JOURNEY ACROSS JAPAN: Day 5 - Is Japan's Biggest Theme Park ACTUALLY Good? (Yes) | Diary
Added 2021-04-30 02:09:03 +0000 UTC
I awoke in Amsterdam in the rain.
Then after a few moments I realised it wasn’t in fact Amsterdam, even though the weather was fairly accurate.
Huis Ten Bosch is a gigantic theme park one hour north of Nagasaki, though “theme park” doesn’t do it justice. It’s a genuine slice of the Netherlands, with operation canals and windmills, brick streets and architecture that feels like the real deal.
Heck there’s even real Heineken, which Natsuki was delighted to sample firsthand.
I’ve seen Natsuki ecstatic a fair few times on this journey so far, but never to the extent that he was today, as he wandered and pedalled his way through the town.
Yes that’s right, you’re able to rent bicycles here - one of which seats 4 people. While Natsuki and Joey pedalled like maniacs behind, I sat up front taking it all in with the camera, astonished at the attention to detail. (And admittedly, sitting there enjoying the ride while they did all the work).
Today’s challenge involved making postcards of Natsuki, and the backdrop of Huis Ten Bosch proved very lucrative in making it appear as though he’d temporarily fled Japan.
And though we could have spent all the day at theme park having fun, Journey Across Japan isn’t about fun, so we boarded a small boat which took us half an hour out into the sea, to a small abandoned island that time had forgotten.
Not to be confused with Gunkanjima (aka. Battleship Island), which we’re visiting tomorrow, Ikeshima was a much larger island with a few dozen people remaining.
Once home to almost 10,000 people, today most of the island stands as a ghost town and a reminder of Japan’s once booming coal sector.
Dozens of apartment blocks which have been left behind for as long as 20-30 years, have been completely and utterly consumed by the flora and fauna. I say fauna, because the island is inhabited by hundreds of feral cats, who are fed scraps by the last remaining locals.
- Locals we never actually saw.
It was a real glimpse of what life on Earth might look after the apocalypse - especially the cats. And I have to admit, I enjoyed exploring the island even more than the Dutch theme park, due to the sheer diversity in the crumbling architecture.
I can only hope they don’t plan to bulldoze any of it, as it really gives the island a sense of character that it’s otherwise lacking.
Of all the episodes I’ll soon be editing of Journey Across Japan this is the one I’m probably looking forward to the most (closely followed by the rap video one from two days ago).
I look forward to sharing it with you all in a few weeks. But before that, onwards to the last day of our trip.
We’re finally off to Nagasaki!
Comments
That's way too accurate
tiizen
2021-08-12 09:17:10 +0000 UTCEvery time I read these updates for Journey Across Japan it's like reading a manga while I wait for the anime adaptation.
2021-05-03 15:01:22 +0000 UTCAh what an amazing damn day you guys had. 😌🌿 I truly love stuff like this, and love watching documentaries and videos on them... Just feeling the old bustling life in those buildings, and the perpetual sleep they now slumber within. An eerie magic about it all, a crisp refreshing staleness, if that makes sense even. Lol Chris---- Do you happen to have any old photos or old video of what it might have looked like in its prime so many years ago? 💜 If you havent any past footage of the island, you should try and seek some out! That would be absolutely amazing to see in reflection to your updated and vivid treck across the island. 😍🌿🏚🐈
Jewel - (Freyja's Konjures)
2021-05-02 12:39:32 +0000 UTCIkeshima feels like it's right out of Nier: Automata
Parker Brown
2021-05-01 00:03:14 +0000 UTCIt's uncanny how realistic that theme park is. I can just picture my favourite coffee place at the foot of that tower! Except we don't have verdant hills or any other hills in the background... Also: the lush jungle ruin cat island! I want to go!
Nynke de Haas
2021-04-30 17:00:06 +0000 UTCIt's definitely his cool pose :)
Nynke de Haas
2021-04-30 16:53:33 +0000 UTCLove the abandoned town pictures. Also Natsuki looks like he’s becoming his final form: Catsuki. 😺
Laura Beaumont
2021-04-30 16:53:23 +0000 UTCChris, will you be releasing Journey Across Japan 3 first, or your talked about trip to the northernmost edge of Hokkaido that you mentioned in your podcast a few weeks ago?
Rynnik Elddi
2021-04-30 15:36:56 +0000 UTCMan that is 'The Last of Us' in real life! But with cats
Mr Fujisawa
2021-04-30 11:15:13 +0000 UTCNatsuki is ready to audition for Vogue with that posing
Eels
2021-04-30 08:58:29 +0000 UTCI saw it last year during a documentary. It’s insane how much effort the Japanese put into ten Bosch. Even the tiles came from the Netherlands!
Murapi
2021-04-30 08:00:47 +0000 UTCThe biggest theme park, and it’s a Dutch theme park 🤣. As a Dutchman, I’m really surprised sometimes about some places you find references to my little country 😁 I think we should return the favor and build a Japanese style theme park in the Netherlands!! 🇯🇵 🇳🇱 Can’t wait for the videos! Good luck with editing, I’m sure there will be too much footage to choose from! 🤣
2021-04-30 06:40:28 +0000 UTCThanks for the explanation 👍🏼
AJ
2021-04-30 04:17:28 +0000 UTCI think it's due to the fact that the Dutch and Nagasaki have a long history. The Dutch East India Company started trading with Japan in 1609. It was built to commemorate this long friendship so the Japanese took it as seriously as they could.
Milena
2021-04-30 03:23:22 +0000 UTC“And though we could have spent all day at the theme park having fun, Journey Across Japan isn’t about having fun” lmaooo
Eyyy J
2021-04-30 03:18:22 +0000 UTCAre there lodging facilities at the Dutch theme park? And any idea as to how they were able to accurately construct a realistic architectural model, compared to the fictionalised British theme park (on JAJ 2) ?
AJ
2021-04-30 02:51:45 +0000 UTCHonestly it was the craziest week ever. Afterwards Joey said it was the best week of his life! haha
Abroad in Japan
2021-04-30 02:46:51 +0000 UTCHe looks like a shady drug dealer in the first photo
Abroad in Japan
2021-04-30 02:46:26 +0000 UTCi really can't wait to see the videos. seems like you've had enough adventures in a week compared to some would have in a life time.
Alev Akkor
2021-04-30 02:36:07 +0000 UTC
