A Tour through Central Japan

Back from a four-day trip in the central part of Japan, including Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya and Toyota cities. With the Jauntlet (on the left) you can make the same trip, virtually, and see the places I visited, since they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. These destinations were chosen for a particular reason: each embodies one aspect of development efforts in Japan. Osaka is the 2nd largest city in Japan. Kyoto has a priceless historical and cultural heritage, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions. The government approach of preserving and maintaining these beautiful cultural and natural landscapes are worth a praise. Needless to say, I enjoyed wondering through the streets of historic Kyoto the most, although the time was so short. Kobe suffered greatly from a 7.3 degree earthquake in 1995, but the physical traces of this event have been completely removed. It is now a very modern city. The Japanese learned valuable lessons from that experience, and are doing a lot to prepare for future disasters and mitigate their city's vulnerability. Nagoya is the 4th largest city (followed by Sapporo). It is home to the UN Center for Regional Development, and to the world-known Noritake Ceramic Factory. The city, as well as the entire region, promotes industrial tourism. The Noritake Factory and the Toyota Motor Corporation are two sites that we visited, and I personally found such tourism enjoyable, impressive and memorable. If I ever get a chance to buy a car, it will most likely be a Toyota.