Nagasaki

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This past weekend, I experienced my last long weekend in Japan. With still many, many places on my “Sites to See in Japan” list, and time running incredibly short, Dob and I decided to visit the city of Nagasaki for the weekend.

Nagasaki is in the south of Japan, and of course is most well-known for being the second city affected by the atomic bomb. However, much like Hiroshima, Nagasaki is a thriving, lively city today.

Our first part of sightseeing began with a visit to the Peace Park and its surrounding memorials, as well as the Peace Museum. The central focus of the Peace Park is a large statue, featuring a man with his right arm pointing to heaven in a plea of peace, and his left arm outstretched, warning of the dangers of nuclear weapons. The park also features many other statues donated from countries around the world that have partnered with the city, in a vow of peace. The museum was just as emotional and raw as the Peace Museum in Hiroshima, and again left a haunting impression of the devastating effects of nuclear weapons. Dob and I have now completed our own circuit of the top 3 most depressing museums in Japan: both Peace Museums and the Earthquake Museum in Kobe.

We also visited Inasayama, to see one of the 3-most beautiful views in all of Japan (Kobe also shares this honour, along with another city that I didn’t visit). The view was indeed stunning, and we caught a glimpse of a beautiful sunset, although it was slightly cloudy. One of my favourite parts of the visit to this panorama was the Japanese-Hawaiian music group who were singing, playing ukuleles and hula dancing for their enraptured audience. It was, in a word, “sugoi!” (terrific!)

Our second day included a cruise throughout Nagasaki harbour, during which we also got to see Gunganjima, also known as “Battleship Island.” This island is the former site of a thriving coal mine community which existed up until about 1974. It had apartment buildings, schools, shrines, and even a movie theatre. Now, it’s just a mere shell of what it used to be.

We also saw Fukusaiji, which is a temple shaped like a turtle, featuring an 18 metre statue of the goddess Kannon. It was here that we got an interesting tour from a lady who I’m assuming is part of the caretaking staff of the temple. She insisted on us doing certain things, such as throwing water at a specific statue, hitting a prayer bowl in order to hear it ring, and was able to unlock a secret door so we could see a Fulcrum’s pendulum, contained in the basement of the temple, which is the longest in all of Japan, and 1 of only 3 in the entire world! All of this for a mere 200 yen! (about 2 dollars…quite the deal!)

Nagasaki is known for its foreign community, as it is a port city, from which many visitors did business from all over the world. Because of this, it also has the highest Christian population in all of Japan. I was able to visit Glover Garden, which is an area that contains foreign residences. It was impressive to see an old church and houses that reminded me a lot of older, preserved Victorian-style homes in Canada.

Nagasaki shares many similarities with Hiroshima (war tragedy, the pride it has in its still running streetcars) and Kobe (large foreign community of the past, one of three best night views), but it also has a feel to it, distinctly its own. I’m glad that I was able make this one of my last journeys in Japan!

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Photos

Kitakyushu Sunrise
Dob and I took the night bus from Hiroshima to Fukuoka, which is a city about 4 hours away. We then took the train from Fukuoka to Nagasaki. The night bus wasn't the most comfortable journey for me, but we got to see a beautiful sunrise at a pitstop about an hour outside of Fukuoka.

The Peace Statue and Fountain
The Peace Statue, neatly framed by the fountain, is one of the first sights you see as you enter the park. The right arm represents a plea for peace, and the left arm represents a warning against the threat of nuclear weapons.

Angel of Peace
The park also featured many other statues, such as this one, donated from countries that are united with the city of Nagasaki in the quest for peace.

Remains of Urakami Cathedral
Because of Nagasaki's large foreign population, it also had a large Christian population as well. Urakami Cathedral was the largest church in the east, and took 3 decades to build. It was flattened in three seconds in 1945 by the atomic bomb. This section of the original cathedral is all that remains standing.

One-legged Tori
A torii gate marks the entrance to a Shinto shrine. Half of this gate, just southeast of the hypocentre, was knocked down by the atomic blast. Surprisingly, half of it still remains standing today. I found the location of this gate interesting, as it's tucked away amongst some housing, very unassumingly.

I Personally Think...
...that the sunset and...

...the Hawaiian Band...
...at the top of Inasayama should be placed in a top 3 somewhere too!

Megane Bashi
Also known as the "Spectacles Bridge", this bridge is one of the oldest stone bridges in all of Japan. If the water is at the right height, the arches and their reflection come together to look like spectacles, hence its name. The canal also featured many other lovely, old stone bridges, each marking the entrance to a temple at one time.

Fukusaiji
This temple, also known as the Kannon Universal Temple, is hard to miss due to the unique turtle-shaped design, and the 18 metre tall statue of Kannon on the roof of the temple. The original temple was built in 1628, but rebuilt after the explosion. Oddly, the replacement bears no resemblance to the original!

Just Following Orders!
At Fukusaiji, the quirky caretaker took Dob and I on a tour of the temple complex. She insisted that we throw water on this statue...perhaps it will bring us good luck?! Sure! We'll go with that...

Cruising Nagasaki Harbour
The harbour of Nagasaki has a very industrial feel to it.

Cruise Scenery
Although the further out the boat got, the more pretty the scenery became. Wherever you go in Japan, you will always be surrounded by hills and mountains!

Gunkanjima
Also known as "battleship island" this island is a former coal mining settlement.

Ghost Island
Once inhabited by as many as over 5000 people, the island used to have schools, a movie theatre, bars and restaurants. Once petroleum became the preferred source of fuel over coal, coal production drastically decreased, and the island finally became abandoned in 1974.

Glover Garden
A peaceful oasis in the city, Glover Garden features former homes of European residents, which from the balcony of one, I caught this great view of the harbour.

Feeding the Fish
Glover Garden had lots of fountains and water features amongst the houses, surrounded by flowers. I thought this couple was very "kawaii" (cute!) while feeding the fish.