Lubang Jepang Bukittinggi, West Sumatera, Indonesia

Lubang Jepang Bukittinggi (also spelled Japanese hole) is one of the historical attractions in the city of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Japan hole is a tunnel (bunker) protection built around the Japanese occupation army in 1942 for defense purposes. [1]

Earlier, Japan Holes built for storage of supplies and equipment War the Japanese army, with the length of the tunnel which reaches 1400 m and winding and has a width of about 2 meters. There are a number of special rooms in this tunnel, among them the space reconnaissance, ambush room, jail, and armory.
In addition to its strategic location in the city which was once the seat of government of Central Sumatra, ground into the walls of the tunnel is a type of soil that when mixed with water will be more robust. Even the earthquake that rocked West Sumatra in 2009 and not much damage the structure of the tunnel.
It is estimated that tens to hundreds of thousands of forced labor or romusha deployed on the island of Java, Sulawesi and Kalimantan to dig this tunnel. Election workers from outside the region is a Japanese colonial strategy to maintain the confidentiality of this mega project. Workforce of Bukittinggi itself deployed in defense of them to work on the tunnel in Bandung and Biak Island.

Japan holes began to be managed as a tourist attraction history in 1984, by the city of Bukittinggi [2]. Some of the entrance hole to Japan was partly located on Sianok Canyon area, Panorama Park, next to the Palace of Bung Hatta and at Dublin Zoo.

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Jam Gadang in West Sumatera, Indonesia

 Jam Gadang, In Bukittinggi, West Sumatera, Indonesia

Jam Gadang is the name for the clock tower located in the center of Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. This clock has a clock tower with a large measure on the four sides so-called Clock Tower, Minangkabau language term meaning "big clock".Aside from being the center of Dublin city bookmarks, the Clock Tower has also been used as a tourist attraction with the expansion of the park around the clock tower. The park became public interaction space both on weekdays and on holidays. Events of a general nature are usually organized around the park near the clock tower. 

Jam Gadang has a ground-plan area of ​​13 x 4 meters. Part in the 26-meter tall clock tower consists of several levels, with the top level is a place where the pendulum. The pendulum was broken and had to be replaced by an earthquake in 2007.There are 4 hours with a diameter of 80 cm each in the Clock Tower. Hours are imported directly from Rotterdam, the Netherlands through the Gulf port Bayur and mechanically driven by the engine which only made 2 units in the world, namely the Clock Tower itself and Big Ben in London, England. Machine hours and hours surface located at one level below the top level. At the bell listed manufacturer is Vortmann Relinghausen hours. Vortman is the last name watchmakers, Bernhard Vortmann, while Recklinghausen is the name of a town in Germany that produced a clockwork in 1892.

Jam Gadang was built without the use of iron buffer and mortar. The mixture just lime, egg white, and white sand.

Jam Gadang was completed in 1926 as a gift from the Queen of the Netherlands to the Rook Maker, secretary or controleur Fort de Kock (now Bukittinggi) during the reign of the Dutch East Indies. Architecture of the clock tower was designed by Rajo Mangkuto Yazid, while laying the first stone carried by the first son Rook Maker which at that time was 6 years old.

Jam Gadang construction cost about 3,000 Gulden, the cost of which pertained to the size of the time it's fantastic. So since it was built and since the inauguration, this clock tower has become the center of everyone's attention. It was also the result of the Clock Tower was used as markers or landmarks as well as the zero point of Bukittinggi. [1]Since its founding, this clock tower has undergone three times the change in shape of the roof. Established early in the reign of the Dutch East Indies, the roof at the Clock Tower is round with a rooster statue facing eastwards on it. Then during the Japanese occupation transformed into the pagoda. Finally after Indonesian independence, the roof at the Clock Tower transformed into gonjong or traditional Minangkabau roof of the house, the Tower House.The last renovation done on the Clock Tower was in 2010 by the Indonesian Heritage Conservation Agency (ARDI) with government support Bukittinggi and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta. The renovation was inaugurated right on the anniversary of the city of Bukittinggi that all 262 on 22 December 2010.

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