Edoropolis Emporium

There are actually several islands around Japan where people were sent into exile.  Here's one of them:
http://www.sadoislandjapan.com/ (http://www.sadoislandjapan.com/)

Wow. I didn't know that any nation can still do that. Send people into exile that is. And Japan has an actual island to send exiles there. Wow. You learn something new every day. Does the current Japanese government still do that?

No, that's from old Edo times.  These days, they have jails and prisons like everyone else.

kinda like Alcatraz...only, Alcatraz is still a prison island. right?

Not really anymore. Its just a tourist attraction now. You should watch Mythbusters, they did an Alcatraz one

oh, is that so? um..........my bad ^^;

But, what about Guantanamo…you know, that place where they send that Arabic dudes..

Last I heard, that's not considered a prison by the US.

I'd say more but this is pretty close to being a flame war catalyst so I'll shut up now.

Meh, lotta bad stuff happened there, let the US clean it up.

Burkey

Guantanamo Bay (not island) is a US Military base in Cuba, which it has been since the 1890s, and the prison is only part of it.  Alcatraz could be considered a prison island, but it's been closed since the 60s.  But I'm talking about Japan, and in particular, old Edo Japan.  These islands didn't usually have prisons on them, the islands themselves were the prison.

Many things in KNT are based on actual Japanese culture and history.  Part of that history is the punishment of sending people into exile on remote islands as a way to get rid of them with out the more common punishment of just killing them.  In fact, you would probably have to be kind of important to be sent to an island rather than just lose your head.  Ironically, most of these islands now make their money from tourists coming to visit and see the great beaches, unspoiled wilderness, and great sea food.  Another one of these islands is Oshima, which has a live volcano, and was also one of the filming locations for the movie "Ringu" (The Ring).  Another island, Enoshima, is so close to mainland Japan that today there is a bridge going out to it.  Probably not the ideal escape proof place, but if you were sent into exile there, you were probably better off not trying to come back and risk losing your head.

Vi, just send me to Prisoners Island, I wanna relax on the sunny beaches and get away from this terrible winter.

Brrrr..

Burkey

(http://www.sadoislandjapan.com/sitebuilder/images/winter_sawatadock-362x482.jpg)

Enjoy

Looks like my hometown from way up north.

Cool.

Burkey

LOL! Good one, Vi. lol. Got ya good didn't it, Burke?

Nah, Burkey's from Canada, he could handle it.

Oh yes, I'm so deeply wounded and hurt I dunno how I'll ever come back from it.

Ugh.

Burkey