Tokyo to Nagasaki via Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima
Japan has been on my radar for about 20 years but always felt it was too expensive. This time it was going to happen. 20 days in Japan and by the end of it I wish I had stayed longer.
Money $1 = 108 Yen, £1 = 1 36Yen
Dormitories - $15-$30 per night. I generally
selected them for their cost as well as their proximity to the local
transportation network. I would recommend the following hostels I stayed in:
·
Oak Hostel Zen - Tokyo
·
Tomato Kyoto hostel – shared room very small but great location nearby the town
· Osaka Guesthouse Sakura
· Evergreen Hostel - Hiroshima
·
Nagasaki Catholic Centre Youth Hostel
·
Moritomizu Backpackers - Nagano
Language: Japanese, there is usually somebody nearby who can speak English
Japan JR Rail pass: Available for 7,14 or 21 days. I chose 7 days but wish I had gone for the 14 day. You must use it on consecutive days and until recently it could only be purchased from outside the country. To be eligible to buy you must be a tourist and not living in the country. The 7 day pass cost $275 inc postage.
Japan JR Rail pass: Available for 7,14 or 21 days. I chose 7 days but wish I had gone for the 14 day. You must use it on consecutive days and until recently it could only be purchased from outside the country. To be eligible to buy you must be a tourist and not living in the country. The 7 day pass cost $275 inc postage.
Locations
·
Tokyo – 1 night
·
Kyoto – 3 nights
·
Osaka – 2 nights
·
Hiroshima – 2 night recommend 3 nights or at least 2 full days
·
Nagasaki – 2 nights recommend 1 night if stay
there
·
Nagano – 2 nights
Tokyo
First stop was Tokyo, train from the airport was
very easy as you would expect in Japan. I had previously read that the locals
were campaigning to stop tourists with large baggage using the subway and
trains during rush hour but as yet I don’t think that has been agreed.
Bento
salmon box for dinner 632 yen and I was the proud owner of a very expensive polystyrene box
full of food including sticky rice, two parcels of rice wrapped in omelette,
salmon, two pieces of fried pork and some veg.
Shinkansen bullet train ticket to Kyoto 13,750 Yen - £92 later and in two hours was there. The bullet train was another item on my bucket list. The train went past Mt Fuji on the right hand side, the sea on the left side. I loved this city already and not even got there; it was quieter than Tokyo and was more about culture so I had been told.
This style is synonyms for Japanese temples
Tori gates famous in Japan
Nishiki famous food
and tourist market. This was all situation in one line (the norm
in Japan) small samples of local delicacies featured alongside foods to buy. My
purchases were two scallops on a stick 500 Yen and white bate 400 yen.
Busy narrow walk ways
Samples enticing you in
Seasonal special - sweet chestnuts
Later found sparrow on a stick. Last time I had seen this for sale was in Laos and Cambodia and thought better of it. This time I decided to give it a try 450 yen and two small birds minus head and claws I gnawed my way through the tiny bit of meat and copious amounts of crunchy bones. It was stronger than chicken but not a flavour or experience I would care to repeat.
I spent about four hours walking around the market trying samples of small tiny fish, seaweed, pickled radish and looking round the crazy cute shopping areas. Japan seem to like handkerchiefs which double up as face cloths along with wooden dolls, green “Matcha” tea products – ice cream, sweets, cakes and Hello Kitty.
Other
specialities are socks that separate out the big toe from the rest – they even
have shoes they fit into although work equally well with flip flops. Whilst
walking around I did have to double take a shop selling a full menu with foods in
the shape of Snoopy….
At the end of the market is Tenjin shrine and the bull is its symbol. Beautiful shrine tucked into Teramachi shopping area
Shrine entrance
Water shrines
Large bull statue inside
Cute purses
Bus to Gion and walked around a temple and a shrine in the heart of the town. Shrines and temples differ in that there are two main practises in Japan, Buddhism which pray at temples and Shinto which pray at shrines .
Jodo Shu Head Temple - virtual tour available on this link
Yasaka-Jinja Shrine located on the crossroads in the middle of Gion, considered to be the most important in Gion.
