100 Places You Will Never Visit (28 page)

They have described how prisoners are expected to labor for between 12 and 15 hours a day, surviving on a meager diet. Death from malnutrition and other diseases is common, as well as from work-related accidents and during interrogations.

Most prisoners are believed to arrive at the camp without due legal process and are forbidden contact with the outside world. Anyone caught attempting to escape is liable to be executed in front of fellow prisoners. Suicide, meanwhile, is punished by extended sentences for the dead prisoner’s family.

Guards mistreat prisoners with impunity, with allegations of rape and child-killing voiced by various sources. Perhaps most shockingly of all, former camp employees have claimed that some inmates were subjected to chemical experimentation, while others were killed en masse in gas chambers. Amid such allegations, it is little surprise that Pyongyang denies the camp even exists.

96 Ise Grand Shrine

LOCATION Honshu, Japan

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Ise

SECRECY OVERVIEW Access restricted: the most sacred shrine of the Shinto religion.

Claiming some 120 million followers in Japan, Shinto is a Japanese system of beliefs and traditions that encourages devotion to spirits but has no central “god” figure. The shrine at Ise is so sacred to Shintoism that access to the inner sanctums is strictly regulated—in fact, only the high priest or priestess can enter the shrine, and he or she must come from the Japanese Imperial family.

The city of Ise on the central Japanese island of Honshu has a population approaching 150,000 but plays host to more than 6 million pilgrims each year. It is home to a complex of more than 120 Shinto shrines connected to two main shrines about 6 kilometers (3.8 miles apart: the Imperial Shrine (Kotai Jingu), also known as the Naiku, or Inner Shrine, and the Toyouke Shrine, or Geku (Outer) Shrine. Naiku is dedicated to Amaterasu Omikami (the Sun Goddess and purported ancestor of the Japanese Imperial family) while Geku venerates Toyouke Omikami (the Goddess of Agriculture).

The Inner Shrine lies in the shadow of Mount Kamiji and Mount Shimaji, next to the Isuzu River. It sits amid a forest thick with Japanese cedars and cypress trees. According to the eighth-century Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), the shrine was built around 2,000 years ago, its location having been selected by Yamatohime-no-mikoto, the daughter of Suinin, 11th Emperor of Japan. Yamatohime-no-mikoto was said to have spent 20 years wandering in search of a suitable site from which to worship Amaterasu. The goddess is reported to have informed her that Ise “is a secluded and pleasant land. In this land I wish to dwell.”

HOLY LIGHT Shinto priests in traditional robes prepare for the ceremony of Tsukinamisai, when prayers are made for a bountiful harvest. Toyouke Omikami, to whom the Outer Shrine is dedicated, is considered the Goddess of Agriculture.

The shrine’s traditional foundation date is usually given as 4 BC, but others have argued for some time later. It is believed that the first shrine building was erected in the seventh century. From the seventh until the 14th centuries, high priestesses (known as Saiō) were appointed from among the unmarried females of the Imperial family, the first of whom was Princess Oku. Later, during the Empire of Japan era in the 19th and 20th centuries, the role of high priest of the shrine was taken by the serving emperor. In the period after the Second World War, the honor fell to descendants of the Imperial family, both male and female.

Ise also purports to be the home of Yata no Kagami, a sacred mirror from the Imperial Regalia of Japan. It is one of three treasures of the regalia (the others being a sword and a jewel) and is said to represent wisdom. By tradition, these treasures are presented to each new Emperor at a private enthronement ceremony. They were supposedly brought to Japan by Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of Amaterasu and a forefather of the Japanese Imperial dynasty.

Both the Naiku and Geku shrines are constructed from hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood and their roofs are thatched with kaya grass. The main Naiku shrine building measures some 11 meters by 5.5 meters (36 x 18 ft) and has a raised floor. Every 20 years since AD 692, the shrine has been completely rebuilt on one of two plots of land immediately adjacent to each other.

