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My time in Fukuoka might have been very restricted however I nonetheless determined to spend a serious chunk of it getting into search of a big, strangely-shaped sci-fi-like concrete tower that seems to seem like it’s nonetheless within the means of being constructed.
This uniquely-shaped construction all of the sudden seems in the course of a neighborhood city which I visited again in late June final 12 months. Resulting from some visitors congestion, my anticipated one hour bus experience from Ohori Park in central Fukuoka took longer than anticipated. The vacation spot was Shimoshime which is positioned simply to the east of the airport. A rental-car or taxi from the airport takes roughly quarter-hour so might be the simpler possibility.
After travelling for about an hour and a half (bus plus strolling time) I lastly arrived on the mining shaft scaffold that I’d come to see, and usually it started to rain virtually as quickly as I received to Nakayoshi Park which performs host to what was as soon as the one nationwide coal mine in Japan.
Rennovation work was supposedly executed on it a couple of years in the past to protect it and it’s surrounded by a fence so you may’t stand up shut sufficient to essentially look at or discover it however at the least you may stroll round all of it.
In some methods this enormous bolstered concrete tower is nothing greater than a single-photo cease for a lot of who do go to it however I believed it was nonetheless fairly fascinating to see it from each attainable angle as the form of the constructing actually does change relying in your view.
The massive tower is just below 50 metres in peak and was constructed between 1941 and 1943 the place it served as an elevator to boost and decrease miners and coal to depths of 430 metres underground.
It was the one nationwide coal mine in Japan till it closed in 1964 as a result of demand for different vitality sources like oil. A lot of the associated services had been demolished however this tower was left alone because it was troublesome to dismantle on account of its extraordinarily stable construction. Naturally, it has detiorated over the a long time following its closure, therefore the necessity for the aforementioned rennovation work.
Mining in Shime city started over a century in the past by the navy, and coal was mined constantly for warships and steam locomotives earlier than and after WWII. At its peak, 500,000 tons of coal was produced yearly.
Apart from the tower, the one factor of actual curiosity is maybe the primary entrance to one of many tunnels which was accomplished in 1938. It has an arch stucture measuring 3.2 metres in peak and 4.5 metres in width, and was not solely used to move coal but in addition to provide some air.
After I was executed gazing on the important tower in marvel I headed to Sue station on foot however stored wanting again because the construction within the background received smaller and smaller earlier than disappearing from my (rear) view. Out of sight however definitely not out of thoughts! It could be only a wreck for many individuals however it’s a logo of the city, and was deservedly given some official recognition within the late 2000s when it was designated as a nationwide tangible cultural property.
- Shime Mining Shaft Scaffold is positioned at 495-3 Shime, Kasuya-ku, Fukuoka-ken.
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