AM20: The Japan Journals

Day 47

May 17th

Buried beneath the soil of Sado Island are centuries of rejection, strife, and creative audacity. That's not the only thing this place has submerged. At one point, residents discovered an abundance of gold on the island. This discovery changed the prospects of the island forever, as mainland Japan used the mines to boost their ability to trade with foreign visitors.

The mine is about an hour from Rizumu's house, most of which will be driving alongside beautiful coastal views. Before I left the house, she gifted me with a generous stash of coins. Many people may not know this, but anything under 10 dollars in Japanese currency is in coin form. I know I'm staying in line with my budget, but my looks are deceiving.

There's a lot of great things that adventure motorcycle riding can bring, but one thing it's not friendly towards is general hygiene. It's been weeks since I've been able to wash my clothes and the "moisture wicking" attire is becoming a bit musty.

I'm guessing my road-worn clothing and modest backline of gear begs for charitable donations lol. Regardless, I appreciated the notion and used some of the tokens towards my entry fee into the mine. The breeze along the route was pretty potent today. I don't remember what the forecast said, but it clearly affected the fuel efficiency of the DZed as the way up drank far more gas than normal. If anything, maybe that wind helped knock the stink off of my rusty attire.

Upon arriving at the mine (which is formally named the Sado Kinzan Gold Mine), I was told that there are two different routes to walk through. The first of which was mainly used during the Edo Period of the country, with actual exhibits built into the route. For example, some areas of the route have robotic "workers", which are just mannequins re-enacting the work miners of that era had to perform.

The other route was used in more recent times, operating as the main route until the mine's closure in 1989. I made my way through the first route, as I was eager to see how the animatronic figures acted their way through the mining motions of yesteryear.

From what I understand, the first discovery of gold on the island is unknown. In what's becoming a recurring theme here, much of its history is shrouded in mystery. What they do know is how the Japanese used gold to endear themselves to the western world. Legend has it that an old clan in the early Edo Period controlled the land until they were defeated by the Tokugawa Shogunate.

From the moment the Shogunate took over, the fruits of their mining labor amplified, as the subsequent decades produced some of the biggest gold AND silver deposits in the world. The Shogunate greatly prospered from these prospects, as their accumulated wealth allowed them to increase the wealth of the entire area.

This inevitably affected trade, as Japan had just begun trading with countries like the Netherlands. The famous gold boom took place during much of the early 17th century, with the mine being used until the early Meiji era in the late 19th century. During that era, a second route was installed. This is the part where you can see some of the modern mining techniques and tools used.

Regardless of what era these mines were used in, nothing about these surroundings breeds confidence for my health and wellness. You have to think that working in these minds, during an era with limited tools and technology, was monotonous, painful, and downright dangerous.

Modern technology has allowed our society to work in more efficient, forward-thinking ways. Unfortunately for the miners (and their animatronic descendants), life in these routes was anything but glamorous. Like miners today, I'm sure that Sado's men of mining had to endure countless accidents, deaths, and inclement conditions to work in.

Walking through these mines just shows the stark contrast to accumulating wealth, between eras. At that time, you had to get your hands "dirty" to achieve some prosperity. Nowadays, that term is now in the figurative sense. Sure, plenty of successful entrepreneurs have had to work tirelessly to achieve their financial goals. It's just apparent at a place like this that our ideas of accumulating wealth have evolved.

In some ways, we should be thankful for the tiring work that these miners put in. If it wasn't for their extreme labor and effort, some of the trading opportunities from the west would not have made it to Japan. Yes, there were already trading ports and relationships established by the time Sado was being mined, but it's hard to deny the effect Gold and Silver had on the economic history of this area.

I mean, the country is still using Gold and Silver coins as currency, to this day. Don't tell me that isn't a testament to the work that was done here on this island centuries ago.

For all I know, the coins gifted to me by Rizumu this morning were mined here. This old mine is a good reminder of how far our society has come and how wealth can "raise the boats" for all of its citizens.

During my drive back to Ogi, I began to run the numbers of my trip budget and realized that I might not make it to Okinawa. Again, I've always taken pride in budgeting(and planning) my trips, so this was a leap of faith for me to trust your suggested budget.

Japan is a place of tangible currency, which means that things are a bit costly. Convenience stores are rich with ATM service and retrieving money is simple, but I'm afraid that some upcoming stretches are rural and machines like that will be few and far between.

After arriving back at Rizumu's house, I sauntered back into the guest room and thumbed through the remaining yen in an envelope. My instincts were right, as my modest routine is still eating through this budget. I should have enough for the next two legs of the journey, but something tells me that I'll have to mine for some cash of my own soon.

Bad jokes aside, my budget-conscious brain is ending the day in the studio. A few songs are coming along, promising to follow through on their end week delivery. Hopefully, the fruits of my musical labor will be just as prosperous as the mine I visited today.

As for tomorrow, I'm going to check out some unique scenery and visit Toki Forest Park.

Thanks and I'll see you soon!

-Ayden