Japanese Tea Ceremony
I attended a tea ceremony or rather a tea making demonstration and get to make green tea for 2,000 yen. Bucket list having researched it at home the closest I could find was in Oxford. En, tea house (down a side alley, located next to a noodle restaurant). There were a group of seven of us, I was placed in the special guest position - right hand side of the host whilst the rest sat opposite her. The host talked through the items we should bring with us to an official tea ceremony. Traditionally it lasts four hours and includes dinner, conversation and tea making (both thick and thin tea) and charcoal making although not necessarily in that order.
She explained
the different items that are used to make the tea; cooker- hers was electric
since were in a wooden house and she did not want a traditional fire to burn
the house down. Measuring spoon, whisk, serving bowl (instead of a cup) and napkin as can be seen below left photo.
Wa – Harmony in nature and the utensils used during the ceremony
KA – Respect everything including the utensils and hostSa – Purifying utensils and the mind
Jacu – Tranquillity – sound and the mind
After adding the green tea powder (Matcha) and hot water she used a bamboo whisk which she energetically moved backwards and forwards mixing the tea until it frothed. This was the important part she informed us. She then handed the cup to me (as the main guest) to drink. Later after I had broken every rule going she taught us how to drink the tea. First you must turn the bowl twice so that you are not drinking from the part previously touched by the host. Then you have to drink it, once finished you then slurp on the final mouthful to let your host know you have finished. The ceremony is carried out silently. You then turn the bowl twice back and place it back down on the mat.
Once we all had a go and slurped our way successfully we
were handed a mocchi sweet placed on a
piece of paper acting as a plate. Once finished this was used to wipe the
tea cup before handing the cup back.
Gion corner theatre next for local culture. First was a demonstration
of a tea ceremony whilst two ladies played the Japanese harp. The harps were
originally from China but have since become part of the Japanese culture.
These instruments are rectangular and played on
the floor producing a beautiful and graceful found as it is plucked. The tea
ceremony took place in a corner and very few of us could see apart from the two
selected people to receive the tea, at least I had not relied on this for my
tea experience.
The koto is an ancient Japanese six-stringed zither traditionally played with ivory plectrums
worn on the fingers, producing wonderful harmonies
Gagaku is the name for indigenous Japanese music & dance performed at the Imperial Court, Shrines and temples
The Geisha protégée known as a Maiko eloquently danced around the stage, Maiko’s are girls studying to become a Geisha and are in there 20’s. A number of them can be seen going between appointments (tea ceremonies and shows) unlike the Geishas which are rarely seen.
Kyo-mai performances by Maiko
The final performance was a comedy act known as Kyogen featuring master and two workers. The master needed to go away and did not want the fools to drink his homemade brew so tied them up. Stupidly he did not tie their hands so they were still able to drink the entire brew. Got drunk and then he came back and started beating them. Made the audience laugh, made up of Japanese and foreign tourists.
Kyogen is a form of theatre that portrayed life as it was in a comical manner.
Following the performance there was an opportunity to have your photo with the Maiko the guy taking the photo managed to cut off more than he got in the photo. Overall it was worth it.
Geisha shoes
Final sight for evening a visit to Kiyomizudera-dera temple (UNESCO
World cultural heritage list as one of them historical monuments of ancient
Kyoto) which had their autumn leaves lit up. There are four such temples in
Kyoto and once the leaves have finished the focus changes to Christmas lights
in the town. Crowds of locals and
tourists queued to see the leaves.
Arashiyama (Kyoto)
Arashiyama an area in Kyoto is a
beautiful scenic area by the river located next to a hill covered in autumn
colours. I caught a bus and got off just before the famous Togetsukyo bridge.
Cockle collector
Monkey park Iwatayama is where the local red faced Japanese Macaques live. Signs tell you not to feed them and to keep valuables safe they love to eat entrance tickets and snacks…. A scenic walk up the hill going through the autumn maple red leaves. When at the top of the hill there is a feeding station hut and this is where many of the macaques congregate. You could buy monkey nuts in shells to feed them which was popular with the young children. Couple of rules alongside the do not feed the monkeys was do not look the monkey straight in the face. I had first-hand experience of how aggressive could be when one turned and looked straight into the lens of my camera then proceeded to bound towards me. Luckily an attendant was on hand to throw him off track. Finding a safer area it was cute watching the babies and less aggressive monkeys as they came down to the pond to take a drink.
