OSAKA, JAPAN: Tempozan Pier Area

by Heather Hopkins Clement

The Port of Osaka is the gateway to the cultural and historical heart of Japan—especially in the ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto.  There is an infinitesimal amount of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to be explored in the area, and I strongly encourage everyone to get out and explore!

However, if necessity dictates that you must stick close to the ship at Tempozan Pier, there are still some interesting things to do in Tempozan Harbor Villlage.

Osaka Aquarium (Kaiyukan)

• Hours:  10:00 AM – 8:00 PM (last entrance 7:00 PM)
• Fees: 2,000 yen for adults 16 and over
• Tel.:  (06) 6576 5501
• Website:  www.kaiyukan.com

 

Tempozan Marketplace – Stores in this complex include amusements such as Sega World, sit-down restaurants, fast food restaurants, and a variety of shops.  There is an Internet service on the 3rd floor that charges 100 yen per 10 minutes.  General Hours:  11:00 AM to 8:00 PM, but some locations close later.  (Wheelchair accessible restrooms on the second floor in the food court area.) 

 

Giant Ferris Wheel –

• Hours:  opens at 10:00 AM; last ticket sold at 9:30 PM
• Fee:  700 yen for age 3 and over
• Complete ride takes about 15 min.

 

 

Suntory Museum - This cultural complex features a Gallery for exhibitions and an IMAX^® Theater with a gigantic 3-D screen, incorporated with a Museum Shop, café, and lounge.

• Hours:  10:30 AM – 7:30 PM
• Fee:  1,000 yen for adults; discounts for students and those 60 and over

A. KAIYUKAN Aquarium
B. Market Place(shops and restaurants)
C. Giant Ferris  Wheel
D. Suntory Museum
E. Hotel Seagull Tempozan Osaka
F. Osaka Bay Cruise (Santa Maria)
G. Cruise to USJ port (Captain Line)
H. Tempozan Park including Mt. Tempozan, the lowest mountain in Japan
I. Cruise to Kobe, Shodoshima island and Takamatsu in Shikoku island
J. Tourist Information
K. KAIYUKAN Information (on the second floor of Entrance Building)
A - G, J and K: Tempozan Harbor Village

FUKUOKA, JAPAN: Overview of the Area

 

GATEWAY TO JAPAN:

This large, commercial city was the gateway to the continent early in Japan’s history.  Dazaifu, to the south, the preeminent historical attraction of this area, was a fortified government outpost of the Nara and Heian courts.  In the 13th century, Mongol armadas sailed into Hakata Bay and twice attempted to invade Japan.  The Japanese fought desperately and both times were saved by violent typhoons.  The city’s tow names originated in the feudal era:  Hakata, on the east, was the merchants’ town, while Fukuoka, on the west, across the Nakagawa, was the castle lord’s town.  Today, Fukuoka is poised to reclaim its historic place as gateway to Asia, with plans for international air service and major conference facilities.

The center of town lies between JR Hakata station and Nishitetsu-Fukuoka station, where one boards the private line to Dazaifu, Kurume, and Yanagawa.  The two stations are linked by subway; get on near the south exit of Hakata station and take it to Tenjin station, which is about 100 meters north of Nishitetsu-Fukuoka station.

LONELY PLANET:

Fukuoka is the biggest city in Kyūshū, and a rising star in Japanese commerce and tourism. Once upon a time it was two separate towns – the lordly Fukuoka castle town to the west of the river Naka-gawa, and to the east, the common folks’ Hakata. When the two merged in 1889, the label Fukuoka was applied to both towns, but subsequent development has mainly been in Hakata and many residents still refer to the town that way. The airport is known as Fukuoka, the train station as Hakata.

Fukuoka has transformed itself over the last decade into one of Japan’s most cosmopolitan and internationalised cities. Seoul and Shanghai are among its nearest neighbours. Fukuoka’s most recent international aspirations include a bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics – going up against Tokyo among others. Its attractions are contemporary rather than traditional, but they are still very much worth seeing, modern architecture in particular. Fukuoka is also renowned as a culinary centre and its vibrant nightlife is centered on the Nakasu, Daimyo and Tenjin districts.

Nationally the city is known for its ‘Hakata bijin’ (beautiful women), its feisty and much-loved baseball team the Daiei Hawks, and, most of all, Hakata rāmen (Chinese-style egg noodles in broth).

Bus

City bus services operate from the Kōtsū bus centre in Hakata and the Tenjin bus centre. Nishitetsu buses have a flat ¥100 rate for city-centre rides.

From stand E opposite JR Hakata station at the Kōtsū bus centre, bus 11 or 19 goes to Hakata Pier International Terminal (¥220), while bus 47 or 48 reaches Bayside Place for ferries to islands.

