Up A Hill

Two days ago I went to visit the big Guanyin statue up a hill called Kannon yama.観音山。Kannon means Goddess of Mercy.. Same as Guanyin lar actually.. just diff pronounciation..


To be honest, on the way to the mountain,I got lost.. well, I was going up the mountain, but I didn't exactly know which part of it I was on..Luckily I had faith and went up and up and when I almost wanted to give up, I saw this view from the hill of Takasaki City.. I thought, wow.. At least it wasnt a total waste..

Well, on the way(before I went up), there was this river...
Usui means thin..I was looking for the river.. but couldnt find it.. i thought, maybe too thin until cant see.. coz the grass were growing wild over the place.. then, I cycled some more and found the river.. it's not worth my uploading.. haha.. too ugly..


Oh.... Guanyin is shining! you see that?? wow!! lolz.. actually that's the "lighting syndrome".. my pics 50% affected with this syndrome.. still havent mastered the way of fotoglaphy..heh..Ok, after around an hour and a half(dont really remember) on my bicycle and up the hill on foot, I found this thing.. then, what?
Notice the holes on the Guanyin's side? those are actually windows.. we're supposed to climb in through that and there are lots of Gods and stuff inside the Guanyin.. cool ya? heh.. ok, fine, the entrance fee is 300 yen.. and they have perfectly nice stairs for u to climb.. heh..

After that, I didn't know where to go, so I looked at the map near the Guanyin patung.. and walked to some dye plantation near there.. well, actually around 700metres from there.. Not that nice, not worth my uploading also.. but had a nice rest there.. there was this resthouse..it didnt use sensors, so the aircond was on the whole morning.. walau.. nobody visit also.. waste electricity..Then, on the way back, there was this 'park'.. well, there was a pipe for ppl to drink from, at least.. and surprise surprise....
Meowww.. cute cat.. dont think anyone owns it.. but very beautiful fur.. unfortunately I didnt have any food to lure it.. water didn't do.. picky kitty..
"No way I'm following you!" heh..

And there was this bridge called the "Tsuribashi" in Japanese connecting the two places.. not much diff from the last one I visited in Ueno..
There were a few other places I visited, but this time with my new battery, it took only half a day to finish.. sighs.. besides, the other places werent that interesting, so that's all for this time.. Signing out.. ^^

BrIdGe CollApSe!!

I guess some of you have read this news.. An interstate bridge in USA has collapsed, resulting in loss of lives and properties..


Some more pics..

By Eliott C. McLaughlin
CNN

(CNN) -- Nearly a quarter of the nation's roughly 600,000 major bridges carry more traffic than they were designed to bear, according to reports based on federal government data.
Experts said Thursday that the problem stems from a lack of money and leadership.

Federal Highway Administration data from 2006 shows that 24.5 percent of the nation's bridges longer than 20 feet were categorized as "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete" (data from Utah and New Mexico was from 2005).

"Our bridges are not in very good condition in this country," said Ruth Stidger, editor in chief of the trade publication Better Roads, which compiled the data.

Source: CNN
heh.. hope Japan wont follow their footsteps.. >.<

上野スカイブリッジ(Ueno Skybridge)

I went to mahooba forest in Ueno last month with my host family and a bunch of other international students.. On the way to the limestone cave we were going to visit, we had to pass this bridge..The view from the bridge is quite breathtaking..The pics i took are underneath..


地上９０ｍの空中散歩

上野スカイブリッジは、関東一の鍾乳洞で知られる『不二洞』と、対岸尾根の『まほーばの森』を結ぶ壮大な吊り橋。 橋の高さは９０ｍ。長さは歩行者専用吊り橋としては日本有数の全長２２５ｍ。 眼下には美しい森と渓谷が広がり、上野村の雄大な大自然を満喫しながら、空中を散歩しているかのような感覚をお楽しみいただけます。

Source: 上野スカイブリッジ
You can play bubbles by clicking on the picture at the site.. it's fun.. and you can actually do that at the bridge itself..blow bubbles.. haha.. unfortunately I couldnt take any photos of the bubbles.. too transparent..