Lunch was a stall
selling Takoyaki, Octopus in dashi broth flavoured batter balls. The batter
inside is still soft and over the top is smothered a sweet soy sauce with cuttle
fish shavings. 6 balls cost 500 Yen . It is a local delicacy found mainly in
Osaka.
Back exploring I walking across the bridge mooching around the shops. Many selling the Japanese sweets they are so fond off. A novice on these sweets I sampled one of each at one of the shops. Twenty flavours later I felt full and sick. The sweets known as mocchi are made from white bean paste and filled with sweetened flavours such as Matcha, chocolate, banana. Seasonal flavours of sweet potato, sweet chestnut and pumpkin were also popular. Seasons are very important in japan and can be seen throughout merchandise and sweets.
Sweets
Rice cakes
Wagashi
The walkway was heaving with people (downside of coming on a weekend). Nearby was a highly recommended villa and garden called Okochi Sanso. It had been the home of Okochi Denjiro over a thirty year period and after this death the garden was opened to the public. Okochi designed it with Zen philosophy in mind and the views around the garden of the town and mount Hiei are spectacular especially with the Autumn leaves. I believe the cherry blossom would be also be worth a visit. My favourite garden is in Marrakesh designed by Versace, however this one is up in the top three. A hot Matcha and mocchi sweet are included in the entrance price although expensive it was definitely worth the money and also there were a lot less tourists around.
As I was walking back down into town it started raining heavily, out comes the umbrellas which the locals use to either protect from the rain or from the sun. It rained for the rest of the afternoon and evening so even I bought an umbrella. What a selection. The cheapest and most common used by both male and female is clear and is full size. The other common affordable ones come in a multitude of colours and their selling point (which adds £££’s to the price) is on getting wet a flower pattern can be seen. Ok you got me on that one makes the $10 price point seem more affordable.
In the rain I walked around the garden area of Kodaji temple which I thought was being lit up to showcase the Autumn leaves. Wrong temple and this one closed at 5:30pm, I had entered at 4:30pm so a quick walk nice but gardens were beginning to become like temples and looking very similar. This is one of the downsides of travelling so long. I walked back through the town planning to go and find the temple which was lit up. Instead I got way laid by the sight of food. In particular the crowds of people around the Raman stalls. I walked further to find a stall selling three dim sums on a stick for 500 yens, I was sold. Bit cold however delicious.
Whilst sitting I noticed a sign for a maze exhibition featuring people sized poles with different kimono material designs lit up. It was great fun in the rain and of course many locals taking selfies. I do love watching as they get into their pose after checking to see that they looked their best.
Transport of choice
Osaka
Kurimon Ichiba, local market is sprawled over four blocks near Nipponbashi subway. Area inside is easily identifiable by hanging fish symbols which correspond to a map. An information area where you can leave baggage or arrange deliveries is a thoughtful touch. Much of the market is filled with locals shopping for fish, seafood, meat, clothes although tourist shopping items are also popular and some of the sellers double up as restaurants once you have selected your fish purchases. Most of the customers are professionals from local restaurants. I bought an Obanyaki (a red bean filled pancake). Very filling and not to my taste.
Pets to buy or play with
One shop I went into was selling sweets including different flavour kit kats (very popular here) green tea, icheon tea, sake, strawberry and cream. Keyrings feature food items including sushi, strips of beef, fish, seafood, Takoyaki (octopus batter balls which I had eaten in Kyoto). Food and souvenirs also featured the running man, hello kitty, Pokémon and a Buddha style man known as Billiken are also common. Socks – big toe separated, hankies, key rings.
Fugu Puffer fish meal (Bucket list item)
Osaka is he food capital for Japan and a place to try puffer fish. If not cleaned and gutted correctly
then it can be fatal. I had read circa 6% from one source, to put this into
context it is usually local fishermen as a restaurant must have a trained chef
and show a licence to prove they meet the standards. I visited Zuboraya
They offered set meals for 3,000 up to 10,500 along with
individual dishes. I selected the most
popular option at 4,000 which consisted of six dishes. Sashimi (raw), Sushi x
two different types, two pieces fried in batter with tiny potato wedges, “chao moon” steamed egg custard with smoked
puffer fish at the bottom, skin cut into shreds (probably boiled) it had the
look of cooked glass noodles, later a hot pot arrived. In the bowl was tofu in
hot water once the water had boiled I then added enochi and shitake mushrooms,
cabbage, chrysanthemum leaves and skin and bone from the Puffer fish. The meal
was complemented with three dipping sauce pots (“poser” sauce a kind of soy
sauce) each pot consisted of the same sauce but you used one for sushi, one for
sashimi and the other for the hot pot. This one also had a petit helping of
radish mixed with chilli and spring onion green part to mix in.
