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The Japan Times
WORLD EYE REPORTS
THE UNITED KINGDOM |
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©THE JAPAN TIMES
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Saturday, August 30, 2003
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There's more to the UK than rain!
Despite the good-natured grumbling about the weather which all tourists bring home from a stay in the United Kingdom, increasing numbers of visitors are recorded each year, while the British themselves are rediscovering the beauties and distractions of this “scept’red isle”.
The United Kingdom is the world’s seventh most popular destination for tourists, and it is easy to see why that is. Visitors from all corners of the globe flock to live the charm and tradition associated with the country. It’s the perfectly ordered and colourful changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. It’s riding around the City in a stately black cab or a legendary double-decker bus. It’s travelling back in time along the ramparts of Durham Castle or through the hallowed halls of Oxford colleges. It’s shopping at Harrods or down Oxford Street for anything from high-fashion designs to edgy streetwear.
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 One of the many colorful and diverse participants of the Nottinghill Carnival |
For many of the fifty thousand Japanese residents in the United Kingdom, and numerous visitors from Japan, the main attraction is a chance to play on the world’s most famous golf courses. Saint Andrews (“the home of golf”), The Belfry or The Celtic Manor offer unique golfing experiences, but are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to world-class golf courses.
 The famous and well-loved black cab speeds past the Bank of England |
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It is often through golf that visitors first venture out of London to discover the quiet comfort and heart-warming charm of the countryside. England’s South West, “where the hills meet the sea”, will take you through quaint fishing villages and cathedral towns along the coastal footpaths. Scotland’s border country, the birthplace of Robert Burns and Walter Scott, holds countless brooding castles, each steeped in romantic tales of love and war. The lunar landscape of Giant’s Causeway, in Northern Ireland, is the home that a giant of amazing strength is held to have built for his beloved. The villages around Oxford were the inspiration for the cosy and timeless atmosphere of the hobbits’ world in J.R.R. Tolkien’s popular novels. Few would pass on the thrilling opportunity of walking in Jack the Ripper’s footsteps on the streets of Whitechapel.
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There is a modern side to touring the United Kingdom, the so-called “Cool Britannia”. The country has long been known for its architectural splendours, from Stonehenge to Blenheim Palace. Today, this great building tradition is as strong as ever. Norman Foster, previously responsible for the new Hong Kong airport, has contributed a number of groundbreaking designs, including London’s Millennium Bridge and the great glass dome which now covers the British Museum. Richard Rogers, of Centre Pompidou fame, imagined a similar building for the home of Lloyds of London, and has brought a new, technologically enthusiastic edge to the City. Striking constructions, many financed by
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 Teeing off in Scotland, the birthplace of golf |
funds made available by the National Lottery in the past ten years, are modernising cityscapes across the country. Earlier this year, Liverpool won the privilege of becoming European Capital of Culture in 2008, after extensively redeveloping its previously tired urban architecture and depressed docklands.
 Picadilly Circus remains a popular meeting place in London’s West End |
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The best way to feel the true character of this land, however, is to attend one of the summer events eternally associated with Britishness. Strawberries and champagne at Wimbledon may sound like a cliché, but thirty four tons of the fruit and fourteen thousand bottles of bubbly were consumed during the 2002 championships. The Henley Regatta in July, one of the country’s premier rowing events, is a great opportunity for relaxing royally by the river and picnicking pleasantly on the lawn. Every year in June, socialites and horseracing enthusiasts gather under the Queen’s patronage at Ascot for a dazzling display of style
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and sophistication. Equally British is the Notting Hill Carnival, which is held every August in the streets of one of London’s most popular neighbourhoods. It brings together the capital’s diverse communities in an exuberant and colourful display.
On holiday or business, there is never a dull moment in the United Kingdom. Whether you enjoy stepping back in time or catching a glimpse of tomorrow, whether you prefer to sit back and relax or live life to the full, whether you like afternoon tea and scones or a late night curry, this country has it all.
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 All Saints College in Oxford University, still one of the finest centers of learning |
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