Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

My third day in Japan was devoted to iconic structures old and new.  My first stop for the day was Maiko, south of Kobe. This is the nearest train station to the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge. Until recently, this was the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge. Its main span stretches a mind-boggling 1,991 metres. As a dedicated infrastructure geek, I was keen to see the bridge. It had been opened just five days earlier to great fanfare by the Crown Prince and Princess of Japan.

The bridge’s southern anchor block houses an informative visitor’s centre. Here you can take an elevator up to an impressive indoor observation deck built underneath the road deck. This includes an enclosed walkway that extends over the water for more than 150 metres giving visitors a close-up view of the bridge’s superstructure. 

A cross-section of its main cable in the park below was equally impressive. 290 parallel wire strands make up each of the final 1.12-meter-diameter cables swooping in the distance. It's hard to believe they're continually transferring 181,400 metric tons of vertical force onto the tower-pier foundations and down into bedrock, approximately 60 meters below the water surface.

To complete my bridge visit I took an elevator to the road deck to view the traffic and witness the bridge from above. I discovered a small bus stop nearby where you can catch a bus across the 4km wide Akashi Strait. I was tempted to give it a try. However, with limited time on the ground, I decided there were better ways to fill my time.  Instead, I caught the train an hour south to visit Himeji, home to one of Japan's most iconic Samauri castles.

I ended my day with an evening meal at my hotel’s Okonomiyaki restaurant. Madonna Okonomiyaki was a tiny hole-in-the-wall affair tucked in a corner of the hotel’s basement. I’d never heard of this popular local dish before arriving in Japan. However, after an evening sampling the menu I was hooked and have been ever since.

In essence, Okonomiyaki is best described as a cross between a savoury crepe and a pizza pancake. The name literally translates to “as you like it on the grill”. You first mix a yam-infused batter, then add all manner of stir-fry style vegetables, shrimp, pork, bacon (basically whatever you like), cook it on a large flat grill plate and top the finished dish with diced spring onions, bonito flakes, mayonnaise and Otofuku sauce, a Japanese-style BBQ sauce. Delicious!