I loved the meal, nothing stood out more than the other as a favourite. The texture was meaty with a fishy smell and was very chewy (especially the sashimi), a fairly neutral flavour. The Smoked fish had little bones in which made it more of a challenge than the others to eat and the fried fish had large backbone bones in but once removed was very easy to eat and I wanted more of it. I will definitely be trying out the egg custard style serving at home. Green tea was served with the meal.
Well I’m still living and no side effects so can recommend it.Other iconic sights of Osaka street
Running man famous with a cult following in Osaka
Kit kats of all flavours are found throughout Japan. This street had a good 10 flavours not tried include Saki, Strawberry and Matcha
I walked back to the guest house along the 4km Christmas lights featured on Midosuji Boulevard. Stopping for a hot chocolate with lashings of cream and chocolate syrup on route to get into the Christmas spirit. What a great way to end the day. Have to say for a country that isn’t big on celebrate Christmas they are playing lots of carols and all the shops are full of Christmas decorations and goods. Having researched where to stay for Christmas I decided in favour of Taiwan since Christmas Eve lovers give each other gifts but other than that it is not supposed to be widely celebrated.
I bought the day bus pass from the bus station and
visited the castle which dates back to 1583 (rebuilds excluded having been
damaged by fire and lightening over the years).
I had planned to go into the castle however I sat and people watch instead. Lunch was a sweet potato (Kumara) which they love here. I have seen it in sweets and as ice cream.
Sakuya Konohana Kan botanical garden to see the Himalayan blue poppies was next. It is fairly unique in that it is one of the only conservatories in the world that maintain the climatic and geographical conditions of the region the plants grow. Shame that I had chosen one of the few times which the Himalayan poppies were not in bloom. An enjoyable experience and I saw a number of new plants in flower I had not seen either at Kew or in their native habitat. I particularly enjoyed the video feature on plants in the Antarctic.
Japanese girls and woman each have their individual style, outside this often features a beret style or woolly hat. On one I saw a woolly hat with Viking horns she looked so stylish. Colour co-ordination with head gear and shoes.
I had planned to go into the castle however I sat and people watch instead. Lunch was a sweet potato (Kumara) which they love here. I have seen it in sweets and as ice cream.
Stones used to build the walls were huge not sure how they got them in place. this is one piece.
Sakuya Konohana Kan botanical garden to see the Himalayan blue poppies was next. It is fairly unique in that it is one of the only conservatories in the world that maintain the climatic and geographical conditions of the region the plants grow. Shame that I had chosen one of the few times which the Himalayan poppies were not in bloom. An enjoyable experience and I saw a number of new plants in flower I had not seen either at Kew or in their native habitat. I particularly enjoyed the video feature on plants in the Antarctic.
Similar to the Himalayan blue poppy
Followed by a walk through Tsurumiryokuchi park where the
botanical garden is situated. The park was created as part of an expo in 1990
with the theme “harmonious Co-existence between People and Greenery” this I
definitely felt it had achieved; many locals used the park for walks, picnics,
get together with friends and exercise. It was large enough to spend the whole
day there within the different areas shame I only had time to have a quick look
round.
Tenjimbahisuj shopping street, the longest shopping street in
Japan featuring 600 shops /
restaurants and is sold as taking 40 minutes to walk from end to end but that
doesn’t include the side alleys…… I was there more like 2 hours. Guest house owner had recommended Okonomiyaki a pancake which used the same
flour and therefore a similar soufflé texture to the octopus balls. It was another
of Osaka’s delicates (however, when I got to Hiroshima they claimed it as their own). 400
yen and it was a full meal. The pancake was topped with a smothering of sweet
soy sauce and then finished off with mayonnaise - another import eaten with
everything including sushi. The pancake then had a pork, seafood and cabbage topping. It
had the circumference similar to the size of a large uncooked beef burger.
