Nagasaki Things to Do

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You can get here on tram 1 from Nagasaki Station. Entry is 500 yen. Opening hours are from 8am to 6pm. We got here just before closing time and in the dark. There was no point in going in as we were too late so we just walked around the outside of the site.

Deijima was once an island and it was once the only part of Nagasaki where foreigners could stay. It was lived in by Duch traders.

It has been recently restored and looked really interesting as we peered in from outside!! It is definitely on my things to do next time list together with the cable car.

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Two streets away from the river where you can find Spectacles Bridge and running parallel to it is a street lined with many temples. The famous ones are Kofukuji Temple and Sofukuji Temple. Both of these are open from 8am to 5pm and charge an entry fee. There are also several free entry temples and little graveyards.

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To get here take tram number 5 to Nigiwabashi stop. Spectacles Bridge is the oldest stone arch bridge in Japan it dates from 1629. Its name comes from the fact that the bridge's two arches and their reflection look like spectacles.

This whole area is beautiful and well worth seeing as there are many stone bridgs, statues and temples around this area. Really beautiful.

This is within easy walking distance of Glover Gardens and Oura Cathedral or get here by taking tram 5 to Shiminbyoin-mae. We rushed this area as we were in a hurry and soon to run out of light. It is a steep hill with several wooden houses. Most were once the homes of Dutch merchants. If I make a future visit I would look around here at amore leisurely pace. There were some interesting buildings in the nearby area such as the former British consulate and the old customs house.

Oura Cathedral is next to one of the entrances to Glover Gardens. It is a catholic cathedral which was built in 1864 to serve the growing number of foreign merchants in the area. It is thought to be the oldest Christian church in Japan. It is open from 8am to 6pm and costs 300 yen.

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We got here by taking tram 1 in the direction of Shokakujishita from Nagasaki Station then exchanging to tram 5 at Tsuki Machi and getting off at Oura Tenshudoshita. Entry to the gardens costs 600 yen and the money was well worth it. We loved it and ended up spending around 3 hours here getting totally behind on our to-do list. The gardens themselves are beautifully laid out. There are spectacular views over Nagasaki Harbour. There are lots of houses that were once lived in by Nagasaki's foreign merchants and there is a museum of traditional performing arts.

We started off by taking the escalator to the top of the gardens and visiting the former Mitsubishi Dock House - this once provided accomodation for the crews of ships passing through Nagasaki. There was not much to see inside but the views from the balcony over the garden and harbour were lovely.

Strolling down we visited the former residence of the president of Nagasaki's District Court now a photo studio. Next was the house of a British business man Robert Neil Walker who established his Walker & Co Beverage company in Nagasaki in 1898. Next to Walker House is the Fountain of Prayers - a Christian memorial.

Continuing down from Walker House we passed the statues of Puccini who wrote Madame Butterfly and of opera singer Tamaki Miura who played the role of Madame Butterfly.

Next was the home of Frederick Ringer who came to Japan in 1864 and worked in a number of areas including tea trade and electric power generation.

Past Ringer house was the home of William Alt. In my opinion the most beautiful of all the houses. William Alt was prominent in the tea trade.

Nearby was the Steele Memorial School which was built in 1887.

Near the bottom of the hill is Glover House - the oldest western style wooden building in Japan - once home to Thomas Albert Glover. Glover was born in Scotland and came to Japan in 1859. He established the Glover trading company, married a Japanese woman and started the first Japanese beer brewing company, now Kirin beer.

At the very foot of the hill is the Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Museum.

I would strongly recommend a visit to these fascinating gardens.

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Ryoma (Sakamoto Ryôma Naonari) was a master swordsman when Admiral Commodore Perry came back to Japan to force its 'opening' with a fleet of warships.

In 1853, he witnessed the power of the U.S. Navy “black ships” under Commodore Matthew Perry and developed a zeal for expelling the foreigners. It's ironic that now that his home is a tourist attraction for Japanese and foreigners alike.

He fought on the side of the emperor hoping to expell the foreign influences from Japan... but things didn't go his way.

He was assassinated on his birthday at age 31.

Many movies have been made about him in Japan. He's kind of a folk hero today.

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This is today's rebuilt Urakami Cathedral was completely destoyed at 11:02 PM on August 9, 1945 by the detonation of an atomic bomb at 500 m (1640 ft). All the church goers at that time were vaporized by the resulting heat blast.

Only portions of the church remained standing and today are located at Nagasaki's Hypocenter Park and Nagasaki's Atomic Bomb Museum.

It's open 9AM - 5 PM. There is no entrance fee.

We were unable to take any pictures inside the church as it is prohibeted and more importantly,... guarded (by a guy who's main job is the probition of such photos).