Something strange is happening on Tsushima, which should be covered in autumn leaves. The mountains are shining with fresh greenery and are floating against the autumn sky.
Two large typhoons struck in early September, stripping the leaves and breaking large branches, leaving the entire island in a state of winter withering. A week later, the cherry blossoms began to bloom again. Cherries and Japanese holly also bloomed, creating a beautiful collaboration with the autumn cluster amaryllis.
Now, new buds have appeared and the leaves are in full bloom, shining in the autumn sunlight. Seen from afar, the entire island appears to be surrounded by the Tsushima blue sky and sea, shining with the fresh greenery floating in the air, like a three-dimensional image that jumps out at you.
Amid this situation, a 12-person inspection team from the Aichi Prefecture Peace Ambassadors Council visited the Japan-Korea Tunnel site in Karatsu and Tsushima on October 16th and 17th. This was the first inspection since travel restrictions were lifted amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I had seen pictures of the Karatsu Inclined Shaft, but it was even more impressive than I had imagined," "I feel it is significant that this tunnel connects Japan and Korea to friendship at the site where Toyotomi Hideyoshi dispatched troops to Korea 400 years ago," "At the Aren site on Tsushima, you can even make international calls on your cell phone, so you really get a sense of how close we are to Korea. You really get a sense of the distance when you come here," and "I thought Tsushima was just an island halfway between Japan and Korea, but I didn't realize it has such a deep history," they said, expressing their desire to make more time to visit next time.
The damage caused by the typhoon was so severe that Tsushima City set aside a special restoration budget of 800 million yen to deal with the damage, and our foundation's buildings and land also sustained significant damage. Almost two months have passed, and the restoration of the buildings and land is almost complete. Next, we plan to begin repairing the cherry trees that were transplanted over the winter.
[Photo ①] A group of visitors from Aichi in front of the entrance to the Aren mine. The explanatory board in the photo was also destroyed by the typhoon's strong winds, but was quickly repaired.
[Photo 2] Paving the access road to the Neo site. The road, which had been eroded by landslides and floodwaters, was paved with concrete.
