Sado- the land of gold

To the land of Toki and gold. A small island detached from the mainland to the north of Niigata lies a tiny rich island. The land preserves the endemic bird of Japan- Toki. Although the actual Japanese breed is already extinct they have managed to bring in the species from China and breed it. The birds are also released into the wild and mostly they are inhabiting the paddy fields. In honor of this rare bird, everything around the town is Toki. They have Toki art, Toki hall and every visitor is made sure to remember the name Toki.

It is not just this endemic bird that makes this island rich but is the gold and silver mine. During the 12c to 19c the villagers started mining the gold from the Aikawa-Tsurushi golf and silver mines. People have dug down the hill as deep as 75m down and 30m apart. The treasure wasn’t an individualized property; rather every villager was given their share of gold and the magistrate’s share was used to mint the koban coins. 

What is amazing is that how the workers were modern and organized even back then. So the well organization of Japanese is deep in their DNA. They mined the gold for almost 400 years until the operation ceased in 1989.

It wasn’t until June last year that this gold mine site was also recognized as one of the 26 world’s heritage sites in Japan. Now the mining tunnel serves as a live 3D animated  museum interacting its story with every visitor. It’s not just pictures and stories on the walls, it’s the miniature model of every person and every process lived by the people back then. You must see it for yourself to believe what I am writing. The extra sound effects and the damp surrounding almost takes you back in time where you are one of those workers mining the gold. 

The fact that the workers lived inside the tunnel for days without light and proper oxygen could tell the hardship endured by those workers. I guess even the precious and princely gold doesn’t grow in heavenly garden. 

Well well the richness in me could not afford to buy even a speck of real gold but definitely had my fingers get the touch of the heaviest real gold in my life. 

Four months passed since the visit and I am still thrilled thinking about day, particularly the gold that I could not afford.  

Mining created the cut in this mountain