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Published: June 10th 2009
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There's nothing like being in Japan and spending a day in Europe! I wasn't sure what to do today, as before I came to Nagasaki I planned to go to the Goto Islands off the coast for the day, but I ended up deciding against it because the ferry was going to cost too much and I've heard that the buses on the island are very infrequent. The only real way to get around is to rent a car but ,alas, I don't have an international drivers license so there goes that idea. So I started to read the brochures I picked up from the tourist info centre the other day to see if there were any interesting places where I could go that weren't too far away, and I decided on a place called Huis Ten Bosch, doesn't sound Japanese does it? Well thats because its not, it's Dutch. It's about an hour north of Nagasaki in a different prefecture, and is basically a theme park, but actually more like a village or small town that is a replica of the Netherlands or Holland. The early morning bus to Huis ten Bosch went through the mountains or along the coast
so that you got a great view of the ocean, and once again the scenery was just beautiful.
Huis Ten Bosch was pretty expensive to get into but you could buy a special one day pass that had free entry into most of the more popular attractions and museums so that actually saved a lot of money. I tell you what though it was definitely worth it, I had a fantastic day and Huis Ten Bosch is really realistic, it really looked like Holland, well not that I've ever been there but I've seen photos and they also had photos displayed of the areas of Holland that they had replicated and it was pretty similar. As soon as you walk in you are in a whole different world, the place is huge, and because of that it is seperated into sections, all with Dutch names so don't ask me to remember them. Because it's so huge, there are a few different types of transport you can take to get around, one of them is the canal cruiser, which basically makes a loop around the park and is more than just a means of transport, you can do a round
trip and see beautiful scenery. I took this type of transport because it was included free with my ticket, but there were also old fashioned taxis and buses you could use too. And of course bicycles, and they had so many different types of bikes it was unbelievable, the normal type of course, then ones for two people and three people, then they had ones that looked like little cars, four people sat in the corners and cycled and then there were two seats in the middle too, so 6 people all up! And there were also ones where one person rode and there were chairs on the front, for older people or children I suppose, they were so cool.
The streets were all pebble stoned and the buildings were true European style and there were trees and flowers everywhere, it was beautiful. There were also windmills scattered all over the place in true Dutch style (right?).
Some of the things you could do included seeing glass museums, porcelain museums, and a few other type of museums which the japanese find interesting because it differs a lot to Japanese style. There was also a replica of a palace that
you could tour through with big beautiful gardens, once again very European. They also had some really interesting theatre/shows you could see, and they were included in my pass so I made good use of it. One of them was a 3D movie, which was cool because I've never seen a 3D movie before.
Two of the more interesting shows were about stories of the Dutch landing in Japan and another one which was a Dutch myth about a waterfall or something. Anyway the Dutch landing story was cool because you sat in these seats in front of the screen, just like at a movie but there were seat belts. It confused me at first, I was like "OK, what do we need seat belts for/", but I'm glad that I put mine on because the whole section of floor moved! It was amazing! When they were on the ship the seats went up and down with the waves and when there was a storm they went every which way, and when they were on a horse and carriage it felt like you were on it too because the seats were moving like you were, it definitely made for
a cool show!
The other theater show was a bit similar, well the story was different, but the seats moved at times too but the best part of this one was that in front of you, where a stage would have been was a lake and on either side were houses and buildings and a windmill so you felt like you were really there. Part of the story was in a storm and they had water coming from the ceiling to make it look like rain, and it got harder and harder and they made the lake get waves so the buildings on either side got splashed and the boat in the lake was swaying everywhere and the windmill was turning in the rain, it was fantastic, although I'm glad that I wasn't sitting in the front seats because they all got wet!
There were also musical shows, astrological shows, you could take a ride on the tall ship and learn how to use the sails and stuff, I was going to do that (as that was included in my pass too) but the trip took a long time and the last bus back to Nagasaki was at 5.30pm. Halfway through the day it started to rain, just like it did the other day, all of a sudden there was a downpour and that lasted for about an hour and then it suddenly stopped and was sunny again, what is with this rain in Nagasaki? It's so weird.
There were heaps of shops and little cafes and restaurants, and of course you weren't allowed to bring your own food or drink in so you had to buy them there, but there were a few cheap places so that was OK. Like I said it was really good and it felt so realistic, well except for the Japanese signs that were everywhere. That did kinda remind me I was on a different continent.
I came back to Nagasaki by bus and went to catch the tram to the internet cafe and a Japanese guy asked if he could take my photo, (again!) I don't understand the fascination with foreigners, you would think in a place like Nagasaki that they would get used to seeing us, well actually now I say that I haven't seen that many around, a few but not like the other cities. But still, for crying out loud! This guy was actually shaking as he took the photo, I felt really sorry for him, am I really that scary? I mean we are all just human beings after all, I just look a little different, you'd think I was from another planet the way some people act.
So yeah that was my day in Europe whilst being in Japan! Quite cool.
Ja ne
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