Minamata

Minamata City in southern Kumamoto Prefecture gained worldwide fame in the 1950s and 1960s through a mercury poisoning disaster, caused by a local factory's discharge of poisonous wastewater into Minamata Bay.

Thousands of local inhabitants fell victim to the poisoning, and the disease caused by mercury poisoning became globally known as the Minamata Disease, named after the city where it had first been discovered.

In recent decades, Minamata has been building on its negative history in a positive way and established itself as an environmental model city, promoting a wide range of recycling and environmental programs. The city is welcoming school and study tours from across Japan and the world for the study of environmental problems.

Home to about 30,000 people, Minamata is beautifully located along the coast of the Shiranui Sea with views onto the Amakusa Islands. Two hot spring resorts are located within the municipal limits of Minamata: mountainous Yunotsuru Onsen and coastal Yunoko Onsen.

Fukuda Farm, also known as Yunoko Spain Village, is located in the hills above Yunoko Onsen, offering beautiful views over the rugged coastline of southern Kyushu with its mandarin plantations. The farm produces an array of homemade goods, including wines, beer, juices, jam, bread and salad dressing, which are sold at the souvenir shop and used in the dishes served at the farm's Sevilla-kan, a beer restaurant and the Valencia-kan, a restaurant specializing in Spanish dishes. Visitors can pick grapes in early August and mandarins in October, while various flowers can be enjoyed in bloom during all four seasons. There is also an exhibition of the owner's private collection of turtle figures and toys from across the world. Flamenco dance performances are staged on Sundays.

Yunoko is a hot spring resort along the scenic sea coast north of central Minamata, still located within the municipal limits of Minamata City. Several of the resort's ryokan offer rooms and baths with panoramic views over the sea. Some of them also open their baths to day-trippers for an admission fee of typically 300 to 700 yen. Just off the coast, connected with the mainland by a bridge is Yunoko Island, a small island with walking paths and a small shrine on its summit. A walk around the island is particularly memorable after dark during high tide, when waves and insects can make for an Indiana Jones like adventure.