Prayer Japanese Tourists in the Land of Papua

Biak, Papua, keep the main attraction for Japanese tourists. A number of tourists visiting the country frequently Sakura Biak and did worship there. Japan had ever made history in the area of Indonesia's eastern tip. Thousands of Japanese soldiers had fight with the American-led allied forces in Papua during World War II. One witness the death of the Japanese army in Papua is a cave called the Cave of Japan.

Paray beach beauty also keeps records of the dark wartime past. Bitter memories of the history of the Japanese in Papua enshrined in the form of monuments in Paray beach.

Japanese Cave

When occupied Indonesia, Japan take advantage of natural caves in the Biak area as a hiding place, protection, and weapons storage. One cave is known as the Cave where the defense of Japan is very strong and difficult to penetrate the Allied Forces.

To disable cave, allied forces under General MacArthur dropped the drums of fuel that fired from the air. No less than 3,000 Japanese soldiers killed were buried in the cave.

Japanese Cave is located in the Village Sumberker, only about 3 miles west of Biak Numfor City. Local community was called cave called "abiyau binzar" which means old woman. According to legend, an old woman living in the cave before the Japanese troops arrived and used it as a war of defense base.

Monument Paray

Furthermore, not far from there, only about 2 kilometers from Goa, Japan, on the edge of the beach Paray, the Government of Indonesia and Japan set up a monument to World War II. The monument was built on March 24, 1994 was a symbolic reminder of how the war was so cruel to destroy the dignity of humanity and cruelty that should not happen again.

Architectural monuments designed by Hiroshi Ogawa a unique display. A dome-like shell, stretched to three sets umbrella table with chairs. In front of this dome symmetrically lined up 12 blocks of marble. On the monument there is a winding alley. The hall was once a natural cave hideout and base of the Japanese defense.

Three sets of tables under the dome and rows of marble stones on the beach is a symbol of military command. Meanwhile, the small hall is a symbol of a hidden army forces in the natural caves in the Biak area.

Paray beach between 1919 and 1945 it became the center of the Japanese trading activities in Papua. During World War II it served as a military base. In Japan this beach had scrawled a history of Indonesian territory.


Worship

Periodically, especially in the holiday season, there's always the Japanese tourists who come to the second place. They are not just a vacation, but also pray for the souls of soldiers who died in battle. Usually they come and pray at night carrying a candle.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Travel Biak John Yanwarin admitted, the remaining historical tourist World War II, which is owned Biak is now the main attraction of tourists visiting Japan to Biak.

The purpose of Japanese tourists visit, said John, most of the worshipers to recall victims of World War II. "Two cave sites and monuments of war Japan's most frequently visited by Japanese tourists to Japan to commemorate the victims of religious sites of World War II," he said.

Based on the data of Culture and Tourism Biak, since the last five years, dominated the Japanese tourists visiting foreign tourists in Biak.