Attractions

Things to See (for a Geek)

In addition to the many “standard” Kyoto and nearby Nara attractions (temples, gardens, palaces), let me recommend a couple of nearby (and one far away) destinations:

• ARIMA SPA: A small hot spring town near Kobe. The most fun way to get there is to take the Rokko Cable Car followed by three* rope-way lines up and over the hills behind Kobe. [*Update: Apparently the two rope-ways that connect the top end of the cable car with the final ropeway down to Arima have been CLOSED, but a replacement bus service is in operation and the spectacular ropeway down to Arima is still OPEN]. The central station in Kobe is called Sannomiya, (JR Line from Kyoto) and from there you want to take a JR or Hankyu Line train to Rokkomichi or Rokko station respectively and then a taxi or bus up to the cable car station (“Keburu Shitta”). Once you arrive in Arima, if you’d like to try bathing Japanese style, just go down to the center of town and look for the large public bathhouse. Then carefully read the signs or ask for help. Bathing involves buying a towel, taking off your shoes, renting a little locker and above all following the actual bathing ritual itself. It’s not as scary as it sounds. (You can return to Kobe by train from Arima).

• HIMEJI CASTLE. Located west of Kobe in the town of Himeji, this castle is one of the most famous in Japan. Climbing to its top in August/September might require some extra stamina (and plenty of water).

• AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE: The largest suspension bridge in the world. Take a local train from Sannomiya (in Kobe) heading towards Himeji and get off at MAIKO station, then walk down to the park by the bridge. You will find a cool museum next to the bridge and an even cooler observation deck INSIDE the bridge structure itself. This is large scale engineering at its best! Don’t forget to play with the steerable camera that is mounted on one of the bridge towers.

• AKIHABARA: OK, this is in Tokyo, but... If you are flying in or out of Tokyo, plan to spend a day in Akihabara, the “Electric Town” section of Tokyo. You will find everything from single capacitors and resistors to computers, vacuum tubes [new and old], radios, TVs and everything else. It's not necessarily any cheaper to buy electronics in Japan, but you will find an amazing array of accessories and many models that aren’t available anywhere else in the world. Akihabara is a station on the JR Yamanote line, the JR Keihin Tohoku Line, the JR Sobu line and the Hibiya Subway line (Tokyo Metro). A recent addition to the many electronic stores is the massive Akihabara branch of Yodobashi Camera (which sells everything including cameras). This store opened in the fall of 2005 and had 3.5 MILLION visitors in the first 30 days! If you want to get a feel for Akihabara, I highly recommend the DVD entitled “Akihabara Geeks” released in 2005. In it you will experience life in Akihabara, including the increasingly popular “Maid Cafés.”