addition to their material importance, bamboo forests are culturally symbolic in countries like China and Japan. In China, bamboo is a symbol of longevity, and bamboo groves are a common sight in Buddhist temples. In Japan’s Shinto religion, bamboo forests are often the site of shrines and altars, as bamboo forests are believed to ward off evil spirits.

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The Growth Cycle of Bamboo Forests
While hardwood forests can take hundreds of years to form, bamboo forests grow very rapidly and can produce fully mature bamboo plants, the stalks of which can reach up to 20 to 30 feet in height or more, within 3 to 7 years. This is because bamboo is not a wood tree at all, but a type of giant grass, and as such bamboo plants grow to their full height and girth within a single growing season that lasts 3 to 4 months. After the bamboo plant’s shoots die, they fall and are replaced by new ones. Each consecutive shoot that sprouts from the main plant root system is thicker and taller than the one before, and like the one before it, it will achieve its full growth potential during a single growth season.

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Rainbow Bridge – Tokyo – Japan

Rainbow Bridge – Tokyo – Japan

The Rainbow Bridge is one of the most famous bridges of Tokyo, Japan. It connects the mainland of the city of Tokyo with Odaiba district in Tokyo Bay. The bridge is one of the main architectural marvels of the metropolitan city.

The Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo was built during the 62nd year of the Showa Area. The construction of the building was completed in the 5th year of the Hese Era. The construction of the bridge was completed in the year 1993.

The huge structure is a suspension bridge, which crosses over the northern part of Tokyo Bay, between the Shibaura Wharf and the Odaiba waterfront. The bridge is 570 meters wide with three major transportation lines, which includes Metropolitan Expressway no. 11, Odaiba Route and Route 357or Rinkou Douro and Yurikamome New Transit. The former two transit lines are located in the upper deck of the bridge while the latter one is located on the lower deck. The entire bridge has eight lanes for vehicular traffic, two railway lines and one walkway for the pedestrian. The Rainbow Bridge is 918 meters long and has two with a distance of 570 meters between them. Continue reading Rainbow Bridge – Tokyo – Japan

Valentine’s Day Around the World – Traditions and Customs

Valentine’s Day Around the World – Traditions and Customs

Australia
During the Australian gold rush period, miners who were suddenly in possession of money from the new-found wealth of the Ballarat Mines were willing to pay a princely sum for elaborate valentines and merchants in the country would ship orders amounting to thousands of pounds at a time. The most extravagent Australian valentines were made of a satin cushion, perfumed and decorated in an ornate manner with flowers and colored shells. Some might even be adorned with a taxidermied humming bird or bird of paradise. This treasure, contained within a neatly decorated box, was highly valued, being both fashionable and extremely expensive.

Austria
Austria has some rather obscure courtship customs that may or may not be associated with Saint Valentine’s Day. Nonetheless, it is customary for a young man to present his beloved with a bunch of flowers on February 14.

America
In the United States of America, there have been many varieties of cards given over the course of the years, some of which have often been rude or even quite cruel in their humor. In the times of the Civil War, cards were flagged with rich colors accompanied by patriotic and/or political motifs. Early American valentine cards were especially lithographed and hand-colored, beautiful and distinctive in design, produced with intricate lace paper and decorated with such ornaments as beads, sea shells, cones, berries and all manner of seeds. Cards were also available decorated with seaweed or moss, in addition to dried and/or artificial flowers, all of which were attached to a string which was pulled and could then be suspended, thereby creating a three-dimensional picture. Many early American cards were imported from abroad, given the poor quality of American paper at the time which was not particularly suitable for embossing. Today, American children usually exchange valentines with their friends and there may even be a classroom party.

Britain
The poets of Britain have probably penned the majority of the best-loved romantic verses associated with Saint Valentine. Different regions of the nation celebrate their own customs to honor this day, although the sending of cards and gifts of flowers and chocolates is standard procedure throughout the entire country. One uniform custom is the singing of special songs by children, who then receive gifts of candy, fruit or money. In some areas, valentine buns are baked with caraway seeds, plums or raisins.

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