The visit to the Genkai Energy Park was and will undoubtedly continue to be the strangest day of the tour. Genkai Energy Park is the euphemistic name for a large nuclear reactor located on the bay in Saga Prefecture (prefectures in Japan are analogous to a state or county in the USA). The full official title is the Genkai Nuclear Power Station of Kyushu Electric Power Company, Inc. It is also the home of a famous camellia garden and several ancient camellia trees the oldest of which is estimated to be 450 years old, making your faithful correspondent seem young by comparison.
If this has not become clear from reading between the lines camellias are a big, big deal in Japan, much more so than in the States and way beyond the impact of this relatively small (200+) congress. Consequently preserving the ancient camellia trees and adding a garden was a PR master stroke. Like most Americans I have decidedly mixed emotions about nuclear power, lately I have been acquiring new information and rethinking my position but it makes my head hurt so I will not impose that pain on you. I have no way of actually knowing what the general Japanese attitude towards nuclear power is but I can tell from visiting the Genkai plant that there is money in it. I would guess that the Japanese public has reservations akin to those found in the USA and the Kyushu Power Company (hey, I’m a government bureaucrat, let’s call them the KPC) has spared no expense in their public relations campaign to endear themselves to the community. According to the KPC brochure radiation in the vicinity of the plant is kept to .001 millisverts (?). Waste is compacted, sealed in drums, stored mid-term at the plant and long term at the “Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center at Rokkasho-mura in Aomori Prefecture.” This information was confirmed by our English speaking guide (we had a Japanese speaker as well). I could trust the English speaking guide implicitly as his name was Mr. Russell and he was from Portland, Oregon.
The grounds of the plant are immaculate; the ancient camellias were preserved and given a featured role in the landscape. A camellia garden was added. Inside the plant there is a fancy high tech auditorium where cute little cartoon characters give you a very sanitary education regarding your friend nuclear power. There is also a small museum featuring artifacts from Japanese history. Again, rather than bore you with inadequate description I will refer you to the photos in the matching album.
For our visit we were given the royal treatment. The banners here welcomed the “2010 Camellia Summit.” Our status elevated from the lowly level of “Congress.” A subtle form of flattery perhaps? We were treated to a tour of the plant, a gourmet buffet lunch, taiko drummers (professionals this time), traditional dancers, a tea ceremony and, of course, a tour of the camellia gardens. So beautiful is the conservatory where the lunch was held that KPC actually rents it out for weddings. Now that destination weddings have become a fad perhaps some Americans will choose to get married at the Genkai Energy Park. What did Mickey sing to Sylvia? Love is strange? Love is not alone in that.
Nancy was ecstatic over the ancient camellias and the traditional dance. She chatted with the dancing sensei; a woman in her 70’s who is clearly a master of the art. The two women bonded quickly and the sensei informed Nancy that we would see her and the troupe again at the closing banquet in Karume. All in all it was another great day spiced nicely with just a soupcon of the surreal.
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23407&id=1680191390&l=3a3e0d13fc
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