A Map and a Video

They say pictures are worth a thousand words and I hope they're right. Never having made annotated videos and maps before, nor embedded such things in blogs before, this took one monumental effort.

So first off my artistically enhanced Google map of the area. The blue line represents the Buddha Trail, officially known as the Daibutsu Hiking course, which runs from a little North of Jochi-ji in Kita Kamakura to a little North west of the Great Buddha (Daibutsu). The red region denotes the grounds of the former Nomura Research Institute, somewhere within which the incinerator is to be built (if this location is chosen; there are three others). The three yellow squares mark the locations of the three sites for which the local Kamakura government have sought World Heritage status, referred to in the previous post: Keiwaizaka Pass in the North, the Hojyo Tokiwa residence right next to the proposed incinerator, and the Daibutsu Pass several hundred metres North West of the Great Buddha. It's a proper Google map so you can use the controls to navigate and zoom in and out.




The other thing is a video clip of a walk to the site of the proposed incinerator (the grounds of the former Nomura Research Institute). I'm holding a little compact camera in one hand while I'm walking so the motion is a little shaky. Apologies for that. The walk takes about 9 minutes out of which I've cut about half.




For completeness here's the full length movie too:

If you think building a municipal incinerator in this location isn't entirely sensible then you can help prevent it by signing our

Thank you!

Incinerator Alert!

Welcome to the first post of this blog! The online campaign to prevent
the construction of a municipal waste incinerator on the grounds of the
former Nomura Research Institute is finally underway. Below we've set out our various objections. Comments and further objections, as well as objections to our objections, are most welcome.

Although I'm the author of this blog I'm doing this with neighbours, friends, and wife. That said I remain solely responsible for the contents of this blog.

So, without further ado, here it is:

The local government of Kamakura are proposing to build a municipal waste incinerator inside a de facto nature reserve approximately 300 meters from the Daibutsu Hiking course (the trail that inspired the name of this blog) that runs between Genjiyama Koen and The Great Buddha (Daibutsu).

There are a number of reasons why this should not happen:

• Nature Preservation  A municipal incinerator is an industrial facility. In addition to incineration there will be various entities that recycle or otherwise process waste, and the facility will attract a daily stream of municipal garbage collection trucks and other commercial traffic. Clearly it belongs in an area designed to accomodate industrial activity, i.e., an industrial estate. The woods in this area, home to a wide variety of mammals, reptiles and birds, are a precious resource, and should not be compromised unnecessarily.
• History and World Heritage The incinerator would to be built literally adjacent to the remains of the Hojyo Tokiwa residence that once belonged to the ruling dynasty during the Kamakura era, a site recognised by the government as being of special historic interest and for which the Kamakura government has requested World Heritage status. In fact the incinerator's proposed location falls within the triangular region - an area of less than one square kilometer - defined by these remains and two other sites for which World Heritage status has been requested: the Keiwaizaka Pass and the Daibutsu pass. Building an incinerator at this location, then, would likely preclude any future prospect of World Heritage status for these sites.
• Tourism According to the Kamakura City Tourism Association 20 million people visit Kamakura every year. Although no official figures appear to be available, a large number of people, both from within Japan and abroad, as well as many thousands of Japanese school children, walk the Buddha Trail every year. Neither their health nor their pleasure should be compromised by the smell of large volumes of municipal refuse, incinerator emissions, and diesel exhaust fumes. 
• Culture and Religion Locating an incinerator at such close proximity to the trail that leads to one of the most famous Buddha statues in the world is simply inappropriate on cultural and religious grounds.
• Unproven Need There is also the wider issue of whether a new incinerator is needed in the first place. The city of San Francisco is aiming to reach zero waste by 2020. In contrast a new incinerator will commit Kamakura to waste incineration for decades. There really ought to be an extensive, informed, public debate on this very important question.

If you feel that this incinerator should not be built please sign our

Thank you!