During the period from 1641 to 1859, Nagasaki was the only Japanese city that allowed to trade with the outside world. The city developed close ties with Dutch traders. To commemorate this long-standing friendship, a Japanese businessman built Holland Village, a community not far from Nagasaki, which combined Dutch architecture and city planning with Japanese technology. It opened in 1983. Almost 10 years later and a few dozen kilometres away, the same developers opened Huis ten Bosch, an exact replica of the Dutch queen’s palace in The Hague, Paleis Huis ten Bosch. Japan’s Huis ten Bosch is not only a copy of the royal residence but also a park with museums, a tourist resort and a living community. Radio Netherlands visited the theme park.
Producers: Robert Chesal and Eric Beauchemin
Broadcast: September 24, 1994