Vol.10
Sound System and ITV System for Kagoshima Prefecture's Amami Park at Kasari-cho in Oshima County, Kagoshima Prefecture
- This is the gateway to a trip to paradise an area rich in the beauties of nature and populated by many colorful characters -
Sound System and ITV System for Kagoshima Prefecture's Amami Park at Kasari-cho in Oshima County, Kagoshima Prefecture
A huge, shell-like, silver dome against a blue sky in a subtropical climate
-- a gateway to paradise.
Anyone who has the chance to experience a lively reproduction of the local landscape and culture will be enchanted by the glamour of the region and want to see more.
Let's set off to the Amami islands to meet the people who live there and search out their unique local culture
A major appeal of the Amami islands is the diversity of natural and cultural environments: each island has its own distinctive flavor, including islanders' folksongs and folkdances, developed over hundreds of years. A traveler who has just arrived may be too dazzled by the sheer abundance of natural and cultural riches to take everything in the first time. Amami Park, which opened this fall, is intended to give visitors a realistic overview of the wide variety of attractions the region has to offer. It includes interactive audiovisual exhibits and works of art and provides tourist information. Once you have whetted your appetite here, travel in the region will be an even more rewarding and exciting experience.
What do you know about "Amami"?
With its emerald sea and coral reefs, Amami is popular with scuba divers.
The Amami black rabbit, a living fossil. Stelliform sand grains on the beach of Yoron island.
Islanders' folksongs accompanied by the melancholy sound of a shamisen (three-stringed Japanese musical instrument). Kikai island, associated with the story of Shunkan (a priest banished to the island for his part in a conspiracy against the dominant power Taira no Kiyomori) popular as a theme for Noh and Kabuki plays. Oshima weaving, made on the Amami islands, used for the kimono and favored by people of refined tastes. A distilled liquor made from sugarcane which is not available anywhere else.
An archipelago stretching all the way to Okinawa, made up of Amami Oshima island and many small islands round about including Kikai, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabu and Yoron islands. "Amami" is the name of the region of which all these islands form part.
Amami is characterized by a mixture of Ryukyu culture from Okinawa and Japanese culture from Kagoshima Prefecture on the southernmost tip of Kyushu. Its uniqueness also owes much to the richness and harshness of a subtropical climate. The nature, culture and history of the region are too diverse to be described in a few words.
Located near Amami Airport on Amami Oshima island, the main entrance by air to the Amami islands, Amami Park acts as a navigator to guide tourists to various places of interest in the region.
If you drive along the road from the airport to the center of the island, you will come to a big shell-like dome named "Amami-no-sato," one of Amami Park's facilities.
This dome offers a variety of modes of access to information on the region's different aspects.
The interior of the building is well equipped with high-tech tools. The melody of a sentimental folksong as background music enhances the relaxing atmosphere.
Folksongs are traditional Amami ballads. Amami ballads are similar to the ballads of Okinawa but the musical scale is different and the shamisen also differs slightly.
It is said that even the same song has different nuances from island to island. Images of various scenes from the Amami islands appear in succession, to the tune of an Amami ballad, on the screen at the "Event Square" in the center of the building. Visitors may feel as if they are really taking part in "uta-ashibi," a pastime popular among local people where many folksongs are sung in turn.
If you would like to know more about these folksongs, visit the exhibition hall adjacent to the Event Square.
In this hall, exhibits based on the latest audiovisual technology enable you to immerse yourself in an Amami world fantasy. Looking beyond a coral fence on the outskirts of a town on one of the islands in the Amami archipelago, you will find people absorbed in uta-ashibi on the beach. Join them and sing a song following the lead of local singers. You will find your interest in Amami growing stronger.
As you leave the exhibition hall, you will find the Amami Theater, an example of modern architecture whose interior is made mainly of wood and stone. High-definition images on a wide screen with no accompanying narration bring you to Amami's amazing natural world.
The sound of a child stepping on the sand of the beach along with the sound of waves. The sound of handloom-weaving amid a chorus of cicadas. The sound of the wind blowing through sugarcane fields. The sound of a squall in virgin forest, and the blue sky after rain, accompanied by the chirping of birds. These images and sounds are presented so delicately and yet so vividly that viewers will gain a keen appreciation of the natural beauty of Amami.
If you would like to see for yourself any of the scenes which appear
on the screen, use the Island Information terminal to get up-to-date
information on individual islands.
Now you are ready for a journey into wonderland - full of previously unimagined charms.
Voice Evacuation and Broadcasting System,Hall Sound System,ITV System