Things to see and do
Though Nagasaki had already been around for some 1000 years, the city’s
first real claim to fame dates to the 1550s (and then, of course, to the
end of the war in August of 1945). In 1550 the first Portuguese ship arrived
in Nagasaki Harbor. In 1571, the Japanese government opened up the port
of Nagasaki to foreign trade to the Dutch and, to a lesser degree, Chinese.
The foreign traders were confined to tiny Dejima Island. For more than
200 years this was Japan’s only contact with the outside world.
What remains of the city’s experience with outsiders can be found
in Chinatown, a reconstructed Dejima, castella (pound cake), the
longer noses Nagasaki residents have supposedly been saddled with thanks
to their Dutch genes, and more.
Dejima
This former man-made island is now part of the mainland of the city
thanks to landfill. Dejima was a Dutch trading post to which the “hairy
barbarians” were confined—and ordinary Japanese prohibited
from entering—during Japan’s two hundred years of self-imposed
isolation from 1641 to 1854. The island was the source of Rangaku,
or Dutch learning, that became the basis of Japanese medicine and science.
Much of it is currently under construction now, but it is well worth seeing.
Dejima is a short walk from Chinatown.
The Siebold Memorial Museum is well worth a visit if you are interested
in the early history of foreigners in Japan. Philipp Franz von Siebold
was a German doctor who came to Japan with the Dutch and was resident
physician on Dejima from 1823 -1829. He did much to introduce western
medicine to Japan and introduce Japan to the west on his return to Europe.
Take a #3 streetcar for Hotarujaya from Nagasaki station and get off at
Shinnakagawamachi and then a short walk.
Chinatown
This is a smaller version of the Chinatowns in Kobe and Yokohama complete
with four ornate gates and packed with Chinese restaurants and shops.
Try Nagasaki’s most famous dish champon: noodles served with
shellfish, vegetables, and meat in a thick soup. (Champon reputedly
comes from the Chinese for “Have you eaten yet?”). Chinese
influence is not resticted to Chinatown alone. Sofukuji Temple
dating from 1629 is an interesting place to visit for its imitations of
Ming Dynasty architecture. Likewise Kofukuji Temple known as the
"Chinese Temple" was established by the city's Chinese residents in the
sixteenth century. Meganesbashi ("Spectacles Bridge")
is the oldest foreign style bridge in Japan and lies south of the main
station across the Nakajima River. The double arches of the stone bridge
resemble spectacles when reflected in the water.
The Nagasaki Lantern Festival is a must-see festival if you are in the area in late January and early February as the city celebrates Chinese New Year.
Oura Catholic Church
Oura Catholic Church is Japan's oldest Gothic church built for the foreign
community in the nineteenth century under the supervision of a French
missionary, Petit Jean. The church is on the way to Glover House and is
closely tied to the history of Japan's hidden Christians who were persecuted,
often martyred and forced into hiding by a government ban on Christianity.
In particular the church commemorates the martyrdom in 1597 of 26 Christians
- 20 Japanese and six foreigners - who were crucified in Nagasaki on the
orders of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Japan's military ruler at the time. The
site of the incident is Nishizakamachi - a short walk from Nagasaki station.
Urakami Cathedral
This fine brick building and reputedly the largest church in the East
is a replica of 1925 original destroyed by the atom bomb. You can still
see scorch marks on some of the restored statues near the front entrance.
Glover House
The inspiration for Puccini's Madame Butterfly, this mansion
was built in 1863 by Scottish merchant Thomas Glover. Glover came to Japan
at age 21 and never left. He worked in shipbuilding, coal, arms dealing
and brewing, ultimately being awarded the Second Class Order of the Rising
Sun. The house and grounds sit atop a hill that commands a view of the
entire city - and speak of a bygone era of fabulous luxury.
Peace Park
A trip to Nagasaki must include a ride out to Peace Park and the nearby
Museum dedicated to the events of August 8th, 1945. People traveling with
young children should exercise caution when going to the exhibits in the
Museum. In keeping with the magnitude and horror of the atomic bomb, many
of the photos and displays are quite gruesome.
Tourist information
Tourist information can be found at Nagasaki Prefectural Tourist Association:
095-826-9407 on the second floor of the Ken-ei bus station, and Nagasaki City Tourist Association: 095-823-3631. There is a tourist information office at Nagasaki Station 095 823 3631.
Day Trips from Nagasaki
Huis Ten Bosch
When noted Japan scholar and author Alex Kerr - then resident in Kyoto - was
asked to write an article for a Japanese magazine about a theme park in
rural Nagasaki Prefecture that is a reconstruction of Holland, he expected
the worst: another cheesy theme park full of group tours posing for pictures
with a lame character. After visiting Huis Ten Bosch, though, Kerr didn't
want to leave and return to modern Kyoto. In Kerr's eyes, Huis Ten Bosch
was everything that modern Japan was not: orderly, beautiful, quaint - perfect
to the last detail. The theme park is spacious and lovely, with exhibits,
decent restaurants, performances, brick buildings, cobblestone squares,
windmills, and thousands and thousands of tulips.
Access
Air There are connections to Tokyo, Osaka,
Kagoshima, Okinawa and other destinations. Nagasaki Airport is about 40km
from the city center and buses take about an hour from outside Nagasaki
Station.
Rail JR trains to Fukuoka for Shinkansen
connections, Kumamoto and Oita.
Bus
There are buses to Fukuoka and night services to Osaka
and Nagoya.
 Streetcars
Nagasaki is an easy city to get around thanks to its excellent system
of streetcars.
There are four lines, numbered 1-5 (#2 is missing) and each line is color-coded.
To reach Glover Garden take the #5 (yellow) for Ishibashi (pictured
right) and get off at OuraTenshudoshita.
To reach the A-Bomb Museum take streetcar #1 or #3 and get off
at Matsuyamachi. The streetcars run from 6.30am to 11pm. Check the stops
for last departure times.
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Japan City Guides: Nagasaki
Small
port city that was Japan’s window to the world.