Even when a plot is in its two decades’ of disuse, it remains sacred ground and hosts a small hut housing a 2-meter (6.6-ft) wooden post around which the shrine will later be rebuilt. The post is called shin-no-mihashira, which roughly translates as “august column of the heart.” The cycle of reconstruction is considered to reflect Shintoism’s belief in death, renewal and impermanence. The next rebuilding is scheduled to take place in 2013, and will take a full eight years to complete.

Access to the Naiku comes via the Uji Bridge that traverses the Isuzu. At either end of the bridge are spectacular tori (traditional Japanese) gates. The main structures of both shrines are surrounded by high fences that allow onlookers only a glimpse of their thatched roofs. A no-photography policy is strictly enforced. Pilgrims, who are expected to wash their hands and mouths with water from a ritual pool, may offer prayers at a large gate nearby but can proceed no further. That is, of course, unless you can prove your familial links to the Imperial dynasty and talk your way into the job of high priest or priestess.

GATEWAY TO ENLIGHTENMENT One of the distinctive entrances to the Grand Shrine at Ise. The area gets particularly busy around the time of Oshogatsu (New Year), when believers come to praise the spirits and seek their blessing for the year ahead.

97 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

LOCATION Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Fukushima

SECRECY OVERVIEW Access restricted: site of nuclear disaster in 2011.

In March 2011 a massive earthquake triggered a tsunami that swept along much of the eastern Japanese coast, and was at its highest as it struck the nuclear power plant near the city of Fukushima. Chaos reigned as the authorities struggled to assess exactly what had happened and how it might best be dealt with. The result was the second worst civilian nuclear disaster in history.

Operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co., Fukushima Dai-ichi power station stands on a 350-hectare (860-acre) plot and consists of six light water reactors. Construction began in 1967 on a site that was originally high above the water line but which was lowered in order for the facility to be anchored on to bedrock (so increasing its resistance to earthquakes). Its reactors came into operation at intervals throughout the 1970s and by the time all six were up and running, Fukushima was one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world.

Fukushima prefecture in eastern Honshu island is largely rural, with striking terrain including spectacular green mountains. The name Fukushima, somewhat touchingly, translates as “Lucky Isle.” Few would claim that it has lived up to its name (dai-ichi, incidentally, means “Number 1”). On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.6 hit a short distance from the mainland. It was followed by a huge tsunami that swept across Japan’s east coast, leaving 20,000 dead in its wake.

Fukushima Dai-ichi was only designed to withstand waves of up to 6 meters (20 ft), and it has been alleged that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern over this design failing years prior to the disaster. The high waters of March 11 were estimated at 14 meters (46 ft) and found the plant tragically wanting. Fukushima’s essential cooling systems were knocked out and a series of explosions followed, leading to meltdowns in reactors 1, 2 and 3, with an associated release of radiation. It was the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.

UP IN SMOKE The scene at Fukushima ten days after a tsunami struck on March 11, 2011. The plume of smoke is emanating from the fourth of the plant’s six reactors. Independent reviews found the Tokyo Electric Power Co. utterly unprepared for an emergency on this scale.

On the International Nuclear Event Scale, the Fukushima event was provisionally given the maximum score of 7—only Chernobyl had ever previously been given this designation. The possible impact on the area around Fukushima was soon realized, and the government proclaimed a 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) no-go area around the plant, later extended to 30 kilometers (19 miles). Police roadblocks continue to enforce the exclusion zone. 160,000 people were forced to evacuate in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. By late 2011, 80,000 remained unable to return to their previous lives, and few had any clear of indication of when they would be able to. Some areas are not expected to be habitable again for at least 20 years. Estimates of long-term casualties are hard to gauge but at least several hundred people suffered exposure to worrying levels of radiation. In addition, concerns about food originating in the area have had devastating consequences for commercial farmers. For example, peaches—one of the prefecture’s most famous products—halved in price in the months following the meltdown.

By the end of 2011, Tokyo Electric Power announced that the plant was in cold shutdown, and it was declared stable on December 16. However, it is expected to take a further ten years to remove fuel and decontaminate the surrounding area. Complete decommissioning of the damaged reactors is predicted to take several decades. What is more, workers on the site are now required to dress head-to-foot in safety gear, a precaution that slows down work and has the unfortunate side effect of causing dozens of cases of serious heatstroke.