Subway

There are three subway lines in Fukuoka. The Kūkō (airport) line runs from Fukuoka domestic airport terminal to Meinohama station via Hakata, Nakasu-Kawabata and Tenjin stations. The Hakozaki line runs from Nakasu-Kawabata station to Kaizuka. The Nanakuma line runs from Tenjin-minami to Hashimoto. Fares around town start at ¥200; a one-day pass costs adult/child six to 11 ¥600/300. Trains run from 5.30am to 12.25am.

Local Currency

In Tenjin, the Citibank ATM is open 24 hours. Banks around JR Hakata station and Tenjin handle foreign exchange services.

There are more international ATMs on the basement level of Canal City, and in post offices around town.

CHINA: 15 places worth visiting in China: Luoping county

Located in east Yunnan Province, Luoping county is famous for its 
beautiful spring scenery, when the canola flowers are in full bloom.
The mountains are covered in canola flowers, creating a floral sea 
of gold.

2009-12-01 17:02 BJT

Editor: Jin Lin | Source: China.org.cn

View Article on CCTV

RUSSIA: On this day: 21 February

On February 21, 1613, Michael Romanov, the first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty was, and the Time of Troubles, the long period of revolts, was over.

Ivan the Terrible died in 1584. His eldest son and successor, Feodor, was ailing and was not able to manage the state affairs, and his youngest son Dmitry was still a child and died in 1591 in suspicious circumstances. In 1598, Fyodor died too, and the Rurik dynasty, founded by the first ruler of Russia, Prince Rurik, was over. One of the nobles, Boris Godunov, headed the country.

The years 1601 – 1603 were lean, and famine spread across the country. People came to Moscow in flocks, because there the government, trying to manage the situation, handed out money and food to the needy. The landowners could not maintain their servants and turned them out of the houses. The poor gathered in gangs, trying to live out on robbery, and the chaos increased by the day.

In 1603 in Poland appeared the impostor, calling himself Dmitry, the son of Ivan the Terrible. His real name and linage are still unknown, but the most popular version is that he was a Russian monk named Grigory Otrepiev. With the support of the Polish King, he recruited the army, and in 1605 invaded Russia. Russian people did not resist the intervention, because most of them believed Grigory to be a real son of Ivan. In June 1605, Grigory enthroned and became the ruler of Russia. According to some documents, one of his first orders was to execute some monks from the Chudov monastery – maybe, because they could recognize him.

Grigory had been a tsar for one year, time to carry out some reforms, and on May 18, 1606, a group of nobles, headed by Vasily Shuisky, assassinated him. Shuisky replaced his victim as the head of the country.

In 1606 the peasant uprising, headed by Ivan Bolotnikov, threw the southern regions of Russia into chaos. Bolotnikov called himself “Prince Dmitry’s general,” and spread rumors that Dmitry survived. In 1607, the new Prince Dmitry impersonator appeared, and in 1608, his army already controlled half of the big Russian cities. The Polish forces, which helped this impersonator too, sacked the occupied territories. In addition, in 1608, the Crimean Tatars attacked Russia and ravaged several central regions.

Shuisky tried to oust the Poles from Russia, but did not succeed. On July 4, 1610, the Russian army lost the decisive battle, and in September Shuisky was dethroned by treason. Moscow swore allegiance to the Polish prince Vladislav. The next year, on March 17, the Poles mistook the fight at the city market for the beginning of rebellion, and slaughtered about 10 thousand Muscovites.

Two big uprisings took place during Vladislav’s governing, but both of them were inconclusive. The third uprising, headed by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, took place in 1612, and was successful. On October 26, 1612, the Polish garrison gave up Moscow and Vladislav abdicated. When the Polish forces left the country, time to choose the new tsar came. Michael Romanov was one of the four aspirants to throne. He came from an old and noble family, members of which had always been serving to the Russian tsars.

He was only sixteen years old when he became a tsar. His mother, Ksenia, did not want him to take such a great responsibility, and when he was enthroned, she actually ruled the country instead of him until 1819. Michael stopped the wars with Poland and Sweden, restored diplomatic relations with Europe and reorganized the Russian army.

View RT Article

VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA: The Funicular

In 1959, Nikita Khrustchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, visited the USA and stopped by Primorye on his way back. Impressed by America, Mr. Khrustchev decided that Vladivostok should have been better than San-Francisco. As a result of the “Big Vladivostok” project, a railway funicular began operating in the city – one of the two constructed in Russia. Hundreds of citizens flooded Pushkinskaya street on May 5, 1962, to see the first funicular passengers to travel 183 meters by the Orlinaya hill slope. The trip took one minute and a half. The passengers have hardly been able to enjoy the Golden Horn bay views during the trip.