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Published: November 19th 2007
Treated to another fine day in Nagasaki with scattered clouds across the blue sky I considered how to spend my last day in town. Cramming four locations into one week's worth of travel isn't exactly ideal in terms of enjoying a place to its full potential, but I have always been a fan of scouting around multiple locations, and I'd rather return for a longer stay once I know the place would appeal to me. Nagasaki is definitely one of those places. At first sight I immediately took a liking to it, although I quickly came to question my judgment once I got down to work the city center. However, as with most things, once you learn them you begin to appreciate them the more, and although a bit seedy the local entertainment district certainly warrants a more closer look.
For this day's outing though, I considered the most pressing options and mainly broke it down into three. A further look around the downtown area and Chinatown, the nearby temple row - several shinto temples located along the same road, and finally the Dutch slopes, the southern hillsides cluttered with small houses. I'll leave the Nagasaki lookout point and the
remote Peace Park (located near the
Fat Man A-bomb hypocentre) for someone else to cover, after all, Nagasaki may have been put on the tourist map by its unlucky fate, but once I arrived here I quickly came to realize that there are much more interesting sides to this city that I would much rather focus on. Thus, I headed straight for the Dutch slopes and some hillside loitering. Of course, the LNG carrier
Grand Aniva down at the port was a also given objective...
The amazing puzzle of narrow roads and pathways that barely manage to separate the houses from each other in the slopes are truly one of the more memorable locations I have been to in a while. There is nothing to see here in the sense of attractions or architecture, but on a peaceful Sunday afternoon this sleepy area seems perfect for a stroll (unless you don't like hiking up and down stairs that is). There was barely a soul to see, although I did exchange greetings with the few residents I met. Such a small gesture yet one of the best experiences of travelling. Once I reached the high ground I was not at all
prepared at what I would see from here; the city of Nagasaki laid out like a carpet over the valley and nearby hills, basking in late afternoon sunlight. The air's fresh and chilly, at ten degrees the jacket was a must. Clothes out to try on balconies, kid's toys outside the doorways, small cars parked in all kinds of space saving manners and little bonsai trees sticking to the walls of people's homes. Several cemeteries were squeezed in in between the houses, small stone pillars with golden inscriptions looking out over the city. I don't take any personal interest in where I will be buried, but I doubt there could be a better place than on a hill.
With each junction I became bolder and started moving in rather different directions realizing I was probably on my way to get lost inside this labyrinth. But on a day like this it hardly mattered, so I moved deeper into the maze. The pathways led me up and down and coupled with the sharp changes in directions it turned out into a refreshing and for me kind of unusual situation in becoming completely unaware of my location. I usually do not
like to impose upon myself such a situation, but this place certainly warranted an exception. And as is often the case, once you really start to wonder if you will ever get out you round a corner and emerge on the big road on the opposite side, effectively ending the illusion.
I made my way back towards the harbour area and Dejima (it really is difficult enough to withstand staying inside and watching sumo in the afternoon, do they really need to keep reminding me like this?) to see if the lady that caught my eye when I arrvied yesterday would still be waiting for me. And she was. You'll have to excuse me while I get emotional, but this is the first time I have ever had the fortune of grazing my eyes upon an LNG-carrier. I did another interesting discovery too; I had noticed before the dark silhouettes roaming the autumn sky earlier, but had assumed them to be ravens or crows of sorts without paying any closer attention. Closer inspection didn't come until one of them dangled in the sky just some ten meters away, and it revealed that the sky was full of half a
dozen buzzards sailing on the strong and biting wind on their look for prey. I made my way onto a walkway bridge and stood to wait for some good photos hoping that another would repeat the stunt, but to no avail. After having endured the wind for half an hour I packed up my camera and started to move away, that is when they came back to tease me. I'll get them for this some day...
As the temperature dropped when the sun stood lower I decided that seeking out the temple row wouldn't really be able to outmatch the scenery from the slopes so I went back inside to defrost and catch the final rounds of the day's basho from Fukuoka. And in an unusual moment of enlightenment I started packing up my gear instead of as usual waiting until the last minute. Considering I had now been in Japan for a week with no single success in getting up before 9 am I kiind of worried a bit on how I was now going to manage to kick myself out of bed already at 6 am. And usually, trying to go to bed early will only make
the situation worse, as one lies there sleepless counting the minutes lost.
A quick estimate led me to the conclusion that I'd better leave the hotel sometime around seven in the morning. No telling what the traffic conditions are like on a Monday morning, although so far it seems to be pretty quiet around here. Coupled with the late check in at 4 pm it seems a shame that the flight leaves so early, although I will finally have a chance to practice my
ohayo gozaimasu morning greeting...
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Moster Yster
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What a beauty !
Oh, I love the "double-breasted" ship Grand Aniva !!!!!