Thursday, 21 July 2011
Japanese killer jailed for life
So yesterday all the front pages of the English news websites had the story of Tatsuya Ichihashi being sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lindsay Hawker. I'd followed this story quite closely since the gruesome murder happened four years ago; not just because Hawker was an English teacher in Japan like myself, but also because the murder occurred less than ten minute's walk from where I was living at the time, in an anonymous, grey suburb of Tokyo. Given the vast size of the greater Tokyo area this was quite a coincidence. So I watched NHK news last night (NHK is the equivalent of the BBC) and was surprised that there was no mention of the story at all in the one hour broadcast. They did, however, find time for a story about the increasing price of eel, a popoular dish here. The priority they give to news stories here is bizarre to say the least.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
DMZ, North/South Korea
The demilitarised zone (DMZ) is a four kilometre wide strip of land dividing North and South Korea. The only way to visit it is on organised day tours, and once you enter the DMZ you are under military supervision at all times (by American and South Korean troops) There is a dress code of sorts (no "offensive" slogans on t-shirts, no ripped jeans and so forth) and a few rules such as no pointing, waving or making any other hand gestures towards the North Korea side.
I boarded the tour bus in Seoul at a very early 7 a.m. Knowing I had the early start I'd specifically booked a hotel next to the departure point, which gave myself a bit more time in bed and saved having to work out the Seoul metro system when I'd only arrived in the country for the first time the previous afternoon.
The bus journey takes just over an hour. For the most part you're just passing through non-descript suburbs and landscape. However, you do notice the traffic slowly dying out and the number of cars coming in the opposite direction starts to decrease dramatically until you realise the first checkpoint - at the southernmost border of the DMZ. The bus was waved on by South Korean troops until in another ten or so minutes the bus arrived at Camp Bonifas, the base at the actual border line.
Everyone had to wait on the bus until an American soldier boarded the bus and did a quick passport check and briefed us on the itinerary of the tour and a few of the rules. We were then taken into a hall to watch a short film presentation on the history of the DMZ, where we also had to sign something along the lines of them not being responsible if we're shot at or killed by North Koreans.
The blue huts you can see in the picture are negotiation rooms for both countries, built exactly on the border line so that half of each hut is in South Korea and half is in North Korea. You can walk to the North Korean end of the room, which is the only time on the tour that you are technically on North Korean soil. The huts are guarded by South Korean "Rock Guards" named, I presume, for their inert, stone-faced pose which they hold at all times.
Other sights on the tour include a high vantage point atop a hill where you have a view across North Korean territory, including the (apparently uninhabited) town of Kijong-dong. This town is also known as Propaganda Village, after the recordings which the North Koreans blasted at great volume out of huge megaphones, hoping to convert South Koreans to the Communist way. It's now also known for it's comically tall flag post which towers over the town, intentionally built to be taller than a South Korean flag post on the other side of the border.
The tour also included a long walk down one of the many tunnels which North Korea dug under the border, presumably for the intention of invading the south. However, the tunnels were discovered by South Korean troops before they could be used. The final stop on the tour was to a train station at a recently built rail link between the countries. The station looks brand new but is currently not in use due to the worsening relations of the north and south.
I boarded the tour bus in Seoul at a very early 7 a.m. Knowing I had the early start I'd specifically booked a hotel next to the departure point, which gave myself a bit more time in bed and saved having to work out the Seoul metro system when I'd only arrived in the country for the first time the previous afternoon.
The bus journey takes just over an hour. For the most part you're just passing through non-descript suburbs and landscape. However, you do notice the traffic slowly dying out and the number of cars coming in the opposite direction starts to decrease dramatically until you realise the first checkpoint - at the southernmost border of the DMZ. The bus was waved on by South Korean troops until in another ten or so minutes the bus arrived at Camp Bonifas, the base at the actual border line.
Everyone had to wait on the bus until an American soldier boarded the bus and did a quick passport check and briefed us on the itinerary of the tour and a few of the rules. We were then taken into a hall to watch a short film presentation on the history of the DMZ, where we also had to sign something along the lines of them not being responsible if we're shot at or killed by North Koreans.
The blue huts you can see in the picture are negotiation rooms for both countries, built exactly on the border line so that half of each hut is in South Korea and half is in North Korea. You can walk to the North Korean end of the room, which is the only time on the tour that you are technically on North Korean soil. The huts are guarded by South Korean "Rock Guards" named, I presume, for their inert, stone-faced pose which they hold at all times.
Other sights on the tour include a high vantage point atop a hill where you have a view across North Korean territory, including the (apparently uninhabited) town of Kijong-dong. This town is also known as Propaganda Village, after the recordings which the North Koreans blasted at great volume out of huge megaphones, hoping to convert South Koreans to the Communist way. It's now also known for it's comically tall flag post which towers over the town, intentionally built to be taller than a South Korean flag post on the other side of the border.
The tour also included a long walk down one of the many tunnels which North Korea dug under the border, presumably for the intention of invading the south. However, the tunnels were discovered by South Korean troops before they could be used. The final stop on the tour was to a train station at a recently built rail link between the countries. The station looks brand new but is currently not in use due to the worsening relations of the north and south.
Typhoon
After a week of clear sunny weather and temperatures around 35 degrees there is now a typhoon sweeping over Japan. Right here in Tokyo I was awoken about six a.m. by a massive downpour, and it's been stopping and starting like that all day. Going out, even for ten minutes, is a bit of a lottery; you never know when a bit of drizzle is going to turn into a deluge.
Friday, 15 July 2011
First post on first ever blog.
Let's see if I can get this thing working before I start writing properly. Oh, and I'm supposed to be at work.
Great, it seems to be working and I've managed to upload a photo. Let's try another photo, then I really need to get to work. And at some point work out what I want to write on this blog.
This is really where I want to be now. Ahhh, Cambodia.
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