Taipei, Dec. 8 (CNA) A delegation from a Japanese tourism promotion organization visited the Gold Museum in New Taipei Saturday and expressed hope that tourism exchanges and close ties between two historic mines in Japan and Taiwan will be long-lasting.

The delegation, headed by Yozo Nozu, vice chairman of the Shimane Prefecture Tourism Federation, braved heavy rain to tour the museum in Jinguashi, a small town that once prospered thanks to a gold mine.

Although the town fell into disrepair after the gold was depleted, it has enjoyed a revival in recent years as a result of visits by domestic and foreign tourists to the relics of its mining past.

Nozu said he hopes exchanges between the museum and Shimane, home to Iwami Ginzan -- a historic silver mine that has been designated as a World Heritage site -- will continue.

The Gold Museum-Shimane interaction began in 2007, the year when Iwami Ginzan was designated as a World Heritage site, according to Chang Chin-li, a museum secretary.

In November, the Gold Museum held an exhibition in Iwami Ginzan featuring the mining mountains at Jinguashi and in the nearby Rueifang District of New Taipei, as well as some of the museum's own collection, she said, noting that Nozu was one of the visitors to the show.

Iwami Ginzan was once Japan's largest silver mine, with an output that accounted for 30 percent of the world's total. It was closed in 1923.

(By Sunrise Huang and Elizabeth Hsu)
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