Okonomiyaki
Local sweets - Mochi
Two popular stores in Japan are Daisco and 100 yen shop similar to our £1 stores. Packaged food can also be bought in these so could be a cheap way to buy food if I wanted to cook in the guest house. Maybe note to self on this one.
Nara
Okonomiyaki
Two popular stores in Japan are Daisco and 100 yen shop similar to our £1 stores. Packaged food can also be bought in these so could be a cheap way to buy food if I wanted to cook in the guest house. Maybe note to self on this one.
Nara, a short hop from Osaka as a quick day visit as I was continuing down to Hiroshima that night I took my backpacks with me. Lockers are easy to come by at most the stations in Japan and I was able to fit both bags into one locker for 600 Yen, note to self-make sure I have change in 100 yen coins for future. Luckily there was a local guy who happened to be standing behind me who happened to have the right change.
Nara is famous for its wild deer which are tame and can be found all over the park area. Deer biscuits are available for 150 yen so the deer are very used to taking food off tourists and many signs tell you to be careful of entrance tickets and food. One cheeky deer decided he wanted to share my lunch Deer are protected in the park because legend God, Kasuga Taisha came riding a white deer since then the numbers have significantly increased.
Nara has three buildings to look around; 5 storey pagoda, Todai – Ji temple which has a large Vairocana Buddha made from cast bronze and plated with gold. As with many of the structures in Japan the building had been destroyed by fire twice. It is however still the largest wooden structure in the world.
The Daibutsu inside Todai-ji is the largest Buddha statue in Japan.
Kasuga Taisha shrine
Hiroshima
Continuing South, Hiroshima was my next destination. I only had one full day in the city which was a shame as
two would have meant I could have spent longer on the island to see everything
on offer and not have to rush and skip bits.Hiroshima is steep in history 8:15am, August 6th 1945 saw the first Atomic bomb drop on the city and near enough flattened it. Thousands died, those who survived suffered physical and psychological damage. Hiroshima now stands as the city who want a world of peace and the elimination of all nuclear weapons.
Map of the monuments around the area
Early morning start at the Peace Memorial Park, close by the hostel.
A Bomb Dome
The area is full of monuments to various groups of people (local and also Koreans) who lost their life. The A –Bomb Dome is a building that partly fell down but the main structure remained. Since then Japanese residents have renovated it twice and have agree that it should be preserved long term for future generations and tourists.
Other monuments visited included the Children's Peace Monument which is dedicated to all the children who died (wording taken from the sign in front of the monument). Inspired by Sadako Sasaki a girl aged two who was exposed to the radiation and ten years later developed leukaemia which she died from. Her class mates called for a monument for all children who died. It was built with contributions from more than 3,200 schools in Japan and donors from nine countries.
The nine metre monument features a bronze statue of a girl lifting a golden crane entrusted with dreams for a peaceful future. Figures of a boy and girl are located on the sides of the monument. The inscription reads “this is our cry. This is our prayer. For building peace in this world” On the surface of the bell hung inside the monument, the phrases “ A thousand paper cranes” and “peace on the Earth and in the Heavens” .
A collection of origami cranes which had been made by locals and later made into pictures and garlands to highlight the need for world peace.
The Atomic bomb memorial mound is the collection of ashes from tens of thousands of the victims collected and cremated from around the city.
Statue of a Prayer for Peace - The figure of a mother and a child.
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall
The monument in the centre depicts “8:15”, the time the A-Bomb was dropped toward the hypocentre. Around it lie A-bombed roof tiles and other objects unearthed from the hall
Inside the Hall of Remembrance - "The bombed cityscape seen from around the hypocentre is reflected in the wall surface with aprox 140,000 tiles which is the number of victims (as of Dec 1945)" Leaflet given at the memorial building.
The mushroom shaped smoke after the bomb was dropped
The Peace memorial museum close by
has graphic photos and items found near around the city. Clothing worn by
victims, roof titles and other structures some of which has black shadows on
where the intense heat from the fire had left marks on. Peoples outlines,
ladders, leaves. Glass bottles that had
fused together. A feature had been made on the
health issues that had been caused at the time of the bomb and for many years
afterwards.
