Gunkanjima

[Coligny]

Don't know if you carez guys, but I went a gunkanjima and tookz a picshures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/CinCADARVE/GunKanJima#

Unfortunately, the trip is sterilized the japanese way, you just go to the boring/safe part. With full concrete walkway that would make an airport runway look rought. But there is no interdiction signs on the island itself, so access might not be that restricted if you rent your own boat (just saying).

[IkemenTommy]

Don't know if you carez guys, but I went a gunkanjima and tookz a picshures:

Drunk post?:rolleyes:

There was only 1 picture that interested me a little.

[Coligny]

Drunk post?:rolleyes:

Nope... my usual self...

[Yokohammer]

Had me confused there for a bit Col. The first third or half are pictures of the port as you were leaving Nagasaki, no? I thought "Wow, they've really cleaned the place up!"

And then we get to Hashima ... eeyew!

Cool.

[osopolar]

..Unfortunately, the trip is sterilized the japanese way, you just go to the boring/safe part. With full concrete walkway that would make an airport runway look rought..

cool pics nonetheless. thanks for sharing.

[Coligny]

Had me confused there for a bit Col. The first third or half are pictures of the port as you were leaving Nagasaki, no? I thought "Wow, they've really cleaned the place up!"

And then we get to Hashima ... eeyew!

Cool.

I shared roughtly all pict from the trip from the harbour in Nagasaki to the island and a small back. So there was Mitsubishi construction naval yard, sum water, sum other island on the way and sum other boats.

(incredibul the number of cats living in Nagasaki, the takeover started it seems... *)

(*yeah, that's mah theory aboot global warming killing all humans and leaving cats as the new dominant species)

[wuchan]

priceless:

[Greji]

cool pics nonetheless. thanks for sharing.

Agreed. Good show...

[Kanchou]

Next time I go to Japan I intend to go there.

Also, I just had an idea for a hilarious sitcom about a JET who's stoked because he thinks he gets to teach in Nagasaki only to find he's been sent to Hashima due to a clerical error and can't leave for at least six months due to various contractual stipulations (and because there's no ferry). Wait, that's a terrible idea...until you add that his students are zombies...or vampires...or something. Except as soon as class is out, he has the spent the rest of time running for his life....wait, that's terrible too.

[FG Lurker]

Some more Gunkanjima pics, along with urban ruins from various other countries.

[Russell]

Historic Gunkanjima bldgs in danger of collapsing

Some historic buildings on Nagasaki’s Hashima island, also known as Gunkanjima, which once thrived on coal mining, have been deemed by experts as in danger of collapsing, according to city officials.

Gunkanjima, meaning “battleship island” after its appearance, is one of a group of legacy sites remaining from the Meiji-era (1868-1912) industrial revolution that the government wants to add to UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Four apartment buildings, including the nation’s oldest high-rise reinforced-concrete apartment, and part of another building are regarded by the Architectural Institute of Japan as “seriously damaged” or in imminent danger of collapse, the officials said.

According to the Cultural Affairs Agency, experts have yet to devise techniques to repair reinforced concrete when it has seriously deteriorated. Researchers, therefore, will hold an international conference in the city in June next year, hoping to come up with a method to preserve and restore the buildings.

The 6.3-hectare island, located about 19 kilometers from central Nagasaki, prospered on seabed coal mining. In 1960, about 5,300 people lived on the island, with about 30 reinforced concrete buildings, including apartments, a school and a hospital, built from the Taisho era (1912-1926) to the Showa era (1926-1989). After the mine was closed in 1974, the island became deserted. The buildings have been abandoned for 40 years, exposed to high tides, wind and rain. After a ban on entry to the island was lifted in April 2009, it became popular with tourists. The number of visitors topped 500,000 as of spring, but approaching the buildings is prohibited.

After a request by Nagasaki city government, the institute conducted research on the buildings from 2011 to 2013. The institute inspected 12 buildings for signs of deterioration, including Building No. 30 — the nation’s oldest high-rise apartment, comprising seven floors, which was built in 1916. As a result, four buildings were determined to be seriously damaged. In estimating the number of years remaining before the buildings collapsed, Building No. 30 was calculated at minus five years, meaning it should have collapsed five years before 2012, when it was inspected.

