Victoria School goes Kyushu, Japan

DAY TWO

We started the day with a Japanese breakfast, before packing and leaving Yunoko Sankaikan for the Kumamoto Environment Centre. Here, we learnt about the many different environmental issues in the world through interactive displays, such as computer quizzes, short videos and simple games. The facilities here are simple enough for young children to understand, and there were many elementary school children here on a school excursion.

Next, we visited the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum, where we learnt about and expanded our knowledge on the Minamata Disease.

A bit of background information:

The Minamata Disease was first discovered in 1956. Since 1932, the Chisso
Corporation in Japan (one of the world's largest manufacturers of products such
as liquid crystal) had been dumping wastewater containing methyl mercury into
the nearby Minamata River. Over time, dangerous amounts of methyl mercury
accumulated in the bodies of fish and other aquatic lifeforms living the river
and surrounding sea.

As Minamata City itself is located next to the sea, many of its residents
were fishermen. In the 1950s, people began to observe dead fish floating in the
waters surrounding Minamata. Soon enough, cats which had eaten the contaminated
seafood began having strange convulsions and spasms.

In 1956, the first documented case of Minamata Disease in humans occurred,
but it was a very long time before the root cause of the disease was discovered.
The Chisso Corporation knew that their mercury-containing discharges were the
cause, but concealed the fact from the authorities to prevent profit
losses.

Eventually, Minamata Disease was identified as a severe form of mercury
poisoning, and the problem was only solved in the 21st century.

Here in the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum, we learnt about the above, and also listened to a recount by an actual Minamata Disease sufferer, who shared with us his life before the disease struck, when he was infected, and after he recovered. It was quite a touching story, and served as a reminder to never repeat such a tragedy.

Lunch for the day was Spanish paella (rice with seafood), served in Japanese style at a quaint, picturesque location on a cliff above the Yatsushiro Bay.

After lunch, we took a long drive to Yabe Village, the site of the Tsujyun Bridge, a popular tourist destination. The Tsujyun Bridge is an aqueduct, which, in ancient times, served to transport water from the mountains to irrigate surrounding farms.

Now, the Bridge has weekly discharges of water to cleanse its pipes, which are actually spectacular sprays similar to a fountain!

After watching the water discharge at the Tsujyun Bridge, we were transferred to the highlands of Miyazaki Prefecture, to the small village of Gokase. This was where we experienced our Japanese farmstay.

We were all truly surprised when we were greeted by the various "host families" at the Gokase Winery. They were all smiling and waving Singapore flags! Inside the winery, we were treated to a simple "welcome ceremony", and were introduced to our host families - 3-4 students to 1 family.

Kenwin, Ming Jun and I (Jordan) were allocated to a family who lived on a small cottage, precariously perched on the edge of a cliff. It was a 10min-long car ride from the winery to the house!

At the house, we ate a dinner of vegetable curry (probably made from the family's own crops), boiled sweet potatoes, fruit salad and orange jelly.

We were also introduced to the family's 3 young children, with whom we spent most of the evening playing with.

But what surprised us most was the fact that some aspects of the farmers' homes were actually more technologically-advanced than our homes back in Singapore! Take, for example, the bathroom. It had a fully-computerized water heater, and even had a "communication system", allowing the user to speak to people outside the bathroom, in case of accidents such as falls.

The 3 of us spent the night on futons, once again.