The Ueno German Village ranks up there as one of the most comical/bizarre tourist attractions I have ever seen. It's a bit like a German Disneyland, complete with frankfurters and oompah music, and it even has a lifesize replica of Marksburg Castle. The reason for all this randomness is that in 1873 the people of Ueno village rescued 8 German sailors who were shipwrecked off the coast, and Emperor Wilhelm was so grateful he sent the islanders a monument (see below). This seemingly insignificant event has been outrageously, and humourously, blown out of all proportion to the extent that the islanders decided to build a German theme park to cement their "ties" to the aforementioned European state. The "ties" between Miyako and Germany reached their peak when Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder was persuaded to visit the theme park in 2000. I can only imagine what he was thinking.