Every first-time customer of Saga Airport says they are surprised about the empty landscape around the airport. Actually, there are roads, paddy fields, and creeks for fertilizing the land. So, it is not like there is nothing but a vast land stretched like a desert. Those people were probably swayed by an overwhelmingly large land which is actually taken care of by local people.
Streets that are extended to the said land did not need to be curvy, so the street in front of the airport, which is over 1 kilometer, and the street that leads to the airport, which is about 2-kilometer long, are almost straight. It feels great to look at or drive on those streets. In summer, you can see a hot-road mirage and the distant view of a wavy, undulating road. This reminds us of an American movie called “Vanishing Point”.
People are inspired by just looking at this view. Its vastness is further emphasized through a camera and it might look like another country far away. If there is sunlight, set the camera close from the ground under the sidelight of morning or sunset, and take out people from the bright blue sky backdrop. It will no longer look like Japan.
Even without a camera, it would be interesting to place a person in the middle of the road or to let a bicycle run.
If you trace the history, this vast land is the result of reclamation from ancient times. Surprisingly, Yoshinogari seems to be used to face the Ariake Sea, and as the time passed mudflats were established and the costal line moved down to the south. People created lands by carrying water from mudflats, which speeded up the process of reclamation.
The feature of this reclaimed land is the dikes that were built in order to protect the land from damages from high tide. If you look toward the airport from these dikes, you will feel the land is broader since dikes are tall.
Also, there is a “real find.” There is a narrow road built on the dike where one car can pass through, and we placed a car there and tried filming. It created a picture with a fusion atmosphere. This was the real find.
We also recommend the view of the Ariake Sea from the dikes. Especially in winter, you can enjoy a spectacle off the coast where there is a grove of rods offshore used for seaweed farming, which is Saga’s specialty. The view under the afternoon sunlight is the best. Sunlight bounces off of the ocean and dances as if it is tangled in the silhouette of rods. That glitter is gorgeous. When the sun sets, the ocean turns into a burning red and shows us sensual scenery.
Local people might say things about the area around Saga Airport like “What’s good about this area? There is nothing here. It’s just a huge land.” However, from the eyes of a creator, there is something here. There is something here because there is nothing and because it is vast.