An international conference will be held by the Japan Concrete Institute, which about 150 researchers including experts from Western countries are scheduled to attend. Takafumi Noguchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo who studies building materials, says the worth of the island will be greatly reduced if its buildings collapse. He is head of the institute’s research group and chairman of the international conference.

“We hope we can gather the latest knowledge and experience of each member for preservation and restoration [of the buildings],” Noguchi said.

UNESCO list plans

The legacies of the Meiji era industrial revolution, which consist of 23 sites in eight prefectures, including Gunkanjima, are expected to be registered as World Cultural Heritage sites next year. UNESCO’s advisory body, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), is planning to advise UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee on registrations around May next year.

The Nagasaki city government is currently working toward establishing a program to repair and utilize the Gunkanjima buildings, the main focus of which is limited to preserving the buildings at several major residential areas. The city government excludes Building No. 30 from preservation efforts as its life cannot be prolonged with current technology, according to the local government.

“As a general rule, historic sites should be preserved as they are. But there are some buildings that cannot be preserved for technical reasons,” a Cultural Affairs Agency official said. “If a new technology is developed, we want to use it.”

Link

I think the main appeal of Gunkanjima is the process of deterioration of this past civilization. So, what is the point of maintaining those buildings?

[yanpa]

I think the main appeal of Gunkanjima is the process of deterioration of this past civilization. So, what is the point of maintaining those buildings?

Basically what I thought when reading the article, before seeing your comment.

[Russell]

I think the main appeal of Gunkanjima is the process of deterioration of this past civilization. So, what is the point of maintaining those buildings?

Basically what I thought when reading the article, before seeing your comment.

Then again, the Japan Concrete Institute may want to explore a new market...

[matsuki]

the government wants to add to UNESCO’s World Heritage list

Why not save some time and just get the whole cuntry declared a UNESCO World Heritage site?

[Russell]

the government wants to add to UNESCO’s World Heritage list

Why not save some time and just get the whole cuntry declared a UNESCO World Heritage site?

In order for that to succeed, it will be necessary to have a sufficient number of concrete structures all over the country.



O wait...

[yanpa]

Missing candidates for the list:

* the humble tetrapod
* a mouldering, depopulated inaka onsen town, preferably one dominated by the abandoned ruins of a landmark hotel (Minakami comes to mind).

[Yokohammer]

While I'm in full-on pedant mode, can we clear up a little issue that has popped up here a few times lately?

* A "tetrapod" is a four-limbed vertebrate.

* A "tetrapot" is an ugly four-spiked concrete thing commonly found along the local shorelines.

Thank you for your attention. Normal programming will now resume ...

[yanpa]

While I'm in full-on pedant mode, can we clear up a little issue that has popped up here a few times lately?

* A "tetrapod" is a four-limbed vertebrate.

* A "tetrapot" is an ugly four-spiked concrete thing commonly found along the local shorelines.

Thank you for your attention. Normal programming will now resume ...

Let me pedantically quote Wikipedia back at you: "In coastal engineering, a tetrapod is a tetraeder-shaped concrete structure used as armour unit on breakwaters".

Ooooh, and we can blame the French:

The unit was originally developed in 1950 by Laboratoire Dauphinois d'Hydraulique (now Sogreah) in Grenoble, France.

[Yokohammer]

While I'm in full-on pedant mode, can we clear up a little issue that has popped up here a few times lately?

* A "tetrapod" is a four-limbed vertebrate.

* A "tetrapot" is an ugly four-spiked concrete thing commonly found along the local shorelines.

Thank you for your attention. Normal programming will now resume ...

Let me pedantically quote Wikipedia back at you: "In coastal engineering, a tetrapod is a tetraeder-shaped concrete structure used as armour unit on breakwaters".

Ooooh, and we can blame the French:

The unit was originally developed in 1950 by Laboratoire Dauphinois d'Hydraulique (now Sogreah) in Grenoble, France.

You are a tetrapod.
Seriously.
So am I.

[yanpa]

While I'm in full-on pedant mode, can we clear up a little issue that has popped up here a few times lately?

* A "tetrapod" is a four-limbed vertebrate.