President Obama had visited in May this
year to forge further relationships with Japan and had made four origami
cranes, the sign of peace which were on show in the museum. Local volunteers
were on hand to help visitors make their own to continue the peace message.
President Obama's version
View from the bridge
In the centre of the park there is a
cenotaph which has been designed to be able to see the everlasting flame and at
the end the A-bomb sight.
I had arrived for 8:30 and left
after 1pm which shows how interesting it is as I’m not one for looking round
museums.
Lunch was at a Raman restaurant. You select the food you
want, pay and then sit down. The food is then bought to your table (more like
an independent station). Eat quickly and leave so the next person can
sit down. In the small restaurant there were about 20 chairs. No
one talked and everyone slurped their way through. Locals ordered a rice
triangle to go with their Ramen (miso soup with noodles and
your selected toppings on). I had slow cooked pork and it also had quails eggs
and spring onion greens. Nothing special although I must be missing something since Ramen is huge in Japan.
After finishing lunch I continued walking through a
shopping area and eventually made my way out to Shukkeien garden (having walked past Hiroshima
castle). Several tourist attractions were using this time to repair or
decorate and the house in the garden was no exception that at trees being
pruned meant I spent less time than I would have liked in this location. The
garden had been designed as mini gardens. Each with their own theme. The guy
who had built the castle had had the garden built so he could look at it.
Miyajima Island. My
JR pass covered the train from Hiroshima station and the ferry across to the
island. By the time I got over there it was almost 4pm and Itsukushima Shrine a
UNESCO World Heritage site and the main attraction on the island was closing at
5pm. The shrine was initially built in 593 then rebuilt in 1168 to what is seen
today (twenty buildings over 280 metres). I had enough time to visit and take a
photo of the Tori in the sea.
Iconic Tori gate
Shop front
The backdrop was fantastic against the mainland
hills. I had been told by one local that you can spend all day on this island
walking or taking a cable car to the top of the hills as well as looking around
the traditional houses, shops and other temples. Apart from the temple I
managed to walk back through the shops and bought a Chinese steamed bun filled
with another local delicacy; Eel. Nice but the taste was not distinguishable
as Eel. Think it would be better to try
the Eel with rice which had originally been recommended. As at Nara deer were
on the island and signed prevented you feeding them.
I came back across on the ferry as the sun was setting.
After getting back to Hiroshima train station I walked back through the town
centre to see their version of Christmas lights including
A-bomb site which I thought was a thoughtful touch. President Obamas letter and
picture of his cranes also featured next to the A Bomb lights. 
Nagasaki
The journey was two hours and my most southern tipped destinations. The hostel was a catholic youth hostel and located next to Urakami Catherdal, itself a victim of the bomb where ¾ of its attendees had either died or been injured on the 9th August 1945 at 11:02am.
At 11:02 on August 9th 1945 an atomic bomb
exploded 500 metres above this spot. The black stone monolith to the right of
this plaque marks the hypocentre. The fierce blast wind, heat rays reaching
several thousand degrees and deadly radiation generated by the explosion
reduced the city centre to ruins.
About one third of Nagaski City was destroyed and 150,000
people killed or injured and it was said at the tie that this area would be
devoid of vegetation for 25 years. Now, the hypocentre remains as an
international peace park and a symbol of the aspiration of world harmony.
I spent the afternoon looking around the NagasakiAtomic bomb museum. Used discount card from the hostel so I only paid 100 Yen instead of 200
Yen, they want all
tourists to visit and therefore want it to be affordable as well as memorable.
The leaflet handed out stated “ we vow to covey the reality
of the atomic bomb damage to people both in Japan and abroad, to inform future
generations, to learn from history and to build a peaceful world free from
nuclear weapons”
Having visited Hiroshima museum the content was similar but
had been designed in a different way so those who have been to both still could
learn. It started with the present and went back in time to the fateful day it
happened. Survivor’s stories had included locals, Koreans and Australian POW.
Children and adults featured their stories. A display on research on medical
treatment into the radiation effects was interesting and it talked through the
different diseases and cancers that had happened to locals since the event.
Replica of the "fatman" bomb dropped
A room was also dedicated to the events leading up to why
the bomb was dropped, history of nuclear weapons development and the path to
peace. This included information on the UK’s prime minister part played and from
Einstein who had after the bomb went off signed a letter along with other scientists
that no future atomic bombs should go off due to the devastating effects.