I don't think there are any English pages for this Bridge, so I'll translate..
A Walk on the sky 90metres off the land
The Ueno Skybridge is a big suspension bridge connecting the Kanto Region's best known limestone cave, Funidou and the Maho-ba Forest in Taigan Ridge. The height of the bridge is 90 metres.As a pedestrian bridge,the full length of 225 metres is a prominent in Japan. The overlooking view of the bridge would present a beautiful forest and mountain stream.(the forest is actually man-made though..meaning they replant every tree they cut with trees that they could use in a better and easier way..example:pine)


View from the bridge..Green...heh


A bit dark.. but i think this one looks best..

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

Great Pic

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (明石海峡大橋, Akashi Kaikyō Ō-hashi?), also known as Pearl Bridge, is a suspension bridge in Japan that crosses the Akashi Strait; it links Maiko in Kobe and Iwaya on Awaji Island as part of the Honshū-Shikoku Highway. It is the longest suspension bridge in the world to date, as measured by the length of its center span 1,991 metres (6,532 ft), substantially longer than the second longest suspension bridge, the Danish Great Belt Bridge. Total length is 3,911 metres (12,831 ft). It was planned to be one of three Honshū-Shikoku connecting bridges, annexing two borders of the Inland Sea.

And it's not even half the length of our Penang Bridge

Carries 6 lanes of roadway
Crosses Akashi Strait
Locale Awaji Island and Kobe
Maintained by Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Authority
Design Suspension bridge
Longest span 1,991 metres (6,532 ft)
Total length 3,911 metres (12,831 ft)
Clearance below 65.72 meters
Opening date April 5, 1998
Toll 2,300 Yen or US$20
Coordinates 34°36′59″N, 135°01′13″E

Source: Wikipedia
Pic Source: 明石海峡大橋 観光情報

Penang Second Bridge

Only picture I could find of it on the net.. it's from the star newspaper.. sigh..

Penang Second Bridge

Official name Penang Second Bridge
Malay name Jambatan Kedua Pulau Pinang
Locale Penang Second Bridge, North-South Expressway Northern Route
Carries Motor vehicles
Crosses South Channel
Longest span 17 km
Total length 24 km
Width 250 m
Opening date January 2011
Design UEM Builders
Designer/clients Malaysian Highway Authority, UEM Builders
Contractor/construction UEM Builders

Source : Wikipedia

RM1.7bil loan from China for second Penang bridge
By WONG CHUN WAI

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is set to secure a loan of more than RM1.7bil (US$500mil) from China for the construction of the much-awaited second Penang bridge – the largest for any single project given to a foreign country by China.

Source : Star Newspaper

The Penang Bridge

This is the Penang Bridge we Malaysian are all proud of.However, it is terribly surprising and dismaying that there are only a few pictures of the Penang Bridge on the net.. It's one of the longest bridges in the world, guys!.. I'm a bit interested about bridges now.. going to post some on Japanese bridges and famous bridges around the world.

Official name Penang Bridge
Malay name Jambatan Pulau Pinang
Locale Penang Bridge, North-South Expressway Northern Route
Carries Motor vehicles
Crosses South Channel, Penang
Longest span 225m
Total length 13.5km
Width --
Opening date 1985
Maintained by PLUS Expressway Berhad Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd
Design cable stayed bridge
Designer/clients Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM)
United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM)
Contractor/construction Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company (Korea)
Ltd, United Engineers Malaysia Berhad (UEM)

Bridge specifications

* Overall Length: 13.5 km (8.4 miles)[citation needed]
* Length Over Water: 8.4 km (5.2 miles)
* Penang Island Viaduct & Approach: 1.5 km (0.9 miles)
* Prai Approach: 3.6 km (2.2 miles)
* Carriageway: 2 lanes per carriageway except in the central span where it is 3. Work to widen the entire bridge to 3 lanes per carriageway has begun.
* Height of Tower Above Water: 101.5 m
* Height of Bridge Above Water: 33 m
* Main Span: 225 m
* End Span: 107.5 m
* Other Span: 40 m
* Speed limit: 80 km/h
* Maximum Gradient: 3.0%

Source : Wikipedia