Journeys in Japan
A Passion for Industrial Structures: Exploring People's Passion for Industrial Structure Tours: This Time in Kanagawa, Gunma, Nagasaki Prefectures
Episode Synopsis
Adeyto visits three sites, starting in Kawasaki for a night factory tour. Most participants, including Adeyto, are into photographing the urban industrial landscape. What's the attraction of large-scale public works' sites for so many Japanese today? Next Adeyto travels north of Tokyo to rural Gunma Prefecture to take in a vast chamber located deep inside a mountain. The Kannagawa Hydropower Plant attracts more than 10 thousand visitors a year. The final destination of Adeyto's tour of man-made structures is a deserted island in Nagasaki Prefecture. Traveling 17 kilometers off of Nagasaki's Port, you'll come to Hashima. Hashima was once a coal mining facility, home to 5000 people. When resources were exhausted, the island was abandoned in 1974. Since it opened to the public last year, 70 thousand people have visited despite the fact that only concrete ruins remain. For many tourists, they find a silent message here. (Excerpt)
