2020 - Giles and Paula go to Japan
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^sounds like the perfect time for a holiday.
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Today we drove from Kyoto to the Island on Shikoku. Connecting the mainland to Awaji Island (a stepping stone to Shikoko) is the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge. I was super excited about that, but of course, it was pissing down and vis was awful, this is the best I could do:
More here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashi_Kaikyō_Bridge
At the southern end of Awaji is another shorter bridge which spans the Narutu strait. Home to what are claimed to be the largest whirlpools in the world, but I bet @neph93 will have something to say about that.
What is amazing is that under the bridge itself is a suspended walkway (covered and super safe - of course) and you can walk over some of the whirlpools.
Whilst we were there a smallish ship came through.
Obligatory "do not" notice…..
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These updates are awesome. With regards to the whirlpool, Saltstraumen (in my back yard), is deemed the strongest (as in most powerful), so I’ll let the Japanese off for claiming the Naruto straits as the largest, they’re probably right.
What marks Saltstraumen apart (as you know from first hand experience), is that it is an awful lot of water being pushed through a very narrow gap twice a day. The force of the current is what makes it special.
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If you and Paula have the time, the Nikko Toshugu Shrine is an amazing site to visit.
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Looks amazing there @Giles. Years ago i went to Mexico despite the swine flu warnings, and we had an entire hotel and most of Isla Mujeres to ourselves. Stay healthy and safe all.
The podcast was a fun listen today, thanks for sharing.
Did Haraki like the idea of the OD buttons for "pimping"?
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Yesterday we drove from Shikoku to Kojima. I wanted to explore some of the interior of Shikoku, so we plugged Mima City into the GPS and headed off.
This is where it took us….
Not really what I was expecting
To get off Shikoku, we had to cross the Seto Ohashi Bridge. I first saw it about 10 years ago when I was in Kojima and always wanted to travel over it (sad, but true)….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Seto_Bridge
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This morning we went to a dairy farm with Fam Sarina….There is a little shop there, that sells ice cream made from the cow's milk, which I suspect why the kids like going to the farm so much...
That was mine, but I made the mistake of giving it to Mia to carry up the stairs, I did not get it back…
Keat took this, but it was well photo-bombed by Mia….
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You allowed a small child to hold your ice cream, expecting to get it back?
C'mon, Giles, that's a rookie move. You're better than that.
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Most of the Kojima team. Thes guys and gals main responsibility (other than running the shop) is to QC products for shipment to IHUK and then pack and ship them. A year ago, there were just 2 of them, in a month Sarina starts a 3 day week back in the store after her "I've had some kids" break…..This really is an indication of how IH has grown outside of Japan....
Some of the Kojima team packing stuff for IHUK…...
Haraki making a point….
In the evening H took us out to dinner with Mr "Heavy Heavy Ounce" and Mr "Heavy Nell"
Not me, framed against a Kojima sunset (apparently 3rd best place in Japan for sunsets)
Dinner was amazing, I remembered to take pics of the first 3 courses, then forgot for the last 3 or 4 ::)
[img alt="IMG_7677.JPG"]https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ihf-images/14003/1/15b197c7-0b5b-41fe-928e-de40fc77bac6.JPG
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Did Haraki like the idea of the OD buttons for "pimping"?
I ran out of time to ask, sorry. I'll bring it up by email as soon as I can…..
