{"id":37421,"date":"2019-05-13T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-12T21:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=37421"},"modified":"2019-09-21T14:22:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-21T05:22:42","slug":"naight-view-royu-driveway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/naight-view-royu-driveway\/","title":{"rendered":"A Nighttime Drive to See the Views from Royu Driveway in Our Porsche 911"},"content":{"rendered":"

Night Views from Higashi-Rokko Observatory<\/h3>\n

Among Kansai\u2019s car enthusiasts, Royu Driveway<\/strong> is a household name. It\u2019s made plenty of appearances on this blog, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Car enthusiasts may associate Royu more with early mornings<\/strong> and daytime drives<\/strong>, but it\u2019s also a famous night-view spot in the Kansai region<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

From the observatory, at an elevation of 645 meters, you can take in sweeping views across the Osaka Plain, from Osaka to Kobe. The parking spaces are lined up along the south side of the observatory, so you can enjoy the night view without even leaving your car. It\u2019s said to be one of the best places in Japan to take in a night view from the comfort of your car.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\uff0aImage source: yakei.jp: Higashi-Rokko Observatory, Royu Driveway<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Incidentally, Higashi-Rokko Observatory made headlines for a while after serving as a filming location for the hugely popular TV drama *Hanzawa Naoki*, which aired on Japanese terrestrial television in 2013.<\/p>\n

My husband has been making trips there for some time, hoping to capture the perfect shot of his car against the night view. So far, though, he hasn\u2019t managed to get a photo he\u2019s happy with.<\/p>\n

Photographing Our Car Against the Night View<\/h3>\n

Of course, you can\u2019t count on a beautiful night view every time. Just last month, it was sunny at the foot of the mountain, but Royu Driveway\u2019s Twitter account reported \u201csnow.\u201d Even when the weather is fine below, clouds often roll in by the time you reach Royu.<\/p>\n

Apparently, the clearest views come on the night after heavy rain, when the sky clears completely and the air turns crisp. But those conditions don\u2019t line up every time. Even though we live close to Royu, getting a clear, unobstructed view of the night lights is no easy feat.<\/p>\n

And even when the view is beautiful, the observatory tends to draw a crowd (well, of course it does! lol)<\/span>. You might not be able to park in the perfect spot, or other cars may end up all over your shot, making it impossible to get the photo you wanted.<\/p>\n

The other day, my husband got home from work early and announced:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to head up to Royu for a bit. The air is so clear today\u2014I might be able to get a great shot of the car with the night view!\u201d<\/p>\n

He headed out, camera in hand, full of enthusiasm. About an hour later, he came home, and I asked, \u201cHow did it go?<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo luck. The night view was beautiful, but there were so many cars that I couldn\u2019t get a decent shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sounded disappointed. Here\u2019s one of the photos he took that night. (The top image is from that visit, too.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I think it looks beautiful, but my husband apparently isn\u2019t satisfied at all. He says he\u2019ll try again. Honestly, what exactly is he aiming for? lol<\/p>\n

Taking Our 911 to See Royu\u2019s Night Views<\/h3>\n

Then came last weekend. It was literally a cloudless, blue-sky day, and warm enough for short sleeves, so we decided to take the family out to a park in our 911.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The girls had a wonderful time running along the beach, playing at the water\u2019s edge, and making the most of the playground nearby. By the time we were ready to head home, it was getting dark. We were saying, \u201cIt\u2019d be a shame to go straight home after taking the 911 out<\/strong>,\u201d when my husband suggested:<\/p>\n

\u201cWant to go up to Royu? The weather\u2019s fantastic, and there isn\u2019t a cloud in the sky. The night view might be beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

So we changed plans and headed for Royu. I was excited, thinking, \u201cTonight has to be the night we finally get to see Royu at its best!<\/strong>\u201d But just after we passed the Royu Driveway toll booth, the wind began to pick up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The full moon had been so clear just moments earlier. Before we knew it, thick clouds had covered the sky, and the moon had disappeared completely.<\/p>\n

This was bad. Really bad (-_-). My husband said:<\/p>\n

\u201cSee? This always happens when I come with you, Mina. It\u2019s like the mountain gods are angry or something. lol\u201d<\/p>\n

And, well, he might have had a point\u2026 As we climbed higher, dark clouds gathered<\/strong>, strong winds howled<\/strong>, and the trees lining the road swayed violently<\/strong>. By the time we reached Higashi-Rokko Observatory, a light haze had begun to obscure the night view.<\/p>\n

Seriously\u2014why does this always happen? (-_-)<\/p>\n

We\u2019d come all this way, so I tried to get out and take at least one photo. But the wind was so strong and bitterly cold that stepping outside was out of the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat should we do? We paid \u00a5410 to get up to the observatory, but there\u2019s no point staying here\u2026 Should we just head back?\u201d<\/p>\n

And so, after spending just two minutes at the observatory, we turned around and drove back down the mountain. The weather gradually improved as we got closer to the foot of the mountain, and by the time we were back down, the sky had cleared completely. Honestly, why does it always turn out like this?<\/p>\n

Still, Royu\u2019s night views really are beautiful, so I hope we\u2019ll get another chance to try again soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Night Views from Higashi-Rokko Observatory Among Kansai\u2019s car enthusiasts, Royu Driveway is a household name. It\u2019s made plenty of appearances on this blog, too. Car enthusiasts may associate Royu more with early mornings and daytime drives, but it\u2019s also a famous night-view spot in the Kansai region. From the observatory, at an elevation of 645 meters, you can take in sweeping views across the Osaka Plain, from Osaka to Kobe. The parking spaces are lined...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=10740","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nocar-nolife","en-US"],"yoast_head":"A Nighttime Drive to See the Views from Royu Driveway in Our Porsche 911 - Porsche Owner's Blog from Japan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join us in our Porsche 911 for a Royu Driveway night-view adventure\u2014and see why perfect conditions are harder to find than you\u2019d think.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/en\/entry\/naight-view-royu-driveway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Nighttime Drive to See the Views from Royu Driveway in Our Porsche 911 - 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