In 1893, the Chinese residents of Nagasaki built the Confucius Shrine or Koshi-byo with the financial support from the Qing Dynasty government in China. It is said to be the only Confucius shrine outside China built by Chinese labor.
Month: October 2015
Nagasaki Trip: Battleship Island
The abandoned Gunkanjima sits about 9 miles away from Nagasaki. It functioned as a coal mining facility from 1887 to 1974, a former symbol of Japan’s rapid industrialization. Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890 and began to extract coal from undersea mines. Japan’s first large concrete 9-storey building and a block of apartments were built in the island to accomodate the workers. However, Hashima mines were closed in 1974 when petroleum replaced coal in Japan.
Nagasaki Trip: Memoirs of the Atomic Bombing
World War II has been the most destructive conflict in the history of mankind. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain to be the first and only uses of nuclear weapons in armed conflict, killing between 129,000 and 226,000 people. In Nagasaki, the bomb was dropped on August 9, 1945 at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the city. Nagasaki was chosen because it was a shipbuilding center at that time. On August 15, the Imperial Japan surrendered, finally ending the Pacific War that lasted for 3 years and 8 months.
Nagasaki Trip: Hub of Catholicism In The Far East
Called then as the Ecclesiastical Nagasaki, the Jesuits aimed the city to be the main site of Catholicism in the Far East. However, the Shogunate became wary of colonialism and started to persecute the Christians. Nagasaki then became one of the historical sites of persecution for Catholics. The first time I went to Nagasaki, I took the opportunity to visit the important Catholic sites in the city.
Momijigari At Hoheikyo Dam
Traveling for more than 3 hours by car from Obihiro, we arrived at the Hoheikyo Dam area of the Jozankei part of Sapporo. It was the peak time of the autumn leaves, so there are a lot of people enjoying the amazing view of the park.
The Ebola Station At Universitätspital Basel
The Ebola epidemic in 2014 is the largest in history affecting the West Africa. Different countries in the world get ready by having well-equipped facilities to handle ebola cases. For Switzerland, the government requires each canton to have one ebola station. This means that there are 26 Ebola stations all throughout Switzerland. For the canton of Basel-Stadt, it is located at the Universitätspital Basel (University of Basel Hospital). It was therefore a privilege for me to visit this ebola station.
The Underrated New Chitose Airport
Unlike the more famous Narita and Haneda Airport, New Chitose Airport is the most underrated airport in Japan. As Tokyo is more touristy than Hokkaido, less non-Japanese people are appreciating the nice things that New Chitose Airport is offering. This is actually my most favorite airport in Japan as it can actually be a tourist destination on its own. One can generally spend a whole day in this airport without getting bored. Even those who are not having a flight will have fun in New Chitose Airport.
Going Around Switzerland by Schweizerische Bundesbahnen
Switzerland has proven to be one of the countries with the easiest and most proficient way of moving around the country through their network of trains. Their national railway company is called Swiss Federal Railways which is usually referred to by the initials of its German, French and Italian names SBB (German: Schweizerische Bundesbahnen), CFF (French: Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses) and FFS (Italian: Ferrovie federali svizzere).
Flash Note: Momijigari At Fukuhara Sansou
The day when you can enjoy the fiery leaves of autumn has finally come in Hokkaido. Japanese have the momijigari tradition of visiting scenic areas where leaves have turned red in autumn. And where to enjoy it but in Fukuhara-sansou, the Tokachi spot with the finest autumn leaves.
One Windy Day In Daisetsuzan
It was early October. My friends and I went to Daisetsuzan National Park to see the autumn leaves. Daisetsuzan National Park is the largest national park in Japan established in 1934 spanning two subprefectures of Hokkaido. Consisting of 16 peaks, the name Daisetsuzan means great snowy mountains.
Ziel Basel
Moving around Basel is easy as there are trams connecting different points of the city. During my stay in Basel for the conference, I always purchased the 1-day pass so it will be more economical to tour the city whenever I wanted. The network of the tramway is already more than a century old and has became part of Basel’s heritage.
The Staircase Of Werkraum Warteck PP
The building is known as the Werkraum Warteck pp. Werkraum is the German word for workroom as it houses cooperation between different projects, companies and people. Warteck is the name of the former brewery that was using the building. Pp stands for “Permanentes Provisorium” or “permanent provisional arrangement”. The place is now considered a cultural hub in Basel as it is now transformed into art studios and artist’s workshops, and even offices for artists, performers, craftsmen, and musicians . It was just last year that they changed the outer staircase as part of the renovation of the former malt silo.
Amoj In Wanderland 