Mojiko And Shinomoseki Trip Part Six

 I didn't think it would take this many posts to write about this trip!

When we checked out of our hotel, we asked to send our suitcase to the next hotel by Takubin, a door-to-door parcel delivery service. This is so handy when travelling. Our suitcase wasn't that heavy, but we were going to use buses to get to different locations, and lifting the suitcase onto and off a bus isn't that easy. Also, the buses we used were really crowded. I was so happy that we didn't have the suitcase with us. One problem we had was that the suitcase didn't arrive until the next morning, so we didn't have a few things we needed, but not a big problem. I would highly recommend using this kind of service if you are travelling in Japan.

Our first stop was the Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel. A walking tunnel that connects Kyushu Island to Honshu Island.

We got the bus to the entrance and found a lovely little shrine there.

Looking across the strait to Shimonoseki.

Also, we were very close to the suspension bridge that connects Kyushu and Honshu.

The engineering that went into making this bridge really amazes me!

Then it was time to walk to Honshu, under the sea, in a tunnel, in a country that has earthquakes!

The entrance to the tunnel is in this building.

Map showing the tunnel

Photo chance.

We had to get an elevator down to the tunnel entrance.

Looking down the tunnel.

Showing how far it is.

These markers were throughout the tunnel.

With every step I took, I was thinking, "What if there's an earthquake?" Christopher calling the night before, saying that there was an earthquake, really didn't help.

A couple of videos so you can get an idea of what it was like!

I was surprised to see a lot of elderly people using the tunnel as a walking course. 

I was happy when we got to the halfway mark!

The kanji near to us says Fukuoka, the other says Yamaguchi.

The sign shows which side is Honshu (pink part) and Kyushu.

I was even happier to get out of the tunnel. I think it was the longest 780 meters of my life!

We came out to a beautiful view of Mojiko from the Shinomoseki side.

You can make out the observation tower.

Where the tunnel is in Shinomoseki.

This is the site of a battle in 1864. The combined forces of America, Britain, France and Holland defeated the Chosun Clan, which governed this area of Japan.

After a little rest, we got on the bus to Akama Shrine.

Where we got off the bus was a lovely seafront park.

The plaque is for the UK-Japan Green Alliance. This alliance promotes environmental cooperation and sustainability between the two nations. One thing the alliance has been involved in is tree planting initiatives. For example, 200 oak saplings were planted in Japan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

We crossed the road to the shrine, but we noticed a small building next door.

 

Shinomoseki Nisshin Peace Memorial Hall

A small museum that commemorates the peace negotiations of the First Sino-Japanese War.

Then we walked to the shrine.

I was amazed at how beautiful this shrine is. It faces the sea, but the colours are very bright and clear. I was wondering how often they had to paint it to keep it looking so fresh!

The step leading up to the shrine.

I was trying to get the ship going past. I'm not sure how good the photo is, but I like the contrast of the modern and the historic.

This is the view from the street.

I still have a lot to write, but I think that will do for today.

The weather is really nice outside, so I think I'm going to go and potter around in the garden for a bit!

Mojiko And Shimonoseki Trip Part Five

The second part of day two, still at the Kanmon Strait Museum.

 After we finished the free area, we went upstairs to the paid area. The price was 500 yen, about £2.50. We were told to keep the tickets as there were games that used the QR code to access them.

The first part of the museum was a large circular room with a ramp going down. It was dark, with small foot lights to show the way. In the centre was a large screen that was showing the sealife in the strait. I wasn't really paying attention to it as I was concentrating on not falling over!

Once we got to the bottom, the room opened into a more traditional museum.

The history of the strait was laid out, beginning with a legend about how it formed.

According to legend, the third-century Empress Jingu, split a cave in the earth into two, forming the strait as she travelled south. 

A depiction of the area before the cave split in two.

I was really impressed with the exhibits, but I didn't take notes on what was what.

Hannah said this was the oldest exhibit there!

Francis Xavier, first Christian Missionary to Japan.

The type of ship that traded between China and Japan

A steam/sail ship.

We actually got lost trying to find the exit!

There was a small area about the Kanmon strait today, showing the ships that use the strait and port. Hannah decided to have a go at one of the games. The idea was to pilot a small boat across the strait.

When we eventually got out, Hannah went back to the gift shop to buy a couple of cats, not real ones, for herself.

The yellow one is from Kitakyushu, but I don't remember where the red one is from

Hannah said that each prefecture has these cat toys; she wants to see how many she can collect!

It was still raining, so we got a taxi to a resturant near the next museum we wanted to visit.

We decided on Joyful, a family restaurant, it's a chain restaurant, I don't know if it's nationwide but I think most cities in Kyushu have one or two.

We ordered what looked like a small meal but was actually very big. Pork cutlet, fried shrimp, chicken karage, salad, rice and miso soup. One the photo it looked small but when it came we both looked at it, wondering how we were going to eat everything! The answer was slowly, very slowly.

We sat in there for a long time, just too stuffed to move!

Lunch! The rice looked a lot smaller on the menu.

Feeling stuffed afterward.

The next museum was the Moji Telecommunication Museum, just a few minutes walk from the restaurant.

The museum was small but very interesting. It shows the history of the telephone from the begining to today.

First telelphones

Phones that were used during the war

Showing the internal working of a phone

For an office, one reciever but two dials

Old phone box, I couldn't get the date on this

For fixing the telephone network

The last photo I thought was interesting. It shows some pay phones, there's a poster explaining how to use one. I think most kids today have no idea how to use them!

A mock up of an telephone exchange

There were examples of cell phones and how they have evolved from the massive brick in a bag to todays smart phones. They had one of the orignal mobile phones that you could pick up to see how heavy it was. The sign said that it weighed about 3kgs. Hannah said that would be like carrying a baby around all day!

There was information about morse code as well. Hannah had a go.

There's a list on the right hand side showing how to make the different letters.

Japanese morse code.

After the museum we got the bus back to the hotel. One nice thing travelling with Hannah is that she is very good a finding out buses and trains. 

On the way back to the hotel we went past a small vintage clothes store.

We had noticed it on the first day but it was closed then. Today it was open so we went in.

It was absolutely packed with clothes.

Completely packed with clothes

The owner was an interesting, elder gentleman. He had lived in France for 35 years! His wife is from Thailand, he said that when she first came to Japan she didn't like the food but now finds it healthy. We chatted for a while.

The owner of the shop.

After that we went back to the hotel and collapsed!

We picked up some sushi and miso soup for dinner but didn't eat until late as we were still stuffed from lunch!

Dinner

Hannah's cats

Christopher called in the evening, there had been a small earthquake that was about a M1 where he was, he wanted to know if we had felt it. We hadn't but it played on my mind the next day!

I'll explain why tomorrow!