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Kure Portopia-land, the theme park situated on the coast between the cities of Hiroshima and Kure, has been resurrected as Kure Portopia Park. The original theme park closed owing to a mountain of debts and the city of Kure took over many of the buildings and facilities. The new park opened on July 20 and the opening ceremony took place at 9 am. Some 500 visitors converged on the park in Tenno Ohama to hear Kure Mayor Ogasawara declare that the facility was a “new park” where visitors could “feel Nature: the ocean, wind and greenery and enjoy themselves by giving free play to their own ideas.” The 6.6-hectare park has 13 open spaces for various types of activity and also 10 buildings. On the opening day, some 15,000 visitors turned up, mainly families from Hiroshima and Kure.
Japan’s first new banknotes in 42 years were put into general circulation on July 19. The new notes were printed in commemoration of the the year 2000 and the new millennium and also of the G-8 summit in Okinawa. Hiroshima Bank received 1,380,000 of the notes from the Hiroshima Branch of the Bank of Japan and distributed them to the various branches. At the bank’s main branch in Kamiyacho, they began to be used as change from 10 o’clock onwards. One of the first recipients of the new notes said, since they were brand new, that he would not use them.
Hiroshima City’s Higashi-ku Sports Centre is plagued by a new type of annoyance: people who park their cars in the car park with no intention of using the sports centre and then go into the city and do their shopping. The sports centre is situated very close to Ushita Station on the Astramline and to a bus stop on routes to and from the inner city. Unfortunately, unauthorised parking at the sports centre does not break the law and there is no budget for any countermeasures, like a barrier, and so there is “nothing we can do except appeal to the morality of the users,” as an employee put it. One unauthorised user who was learning computers explained that it cost much money for long-stay parking in the inner city, the implication being that the free parking at the sports centre was acceptable. Another person, a housewife, agreed that unauthorised parking was bad for the regular users, but, since she sometimes used the pool, thought that parking there at other times was not wrong. There is a sign at the entrance banning parking by those who do not use the sports centre, but this is ignored by those going on family outings or who go shopping for the day.
La Luna
La Luna is a restaurant serving French cuisine, situated in a side street not far from the tram route to Yokogawa Station. In French, the restaurant’s name means ‘something mysterious’ and the theme is reflected in the large glass creation which occupies a prominent place inside. The menu is changed monthly and features several table d’hote menus, two at lunctime (￥1,500 and ￥2,500) and four at dinner (costing from ￥3,000 to ￥8,000). To go with the food, there are 80 different types of wine available. Tel. (082) 296-0111.
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renaissance 再生、復活 |
よみがえったポートピア
広島と呉の間の海岸沿いにあったテーマパーク、呉ポートピアランドが、呉ポートピアパークとしてよみがえった。呉ポートピアランドは多額の負債を抱えて閉鎖し、呉市がいくつもの建物や施設の多くを引き受けた。新しいテーマパークは７月２０日にオープンし、開園式が午前９時から始まった。約５００人がテーマパークのある天応大浜に集まり、小笠原（臣也）呉市長のあいさつを聞いた。小笠原氏は、太陽、風、緑を感じられる新たな公園。自らのアイディアで自由に楽しんでください、と述べた。６．６ヘクタールの園内には１３のさまざまのタイプの屋外スペースと十棟の屋内施設がある。初日は、主に広島と呉からの家族連れなど約１万５千人が訪れた。
２０００年に２０００円
日本では４２年ぶりとなる新紙幣が７月１９日、発行された。新紙幣は、２０００年と新世紀、そして沖縄サミットを記念して印刷された。広島銀行は、日本銀行広島支店から二千円札計百三十八枚を受けとり、各支店に配布。紙屋町の広島銀行本店では、新紙幣は１０時から、両替を始めた。新紙幣を受け取った一人は、新しいから使わないでとっておくと話していた。
長時間駐車客
広島市の東区スポーツセンターは、今までにない問題、センターを利用するつもりがないのに、駐車場に車を停めて街に買い物に出かける客に頭を痛めている。センターは、アストラムライン牛田駅に近く、市の中心部へ向かうバスの停留所もある。不幸なことに、センターでの無断駐車は違法行為にはならず、ゲートを設置するなどの対策を施す予算もない。職員の一人が言うように「利用者のモラルに訴えるしかない」状況だ。コンピュータを学ぶために無断駐車している一人は、「市内に長時間駐車するとお金がかかるから」とスポーツセンターの無断駐車を容認されるものと考えている。もう一人の主婦は、頻繁に無断駐車はセンターの利用者に悪いと認めたが、自分はプールを時々使うから、使わない日に駐車してもいいのでは、と述べた。駐車場の入り口には、センターを利用しない人の駐車を禁止する看板があるが、家族で出かけたり、買い物に行く人に無視されている。
