東京湾「猿島」看似天空之城大受歡迎, 參觀開始需要收費

A few weeks ago the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

ラピュタみたいと人気、東京湾「猿島」に入島料

2014年09月21日 14時27分

　神奈川県横須賀市は、同市沖の東京湾に浮かぶ無人島「猿島(さるしま)」に、来年４月から入島料を導入する方針を決めた。

　海水浴やバーベキューが楽しめる人気の観光スポットだが、最近は島内の風景が「スタジオジブリの世界のようだ」との評判も広がり、アニメファンも訪れている。市は、徴収した入島料で島の整備費用を賄いたい考えだ。

　猿島は周囲１・６キロで、同市から定期船（中学生以上１３００円）で約１０分の距離にある。島内には、豊かな自然に加え、旧日本軍の要塞跡も残されており、島を訪れた人が「レンガ造りの要塞跡が、天空の城ラピュタみたい」とブログにつづるなど、新たな人気を呼んでいる。

　来島者は２０１３年度が約１１万人で、０３年度の１・７倍に増えた。市は、年間約３３００万円（１４年度）をかけて島の整備を行っており、入島料を要塞跡のレンガの隙間に根を張る植物の除去、散策路の整備などに充てる。市が今夏に行ったアンケートで、来島者の約８割が１００～３００円の徴収に理解を示したことから、この結果を参考に徴収額を決める方針だ。

(試譯文)

Kanagawa’s Yokosuka city had decided a plan, starting from April next year, to introduce inland-visiting-fee at the uninhabited island "Sarushima (Monkey Island)" which was at the city’s off-shore in Tokyo Bay.

While it was a popular tourist sport where one could enjoy sea-bathing and barbecue, its reputation of "looking like the world of Studio Ghibli" had also spread and the island’s scenery was visited by anime fans recently.

The city intended to cover the maintenance expenses of this island with the collected island-visiting-fee. Sarushima was 1.6 km in circumference and was at a distance of about 10 minutes from the city by a liner (1,300 yen for a junior high school student and up). In addition to the natural riches on the island, the remains of a fort of Japan's now-defunct Army were also left behind. The people who visited the island were causing its new popularity: the remains of a fort which "look like a brick building fort in the Castle in the Sky Laputa" was written in a blog.

There were about 110,000 island-visitors in fiscal year 2013, being a 1.7 times increase compared with fiscal year 2003. The city was improving the island, every year it used about 33 million yen (in 2014 fiscal year). It would allot the island-visiting-fee to remove the vegetation that were spreading roots into the crevice between the bricks of the fort’s remains; and to maintain a walking path etc. It was in the city’s questionnaire survey conducted this summer that about 80 percent of the people visiting the island showed an understanding for collecting 100-300 yen. The city planned on making a decision on the collection amount with reference to this result.

It seems that the traveling fee by boat to the island is quite expensive.