As Japan began the struggle back to normality in the aftermath of the tsunami, both Tokyo Power and the Japanese government were subject to domestic and international recriminations for their handling of the tragedy, which severely undermined public confidence. In a bid to make up some lost ground (most of the country’s 54 commercial reactors were shut down amid safety fears after the accident), Tokyo asked the IAEA to establish a constant presence at Fukushima to give an independent seal of approval to its clean-up operation.

The end result is that a once-fruitful region of the country has been left devastated and faces a long battle to reclaim its sense of normality. Areas previously blessed with rich soil are no longer suitable for agriculture, while farmers throughout the wider region are forced to sell their produce at greatly reduced prices, having been tainted by association. Perhaps most unfortunate of all, though, are the people who once lived bountiful lives in what is now the exclusion area, and who are now unsure if they can ever hope go back to what one government spokesman described as a “forbidden zone.”

1 NO MAN’S LAND An overhead view of Fukushima Dai-ichi, showing both its proximity to the sea and to areas of high population density. When the people who lived here can safely return remains a matter of conjecture but the effects of the tragedy will last for many years.

2 DEFENSELESS Fukushima’s tsunami defenses failed when faced with the vast surge of water that swept through the region in March 2011. Allegations have since emerged that the defensive wall had been identified as inadequate years earlier.

98 Woomera Prohibited Area

LOCATION Woomera, Australia

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Adelaide, South Australia

SECRECY OVERVIEW Operations classified: the world’s largest land-based weapons testing area.

Established in 1947, the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) is most famous as a huge missile testing range, but has enjoyed several different lives, including as a rocket-launch site, a spy hub and a detention center. Covering an area larger than England, its desert location has helped keep unwanted visitors away from numerous highly classified projects.

Situated several hundred kilometers northwest of Adelaide, the Woomera Prohibited Area is home to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Woomera Test Range, and is strictly off-limits to the public. It covers 127,000 square kilometers (49,000 sq miles), down from a historic high of 270,000 square kilometers (104,000 sq miles) in 1972.

The WPA began as a joint initiative between the Australian and British governments. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the UK was keen to develop a cutting-edge rocket-testing program, but lacked the space to do so. A collaboration with the Australian government that provided an opportunity to share knowledge and expenses suited all sides.

Woomera was chosen as it offered a huge swathe of land largely devoid of human habitation. A mixture of desert and scrubland, temperatures regularly exceed 35°C (95°F) and can go far higher. As such, the area was never conducive to mass human colonization. However, it was ideal for weapons-testing, boasting as it does mostly cloud-free skies all year round and little electromagnetic interference. The name Woomera itself derives from an Aboriginal word for a spear-throwing device.

The Joint Project, as it was known, began missile testing in earnest in 1949. This phase included nine major atomic-bomb trials that led to the nuclear contamination of an area in excess of 3,000 square kilometers (1,150 sq miles). Section 400, as this area has been designated, remains strictly off-bounds on safety grounds. Environmentalists have claimed that clean-up attempts were flawed, and many Aboriginal people who were present in the region at the time of the tests allege that they are still suffering harmful effects.

A town, also called Woomera, was established to support life at the WPA in 1947—at the peak of the Joint Project, it had a population of over 7,000. For much of its life, Woomera has been a closed town, accessible only to authorized inhabitants. Since 1982, it has been open to the public, but remains under the control of the Australian Department of Defence. None of Woomera’s properties are privately owned: they are leased from the government and anyone considered undesirable can be asked to move on.

KEEP OUT A warning sign on Stuart Highway at Lake Hart, which is a live bombing and ammunition target within the WPA. Anyone straying into the area could hardly claim they were not told of the dangers.

The Joint Project came to a halt in 1980. By then the WPA was also being used for rocket testing, playing an important role in assorted classified space programs during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1969, Australia had entered into a separate agreement with the US to construct the Nurrungar Joint Tracking Facility within the WPA. Nurrungar’s three golfball-like radomes contained huge antennae dishes and were maintained under intense security, behind razor-wire fences and complete with bullet-proof security rooms.