* A "tetrapot" is an ugly four-spiked concrete thing commonly found along the local shorelines.

Thank you for your attention. Normal programming will now resume ...

Let me pedantically quote Wikipedia back at you: "In coastal engineering, a tetrapod is a tetraeder-shaped concrete structure used as armour unit on breakwaters".

Ooooh, and we can blame the French:

The unit was originally developed in 1950 by Laboratoire Dauphinois d'Hydraulique (now Sogreah) in Grenoble, France.

You are a tetrapod.
Seriously.
So am I.

No I'm not, I have 8 legs.

[Yokohammer]

While I'm in full-on pedant mode, can we clear up a little issue that has popped up here a few times lately?

* A "tetrapod" is a four-limbed vertebrate.

* A "tetrapot" is an ugly four-spiked concrete thing commonly found along the local shorelines.

Thank you for your attention. Normal programming will now resume ...

Let me pedantically quote Wikipedia back at you: "In coastal engineering, a tetrapod is a tetraeder-shaped concrete structure used as armour unit on breakwaters".

Ooooh, and we can blame the French:

The unit was originally developed in 1950 by Laboratoire Dauphinois d'Hydraulique (now Sogreah) in Grenoble, France.

You are a tetrapod.
Seriously.
So am I.

No I'm not, I have 8 legs.

Oh right ... sorry. I must have been confusing you with someone else.

[matsuki]

the government wants to add to UNESCO’s World Heritage list

Why not save some time and just get the whole cuntry declared a UNESCO World Heritage site?

In order for that to succeed, it will be necessary to have a sufficient number of concrete structures all over the country.



O wait...

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/

Japan
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
Himeji-jo
Shirakami-Sanchi
Yakushima
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)
Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)
Itsukushima Shinto Shrine
Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
Shrines and Temples of Nikko
Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range
Shiretoko
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape
Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land
Ogasawara Islands
Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration
Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites

Jeebus!

United States of America
Mesa Verde National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Everglades National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Independence Hall
Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek # * 34
Redwood National and State Parks
Mammoth Cave National Park
Olympic National Park
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico
Statue of Liberty
Yosemite National Park #
Chaco Culture
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park #
Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville
Taos Pueblo
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Waterton Glacier International Peace Park *
Papahānaumokuākea
Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point

[Taro Toporific]

Whoa! Gunkanjima shot by a drone in 4K Ultra HD video.

[Taro Toporific]

File this in the Be-careful-for-what-you-wish-for file.

Details of Korean wartime labor at Japan heritage site insufficient, UNESCO says
The Japan Times | 7/23/2021
The committee also urged Japan to improve the exhibits so that visitors understand that a number of Koreans were forced to engage in hard labor in the Hashima Coal Mine, also known as “Battleship Island,” against their will.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee on Thursday adopted a resolution stating that Japan has failed to provide a sufficient explanation about wartime workers from the Korean Peninsula at its Tokyo information center on industrial locations listed as World Cultural Heritage sites.
The adoption of the resolution came during a virtual session of the committee that started on July 16.
The resolution concerns the exhibition at the Industrial Heritage Information Center on Koreans who worked in the Hashima Coal Mine off Nagasaki Prefecture, one of the 23 registered sites.
The center, featuring locations grouped as Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution, opened in Tokyo in 2020 with the support of the Japanese government, based on recommendations made by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization since 2015, when the sites were inscribed on the World Heritage list.
In the resolution, the committee said it had inspected the center in June and found it did not have sufficient exhibits to inform visitors about the Korean victims of wartime forced labor, expressing strong regret over Japan’s failure to carry out what it had promised.
The committee also urged Japan to improve the exhibits so that visitors understand that a number of Koreans were forced to engage in hard labor in the Hashima Coal Mine, also known as “Battleship Island,” against their will.
It called for Japan to report back to the committee by December of next year regarding measures to improve the exhibits.
In response, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the resolution was significant as the international community had confirmed Japan has not implemented its promise to provide sufficient explanation about the Korean victims of forced labor.
More...

[matsuki]

OTOH, the antics of the Korean Media/Athletes/etc. during the Olympics is making them look as bigoted and shameful as stubborn ol Japan.