Day Four (30 Oct 2008)
DAY FOUR
In the morning, we walked over to Unzen Jigoku (literally "Unzen Hell"). This is a series of vents which constantly emit toxic, stinking fumes of hydrogen sulphide, which react with metal compounds in the soil, forming sulphur. The air here is constantly smoky due to the vents, and through the haze, you are able to see boiling pits of sulphur.
In the past, when Japanese society was still very conservative, Christians were thrown into these sulphur pits to die a slow, painful death.
Despite all this, Unzen Jigoku, like most of the other places we visited, is surrounded by large expanses of mountains and colourful flowers.
Next, we visited the Nagasaki Peace Park, a memorial dedicated to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in World War II. We viewed the bronze "peace statue", and numerous other sculptures and fountains in remembrance of the victims. A large group of elementary schoolchildren were present at the Peace Park, as well as the "ground zero" site of the bombing (the hypocentre of the blast), reciting prayers and their own silent wishes to the victims of the bombing. This shows that the Japanese are still deeply affected by the bombing, and are sincere in their wish that such a disaster will never happen again.
We also went to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, where we viewed exhibits detailing the various aspects, and the damage, caused by the bombing.
After that, we drove over to Kurume for our much-anticipated school exchange. At the school (Kurume Nanchiku High School), we were warmly greeted by the Japanese students, and were treated to displays of their school's various clubs (equivalent to our CCAs), such as taiko drums, judo, kendo and sports.
After a short interaction session with the students, we presented tokens of appreciation to them, before leaving for our dormitory stay at the Fukuoka University of Economics.
In the morning, we walked over to Unzen Jigoku (literally "Unzen Hell"). This is a series of vents which constantly emit toxic, stinking fumes of hydrogen sulphide, which react with metal compounds in the soil, forming sulphur. The air here is constantly smoky due to the vents, and through the haze, you are able to see boiling pits of sulphur.
In the past, when Japanese society was still very conservative, Christians were thrown into these sulphur pits to die a slow, painful death.
Despite all this, Unzen Jigoku, like most of the other places we visited, is surrounded by large expanses of mountains and colourful flowers.
Next, we visited the Nagasaki Peace Park, a memorial dedicated to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in World War II. We viewed the bronze "peace statue", and numerous other sculptures and fountains in remembrance of the victims. A large group of elementary schoolchildren were present at the Peace Park, as well as the "ground zero" site of the bombing (the hypocentre of the blast), reciting prayers and their own silent wishes to the victims of the bombing. This shows that the Japanese are still deeply affected by the bombing, and are sincere in their wish that such a disaster will never happen again.
We also went to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, where we viewed exhibits detailing the various aspects, and the damage, caused by the bombing.
After that, we drove over to Kurume for our much-anticipated school exchange. At the school (Kurume Nanchiku High School), we were warmly greeted by the Japanese students, and were treated to displays of their school's various clubs (equivalent to our CCAs), such as taiko drums, judo, kendo and sports.
After a short interaction session with the students, we presented tokens of appreciation to them, before leaving for our dormitory stay at the Fukuoka University of Economics.
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