Satsuma Students House, Ichikikushikino

Finally, we visited to the Satsuma Students House (薩摩藩英国留学生記念館 Satsuma-han Eikoku Ryugakusei Kinenkan), a museum in Hashima, Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima.

Hashima (羽島) is a fishing port located on the coast of East China Sea in Ichikikushikino (いちき串木野) city. Like the most rural area in Japan, the population is greatly decreased in recent years because there's no other way to live. Until now there's only one tourist spot, the Hashima onsen hot springs. But in July 2014, the long-awaited the Satsuma Students House was open to the public.

Before coming here, I was looking for the information on the Internet. The official site of Satsuma Students Museum (in Japanese) tells the history of museum construction. In April 1865, 19 young samurai of the Satsuma Domain was the secret journey to Britain. The Satsuma Students, who started smuggling at the risk of life, are widely see and hear the world, brings a new civilization, and they have contributed to the modernization of Japan in various fields.

Unfortunately the museum was *closed on this day, so we could only see the monument for Satsuma students going to study in the UK.

Hashima is the best place for sunset.

Before going back to home, we want to see the Sendai nuclear power station. Like all other nuclear stations in Japan, once it has been a shutdown after the Fukushima nuclear accident tsunami caused by the earthquake on March 11, 2011. Despite the high opinion of the opposition of local residents, the government decided to restart the nuclear plant in August. When passing through the gate, the police was standing patrol in order to avoid a large-scale opposition meeting.

Note: *...According to the official site, the museum will be closed on Tuesdays. However in the case of a public holiday, the following Wednesday becomes a closed day.