Nagasaki

Behind the small inn we stayed at in Nagasaki a great cemetery clings to a steep hill. It's a maze of stone steps and narrow pathways which wind perilously to the top affording the occasional visitor with a great view of Nagasaki and the port. Old and new tombs sit side by side, there seems to be little class division within the cemetery grounds. Some are far more impressive than others but all share the same view. Old women meticulousy tend the graves with straw brooms and dustpans. They simply smiled at us and went about their work.

Battle Royale is a Japanese movie about a class of school children let loose on an island with one aim - be the last one standing. Each year one class is chosen under the BR Act - a law passed to reinforce to the youngsters than the adults are in charge. It's like a Japanese version of Lord of the Flies, only vicious and entertaining. Plus they never use 'wizard' as an adjective. Parts were filmed in Sakito Nagasaki in these abandoned dorms for the nearby coal mines. We hired a car again and missioned it north in the pouring rain to see what we could find. We wound through misty mountain passes and tiny fishing villages, as I've probably mentioned before rural Japan is fresh.

We rolled into Sakito, adamant no amount of precipitation would ruin our day. With no idea where to find the danchis (Google Earth resolution: Failed) we began a circle search of the area, figuring it would turn into a circle jerk. We booted around for a while driving all the streets on the GPS which looked promising before we found a small bay. We examined one side to find nothing but looked across the bay through the increasing squall. Rising through the haze, to emerge upon a jagged cliff four ghostly outlines appeared. First the blocky rooves took shape and then the clumps of trees clustered around the danchis. Jackpot.

With our camera gear locked and loaded twinky-z and I wandered down a sealed but infrequently used road running roughly towards the dorms. Luckily as the road veered away we spied a cracked concrete path leading off. The broken segments of path vanished into the thick nettle and thorn infested scrub, we hoped it wound around into the danchis. With no machettes to aid our adventure we Gaijin Smashed our way through the dense, damp underbrush as the rain contined to fall. With every step we burrowed further through the thorns and closer to the danchis.

Given the opportunity Mother Nature is reclaiming what was once hers. The concrete is collapsing, the metal rusting and slowly the forest is taking the land and structures back. The sea of green climbs the rough concrete, finding purchase in every possible nook and cranny. Small plants sprout from the window sills and creepers infest the stairwells to create spiderweb like patterns across the walls. It's a post apocalyptic heaven. A deserted, overgrown shangrila high upon the cliffs overlooking the turbulent seas. The danchi interiors are in poor condition as the moist air and coastal rains have rotted the floors, withered the tatami mats and rusted the metal doors to but a shade of what they once were. The stair treds crumble beneath your feet and debris fills the stairwells. Traces of human occupation lie scattered throughout the ruins - a suitcase, urns, sake bottles and a wooden sandal.