Blogs from Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan, Asia

In the annals of history, there are many moments which stand out, some for positive reasons, some for what can only be considered negative reasons. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the reasons are absolutely mixed. Two events, separated by a mere three days in August of 1945 changed the world forever as the world was thrust into the age of nuclear warfare, a point from which there is no return. Our visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki provided us with yet another reminder of how fierce war can really be, and in this case how a moment in time can change the landscape forever, both locally and worldly. Dave has more than a passing interest in World War II history, so our trip to Japan had to include stops in two of the most memorable cities of the ... read more

It was another bright and sunny day on 20 April. As we had planned travelling with trams, we bought one-day tickets. Momument of the Twenty-Six Martyrs and Museum My mother suggested that we should visit the site of the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints on the Nishizaka Park, which was just behind the bus terminal. Nagasaki is known as the city of Slope: we would have to walk uphill a bit to go to the destination. We remembered seeing the monument of Twenty-Six Martyrs shown on the NHK World’s programme. It was also interesting to see very ornate church spires of St John the Baptist Church behind the monument. There spires looked like spires of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. We found the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum behind the monument and visited there. We found a number of ... read more

Hashima, czyli Gunkajima to wyspa, która została elementem scenografii przedostatniej części przygód agenta Daniela Craiga, Skyfall. Gdy widzi się ją z bliska, nietrudno się domyślić dlaczego. Sama idea utworzenia betonowej wyspy 20 km od lądu i wybudowania na niej mieszkań, szpitali, szkół etc. Dla ok 5 tysięcy ludzi, po to, aby mogli oni wydobywać węgiel na środku morza wydaje się irracjonalna. Taka idea jednak zaistaniała w XIX w. a pracujący tu do 1974 roku górnicy wydobywali największą ilość węgla w czasie roboczogodziny na świecie, pracując na 3 zmiany przez ponad 100 lat. W 1974 roku rząd Japonii zaprzestał wykorzystywania obecnych tam złóż a wszyscy mieszkańcy zostali wysiedleni. Dopiero w 2009 ktoś wpadł na pomysł aby zniszczone przez tajfuny i morską wodę betonowe budynki zacząć pokazywać turystom. Hashima jest tak ciekawym miejscem, że nie wybaczylibyśmy sobie, gdybyśmy ... read more

So many pictures to share from today...and I will...but another Facebook novel about a bigger lesson is due....I think I have said before feel free to scroll or block. :)But....here it goes... Blessed are those with the COURAGE to tell their stories. We each have powerful stories that we silence due to fear of not thinking they are 'enough' or that they're 'too much'....at least that's the truth for me anyway. I posted in March about the awesome event we had at RMS due to Annelee Woodstrom speaking about her experience of being a c... read more

Nagasaki, Japan-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ship Manufacturing Facility Can you imagine, we are back in Nagasaki, Japan? Since we already visited Ground Zero and the Peace Park, we are going to do something totally different and go on a tour of the shipbuilding plant where the ship we are on now, the Sapphire Princess was built. We turn in our names at the tour desk so the Mitsubishi can run security checks on each person taking the tour. Later in the day we get our tickets, so I guess we passed ;-) Our tour will take us to two Mitsubishi plants; one across the harbor from where our ship is docked and the other a few miles away at another harbor. We first were told, “No pictures” in any of the areas except the museum. We started ... read more