Following the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, more and more Japanese schools are choosing Nagasaki as a destination for excursions over Okinawa, the usual choice.
Tourism-related companies here expect to host a large number of students with the recent cancellations of school trips to Okinawa, where many U.S. military bases are located, as well as to other countries, over fears of terrorist attacks.
But some remain skeptical. "Frankly, I think there's nothing to crow about," one local official said.
Since Sept. 11, more than 800 schools have canceled trips to Okinawa, opting for other destinations that include Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Osaka, where Universal Studios Japan opened last year.
More than 160 schools have chosen Nagasaki, according to city officials.
"The part when locals tell their experiences when the atomic bomb was dropped, among others, is popular with my students," said Yasuko Kasai, a high school teacher visiting Nagasaki from Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture.
She said the school chose Nagasaki for its relevance on the issue of peace, especially in a time when the world is reeling from the terrorist attacks in the U.S. But this trend is expected to cool as fears over security in Okinawa diminish.
Kasai said her school will definitely go to Okinawa in the next academic year.