Kanmonkyo

Kanmonkyo is a bridge that connects between Kiyakushu and Honshu - two of the four main islands of Japan. It is ranked as the 48th largest suspension bridge in the world, and it is 1068 meters long. 

The bridge opened in 1973, and the bridge has been crossed by nearly 29,000 vehicles daily in 2005. That number doubled to over 61,000 vehicles in 2010, due to the Kanmon tunnel being under construction, which left many passengers to have to cross over the bridge to get to Honshu (the tunnel from my third post). 

The Kanmon Tunnel has been in operation for 50 years, and its construction began over 70 years ago, and it has issues with deterioration. For that reason, the tunnel often needs to undergo large scale maintenance. When the tunnel is under maintenance, tunnel commuters are re-routed to the Kanmon Bridge, without having to pay an extra charge. On the other hand, when the bridge cannot be used because of adverse weather conditions such as a Typhoon, bridge commuters are re-routed to the tunnel, also without any extra fees. 

Shinkansen (bullet train)

The Shinkansen, which means "new trunk line", is a bullet train in Japan that's been around since 1964, and it can go as fast as 200 mph. The Shinkansens are not only famous for being an incredibly fast train, but it's also known for its safety - no fatal accidents have ever occurred. This year marks its 50th year anniversary, and so far over 10 billion passengers have been transported. An interesting fact about Shinkansens is that they are computerized to sense an earthquake, which would cause the train to slow down. Shinkansens link to many major cities in Kyushu, including Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima. There is also a line connecting Nagasaki currently under construction.

Mount Aso

The largest active volcano in Japan is located in Kyushu, and it's called Mount Aso. It is a large enough volcano to be considered one of the largest volcanoes in the world, being 5,223 ft above sea level.



There were four major volcanic eruptions that occurred between 90,000 to 300,000 years ago, and the fourth eruption, called Aso 4, was massive enough to spread ashes all across Kyushu. Aso 4 has formed four cones after its eruption, called Mount Taka, Naka, Eboshi, and Kishima. Mount Naka is the only cone still active today.

Kanmon Tunnel

Kanmon tunnels connects Honshu and Kyushu, which are two of the four main islands in Japan (the other two islands are Hokkaido and Shikoku). There are three of these tunnels: one for a roadway (for use by autos and pedestrians), one for a railway, and a tunnel for the shinkansen (bullet train). One random fact is that one of the cities in Honshu called Shimonoseki is well known for their liking of puffer fish, so the roadway tunnel has a painting of a puffer fish:



The railway tunnel, which is the first undersea tunnel ever to be built in Japan, was going to be blown up by the Allies during the Pacific War (WWII), however, Japan surrendered before that could happen.

Suginoi Hotel

Suginoi hotel is a popular hotel on the island of Kyushu in a city called Beppu. There are many attractions available at the hotel, such as hot springs. The hot springs cover an area the size of 1 acre, and it can fit as many as 300 people. There are many other attractions, such as a bowling alley, swimming pools, shopping areas with exclusive goods, etc. They can be viewed here: http://www.suginoi-hotel.com/english/facilities/amusement.html (the website is conveniently written in English, especially because there are many tourists from America who visits the hotel.) There is a western style room, where the room has two beds, and it's a typical western hotel room. There is also a Japanese style room, which has a very different look.

(Western style room)

(Japanese style room)

The Japanese style room lacks beds, however, the employees will provide these rooms with futon beds at night time or when requested. 

(Futon beds - they are pretty comfortable to sleep in.)