Comments on: The sadness of Namegawa Island

By: Maxine

Maxine — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:43:09 +0000

Hey Michael…OMG…I use to live there during the years 1989 -1996. I was in a Dance team from the Cook Islands called Rarotonga Nui Dance Team performing Pacific Island dances from NZ Maori, Cook Islands Dances, Samoa Siva and Hawaiian Solo.

It was a very magical place back then a Garden Island we would stay there for 6 months at a time…they had a dance team there during the 60s a Japanese man’s vision to create a tropical haven of his own. Yip there were Flamingos…our competition at the time lol, Parrot show, Peacock, Seals, Penguin, Tamarind monkeys, Ostrich, Eagles and not forgetting the Dog show…like what? They had restaurants, a big Sourvenair store, they had live shows, the Turbo Rangers at the time…very busy during the summer season we would get there between April and leave after summer in September. What fond memories I have of the place…

It’s devasting to see that it no longer exists…I have pics of what it looked like in the past if your interested but it so did not look like that.

How sad…very sad!

Ka kite!

By: merry go rounds

merry go rounds — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:29:02 +0000

Island appears to be a paradise on earth. I hope to remain long untouched by human hand.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 10:19:26 +0000

I have a Japanese haikyo book that talks about what happened to Namegawa Island after it closed. Haven’t read it in a long time, but I think it says that most of the birds were transferred to a zoo in Fukuoka, and the rest wof the animals ent to other places, not just let into the wild.

By: MJG

MJG — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:32:06 +0000

Awesome, thanks for getting in touch Joe! It’s great to see these places in their prime…

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:12:35 +0000

Mike D: I made that! YouTube made me change the music though. Here’s the video as I originally intended it:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x821bp_memories-of-namegawa-island-yyyyyyy_travel

By: MJG

MJG — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 01:43:26 +0000

Annette- Amazing, thanks for commenting! Do you have any photos of your time there, with the place alive and kicking. I`d love to see them.

Paul- I don`t know about dead places when hiking. I haven`t done a lot of it, to be honest, so the spots I go to are often quite firmly on the beaten path, and I wouldn`t too much wildlife because of that. As for the birds of Namegawa, good question. I bet they would have sold them if they could, but otherwise, maybe yeah they just let them go…

Mike D- Great link, thanks! Great to see the comparison.

By: Mike D

Mike D — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:49:25 +0000

Makes me sad. I found this slide show that a gentleman posted
if you wish to see it.

http://en.kendincos.net/video-lvvftdp-memories-of-namegawa-island–.html

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 28 May 2010 07:12:38 +0000

Near the front, but maybe elsewhere. Come to think of it, the whole peninsula was teeming with wildlife though which may not sound out of place, but as a fellow hiker, I ask you this: do the forests of Japan seem… dead… to you? Amongst ALL my hiking trips, I’ve seen two snakes a few monkeys and maybe a bird or two and smelt a couple of rotting corpses. Oh, and tonnes of flying critters and fish, but they don’t count. Thats IT.

By comparison, Namegawa peninsula has lots of monkeys about, shitloads of colourful birds and I saw a couple of large 4 legged fellas, probably a deer or the like. Plus your beloved leeches. I kinda wonder if maybe they just set the animals free when the park closed and they set up home there. XD

By: Annette

Annette — Sat, 22 May 2010 10:30:13 +0000

It was very sad to see Namegawa Island like this… I too was a polynesian dancer, who lived and worked at this park!
Thanks for the pictures

By: MJG

MJG — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:42:02 +0000

Joel- Little bastards indeed. His jaws stayed in my wrist as a small bump for a few months. Finally got dissolved though. Salt- I`ll have to remember that for next time, cheers.

Paul- Trapping animals only at the front, or all throughout? Many parts inside felt quite upkept too.

Joe- Great info, thanks.