Countries with nuclear warfare were highlighted and how Nagasaki is leading the
path for peace. 
Once again I had run out of time so would advise to go
earlier than 3:30 to ensure get round.
I had been recommended a
Chinese restaurant for dinner in order to try one of the two local dishes
Champon which is huge dish of noodles in soup topped with meat, seafood and
cabbage. The other was Saraudon which was white sauce instead of soup. 
I caught a tram down to Shinchi Chinatown and had a walk
around the local park and shops. This area is one of Japans top three china
towns and consist of aprox 250 metres of shops and restaurants. The most try
delicacy here was steamed buns with “katuni” Japanese stewed pork (part of the
local Shippoku banquet cuisine).
Available in every food shop and everyone is eating. Another local must try is Castella, Portuguese sponge cake introduced in the 16th century. Different flavours are available although I sampled the plain one.
Shrimp with mayonnaise
Available in every food shop and everyone is eating. Another local must try is Castella, Portuguese sponge cake introduced in the 16th century. Different flavours are available although I sampled the plain one.
Shrimp with mayonnaise
Crab meat in eggs
Next was a walk around the Chinese area of Nagasaki as historically the Chinese were allowed freedom throughout the city.
Whilst the Dutch (and later other nations) were confined to Dejima area. Later one of the Japanese warlords worried that smuggling would take place from the port and out of fear of the propagation of Christianity built a walled area for Chinese and they could only leave to attend temple. This later stopped and the area fell into disrepair. I visited a couple of the shrines and also local streets before walking further into Nagasaki and found the shopping street Naka-Dori (believed to have been in business around the 16th century. and its surrounding down by the river) . There were a few quirky junk shops, crystal shops and alternative clothes so I spent a good hour or so wandering around although no space in my bag meant I could not buy anything
Father Christmas running through the streets
Junk shop on the side of the river
Saki bottles
My day concluded with a walk down the river past the stone bridges where I stopped to watch a heron catching small Koi carp from the river. The highlight should have been a spectacle shaped bridge called Megane Bashi but I had misunderstood why it looked spectacles and failed to go to the waterside.
Dinner was from a local hole in the wall eatery - Beef rib meat and liver on sticks was a great highlight of the day.
I ate this with the left over Bento box I had bought that morning. The beef had been brushed with soy sauce whilst the liver had nothing more than a bit of salt and pepper on to add flavour.
On the way back to the hostel I found a travellator which
went up the hill. A quick way back to the hostel and
found myself at the top in Peace Park featuring a Peace Fountain
Fountain of Peace - As thousands of people suffered terrible burns and died begging for water the fountain is the living memory. The fountain sends up a sparkling spray of water in the shape of a pair of wings evoking the dove of peace and the crane after which Nagasaki harbour has been named because of its similarity to the shape of the harbour."
Peace statue of a man sitting signifying a powerful desire for peace. His right hand pointing to the sky symbolising the nuclear menace, the left hand outstretched for eternal peace whilst his eyes are slightly closed expressing a prayer asking that the souls of the victims may find rest. The history behind peace park was that it was said no grass or trees would be able to grow on the site for 75 years yet all ready this myth has been expelled. Across the way the Nagasaki National peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims was all lit up (70,000 lights) representing the number of victims as of December 1945.
Fountain of Peace - As thousands of people suffered terrible burns and died begging for water the fountain is the living memory. The fountain sends up a sparkling spray of water in the shape of a pair of wings evoking the dove of peace and the crane after which Nagasaki harbour has been named because of its similarity to the shape of the harbour."
Peace statue of a man sitting signifying a powerful desire for peace. His right hand pointing to the sky symbolising the nuclear menace, the left hand outstretched for eternal peace whilst his eyes are slightly closed expressing a prayer asking that the souls of the victims may find rest. The history behind peace park was that it was said no grass or trees would be able to grow on the site for 75 years yet all ready this myth has been expelled. Across the way the Nagasaki National peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims was all lit up (70,000 lights) representing the number of victims as of December 1945.
See Blog Pt 2 for Nagano -Snow Monkeys, Matsumoto, Mount Fuji and Yokohama