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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
After spending the night in port at Kobe we departed at 9am to sail to Beppu via the Japan Inland Sea. We pass under the Akashi Bridge which is the largest single span suspension bridge in the world. It crosses the Akashi Kaikyo (strait) which leads to the Harima Nada (sea) Today is all about scenic cruising so its a very leisurely morning before heading upstairs to view the scenery. We have been fortunate to enjoy scenic cruising in the Fjord-lands and Hawaii and this does not compare but sailing ( is it still sailing if you are not under sail?) between the islands and under these enormous bridges is in its own way quite spectacular. It's very warm today but quite overcast so we chose our best viewing point to be by the pool at the back of the ship. The second bridge we go under is the Ohashi Bridge on the Bisan Seto (narrow strait) . It is around 8km long but because it crosses several small islets it has smaller spans. It's a very busy waterway with several ferries, fishing boats and barrages. It was due to some serious ferry incidents during bad weather that the bridges were constructed. The third suspension bridge is Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge which crosses the Kurushima Kaikyo (strait). This brings us to the end of the scenic part of the day so now we head inside for drinks and another enjoyable dinner with great food and interesting company. Our dinner companions are set for the entire cruise unless we chose to eat at one of the specialty restaurants. We are so lucky because we are seated with 2 ladies(both named Lorraine) (how goods that, only having to remember one name)! They are from Sydney as are Stuart and Roberta. Most entertaining and interesting. Tonight's show in the theatre is a juggler/comedian from Canada. He is fluent in Japanese as well as English so the show flows very well. He's excellent. A great day again!
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