We were billeted at the Hotel Solaria Nishitetsu Hotel in the heart of Fukuoka City, as arranged by our hosts from the Kyushu-Yamaguchi Economic Federation (Kyu-Kei-Ren). The accommodation was of world-class standard.
Located in the southern mainland of Japan, Kyushu, with an area of 42,000 square kilometers and a population of about 13 million, is home to nine prefectures (provinces) that had banded together to become the most dynamic region in the entire Japan. The island is now one of the major economic bastions of the Tokyo government.
Being the business hub in southern Japan, Kyushu now maintains close business ties with its Southeast Asian neighbors, including the Philippines. The island’s captains of industries — from manufacturing and publishing to the tourism, industrial and agricultural sectors — and local leaders are now more than willing to reach out to their ASEAN counterparts.
Living in a highly urbanized place, Kyushu residents, especially those based in Fukuoka City where everything is hi-tech (imagine electronic and computerized restrooms), are all in a hurry – walking fast either on major roads and sidestreets or in underground shopping arcades.
Atop Fukuoka Tower, one of the city’s main attractions, visitors get a panorama view of the city, including the islets spread out in Kakata Bay. Rising 234 meters above the ground, this "swaying" rectangular structure can be considered a modern counterpart of Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa. It stands on reclaimed land that the local government converted into a business and industrial park.
Modern shopping and dining abound in the city’s center although it’s quite expensive for a foreign visitor to shop and dine outside. One of the most modern places in Fukuoka is the Canal City Hakata – a huge commercial district which locals dub as a city within a city. A product of urban planning and unique architectural design, Canal City is located in the city’s Tenjin and Hakata districts. It houses dozens of shopping malls, musical halls, cinemas, indoor amusement parlors and restaurants.
The Nagasaki prefecture served as Japan’s only window to the world during Japan’s period of isolation, allowing only the Dutchmen to trade with them in its beautiful harbor.
The Atomic Bomb Museum houses relics of that fateful 11:02 a.m. of Aug. 9, 1945 when the A-bomb or "Fatman" as it was locally called, was dropped on Nagasaki by the US bomber plane Enola Gay – melted rosaries, twisted steel, human skin that melted onto pots and plates, headless statues of saints, and wooden clocks indicating the exact time the bomb ripped through the city. The bomb attack came when most residents were having lunch or were homebound for lunch after a half-day work at military factories and military bases.
Across the A-Bomb Museum is the "hypocenter" where the "Fatman" exactly exploded 500 meters above ground, destroying everything within a kilometer radius. Schools, hospitals, Catholic churches and houses and every living thing therein were instantly turned into ashes.
The spot is now a park with a monument to remind everybody how the senseless war 57 years ago brought destruction and so much grief and sorrow to the people of Nagasaki – and Hiroshima, too. Today, visitors offer flowers and prayers at the hypocenter, which is surrounded by full-blown cherry blossoms on whose branches birds perch and whose shade gives a tired visitor a respite from the scorching sun.
The Nagasaki government also constructed other war monuments in various areas across the city if only to show the world that in any war or conflict, there are no victors, only losers.
Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh, in a peace declaration last August, said that Nagasaki residents, having experienced the tragedy of an atomic bombing themselves, will continue to appeal to the world for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.
"Fifty-seven years ago, on August 9th, the City of Nagasaki was instantly transformed into ruins. Dropped from an altitude of 9,600 meters, a single atomic bomb was detonated 500 meters above the ground, emitting heat rays of several hundred degrees Celsius and creating blast winds of tremendous force, unleashed against a civilian population of women, the elderly, and blameless children. Some 74,000 people were killed, and 75,000 were injured. Radiation-induced leukemia and cancers have gradually claimed many more lives since. Even more than half a century later, the survivors of the Atomic Bomb suffer constant anxiety over their health and are stalked by death," Itoh declared.
"Nagasaki must remain the final site of the calamity of nuclear attack. Today, we pray for the repose of those who died. In the name of the citizens of the City of Nagasaki, I declare our undying commitment to the complete and permanent elimination of nuclear weapons," Itoh added.
He said Nagasaki officials and citizens are now working together for the hosting of a global gathering of non-government organizations (NGOs) in November this year.
Exploring the city’s shopping arcades and busy streets, one wonders how this once bomb-ravaged place has metamorphosed into an ultra-modern city. Awed by its splendid beauty, Japanese novelist Nagai Kafu called Nagasaki the "Naples of the Orient."
Landscaped to conjure the charm and beauty of a 17th century Dutch village, the multibillion-dollar Huis Ten Bosch or "Home in the Forest" park is dubbed as the Amsterdam of Japan. No wonder, it’s as if everything and anything Dutch was transplanted here. Replicas of numerous historic landmarks in Amsterdam were built up to the minutest detail that even bricks used to construct them were imported from Holland.
Inside the park are four world-class hotels, 69 shops, 58 restaurants, cafés and bars, 13 attractions and 11 museums. Visitors may choose to tour Huis Ten Bosch on foot or travel around by canal cruiser, taxis or buses. One should not miss the nightly plays and shows, and yes, the enormous fireworks displays. Unlike most Kyushu residents who are unable to speak English, the park’s personnel can understand and speak the language.
Despite its modern look, Huis Ten Bosch boasts of its environment-friendly operations, having investing huge sums in waste recycling facilities, including a water recycling and desalination plant. Henk Boer, manager for international public relations and marketing, said they run the theme park in complete harmony with the environment.
Known personalities, including pop icon Michael Jackson and princes and princesses from other countries, have been frequenting the theme park known for its beautiful European flowers, windmills, rivers, world-class hotels and shopping arcades, according to Boer. And the influx of visitors keeps growing, with the list now including Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and other key officials from Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia.
"While we have yet to recover our investment, we are proud to say that we are slowly recouping our investment by giving more emphasis on ecological balance in our services, so as not to destroy the environment which we have painstakingly conceived and built in this part of Japan," Boer said.
"Visitors can look forward to the natural surroundings and to enjoying a life that is in equilibrium with nature while here," Boer added.
Another tourist attraction on Kyushu Island is Mount Aso. Located in Kumamoto prefecture, the mountain is actually an active volcano with the biggest volcanic caldera in the whole of Japan. The local government of Kumamoto prefecture is so business and tourism-oriented that they turned this volcano, which overlooks a valley, into a major tourist destination.
But before trekking to Mount Aso, one should not let go of the chance to experience Japanese living by spending a day or two at Hotel Kawasemi-sho in Nagayo town at the Oita prefecture, a three-hour drive from the Ristsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu City where another natural attraction known as "The Hell Pond" – a pond of steaming brown or chocolate water emitting smoke from an active volcano – is located.
Owned by Fumihiko Shuto, a former chef of the Manila Peninsula Hotel, Hotel Kawasemi-sho gives guests a taste of native Japanese customs – from meals served the traditional way to public baths with water coming from the town’s abundant natural hot springs. Private, individual tubs though are available for the inhibited.