Gunkanjima, Nagasaki

I went on a day trip to Nagasaki in early August, but with a specific purpose in mind - to visit the island of Gunkanjima. Here are some figures about the island from Wikipedia's page on Gunkanjima:

Hashima Island (端島; "Border Island"), commonly called Gunkanjima (軍艦島; "Battleship Island") is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. The island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility.

In 1959, its population density was 835 people per hectare (83,500 people/km2) for the whole island, or 1,391 per hectare (139,100 people/km2) for the residential district, the highest population density ever recorded worldwide.

It may not have been the most pleasant place to live due to its cramped nature and relative isolation, but it had all the conveniences of any other town (with perhaps the exception of a large park): a cinema, swimming pool, shops, a shrine, so forth. There also existed a school for the children living on the island. Unfortunately it also had a darker element to its existence, as the population also included forced labourers from Korea and China during World War Two.

Since 1974 it has remained abandoned apart from a number of daring urban explorers (of whom I am admittedly quite envious) until recently, when a Nagasaki ferry company began landing tours of the island. Here are a couple of my photos from the trip, click for an enlargement:











Unfortunately, being herded around with a large group of other tourists somewhat ruins the purpose of visiting an abandoned site, but it's currently the only legal option for visiting. It was also extremely hot that day, especially standing on concrete, and the sea walls were sufficiently high enough to stop any sea breeze. But otherwise it was an unusual and interesting experience, and to me it's one of the more fascinating places in Japan of which little is known to most locals.

Anyway, having said all that, I'd certainly be keen to visit Nagasaki again so I can take the time to do some sightseeing around the city itself, something I actually didn't do!

Various topics

Unfortunately I didn't get around to writing anything last week - this week I should get around to it before I completely forget what was discussed last Friday!

In the week prior, the topic of compulsory English language education was briefly raised. I completely support the idea of exposing students to foreign language learning, at least at an elementary or junior high school level, as I support any sort of activity that requires people to use their brains in different ways. (As expected, the part of my brain that deals with language gets a regular workout, although the part that is used for arithmetic has, in all likelihood, completely atrophied.) One of my concerns is that, at least until high school, students are rarely given the choice of what language they would like to learn. Fortunately, in my first year of junior high school I was required to attend classes for French, German and Indonesian (sequentially, not all at the same time) and was then asked to choose one to study for the following year - not such a bad system.

Whilst people undertake language study for a variety of reasons, I strongly believe the process of language learning should be an enjoyable one. If people come to associate language (such as English) with failure, embarrassment and discomfort, then it's understandable they will be hesitant to use it (such as the woman who ran away from Kie) or perhaps even hold a resentment towards it. Hence another reason why believe students should be able to choose a language they find appealing.

Unfortunately, the nature of Japanese society, language and behaviour may also be something of a barrier to effective foreign language learning. Progression in language learning requires you to argue your opinion, to make mistakes, to speak in front of a number of people, and to face negative evaluation - a gross generalisation as it may be, I feel that a large number of Japanese people would choose to stay silent instead of subjecting themselves to these things. The fairly limited syllabary of the Japanese language is also something of a hindrance that (initially) can't be helped, but for example, having such things as katakana furigana for non-Japanese songs at karaoke isn't doing anything to encourage the correct pronunciation of foreign words. Gairaigo (and various portmanteaus/contractions) provides a good base of vocabulary for those learning English in particular, but again, may end up causing confusion.

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough about the topic of language learning in Japan, and the last thing I want to do is discourage Japanese people or anyone else from learning a foreign language. I have a lot of respect for anyone attempting to do so, whether it be related to their career, their hobby, or whatever.

Last Friday my group decided that homosexuality and personal questions were two particular topics of interest for discussion, something I'm looking forward to hearing about. Eventually I'd also like to get around to writing a little bit about food in Japan, but in particular, vegetarianism in Japan.

Cheers!