The schedule I posted previously has been refined over several months, largely through the help of our main Kobe Gakuin faculty host, Dr. Shirakawa but also with the input of the UA students. It appears that our carefully honed schedule is going to be disrupted by Typhoon (hurricane) Halong (labelled Typhoon 11 in Japan. The typhoon, which originated east of the Philippines, is now tracking due north, directly towards Japan.
It appears that the typhoon will hit Okinawa and the southern island of Kyushu on Friday and will hit the main island of Honshu, including the Kobe area as a tropical storm on Saturday evening.
The main concern in Japan with this storm is flooding since this is the 2nd typhoon to hit Japan recently, and in some areas with over 40" of rain. No worries about our safety--almost all the buildings in Kobe are of recent construction and built to withstand major earthquakes. Kobe is well-protected from typhoons by Shikoku Island and the Inland Sea to the south.
So, what about our finely honed schedule? Assuming the typhoon tracks at the same speed and direction, our arrival Friday evening should not be affected. However instead of taking the Bay Shuttle from Kansai airport across Osaka Bay to Kobe (30 minutes) we may need to take the train (90 minutes). We are scheduled to visit Hiroshima on Sunday, and we may need to postpone that visit. We will keep you posted.
Mike
So, what about our finely honed schedule? Assuming the typhoon tracks at the same speed and direction, our arrival Friday evening should not be affected. However instead of taking the Bay Shuttle from Kansai airport across Osaka Bay to Kobe (30 minutes) we may need to take the train (90 minutes). We are scheduled to visit Hiroshima on Sunday, and we may need to postpone that visit. We will keep you posted.
Mike
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| Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima |
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