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Day 161 - 163 (12th August - 14th August)
After Osaka we took a train all the way south to the port city of Nagasaki. This should be a five hour journey but we managed to find a train which stopped at what seemed like every town and village in between and took nearly 7 hours….. a little frustrating.
Our first impression of Nagasaki was great as we took the tram from the train station to our hostel.. The city had a very different feel from the rest of Japan, in particular the trams giving the city a more European feel. Our hostel was found by one of the many rivers in Nagasaki. The river was lined by trees on either side and was crossed by twenty or so beautiful sixteenth century bridges. This made for a lovely walk along the river into Nagasaki town centre.
During the afternoon on our first day we took the tram north to visit the Nagasaki peace museum and A-bomb memorial. The museum was very informative and extremely moving. After this we walked to nearby A-bomb memorial. The memorial was created in 2003 and contains all the names of the people who lost their lives to the bomb. The memorial was a very somber and personal experience and one we will both remember for a long time.
The following day we took along walk down towards Nagasaki harbour to take in some of the many historical sites the city has to offer. As Nagasaki was the only city where foreigners were allowed to visit between 1650 and 1850 there is a rich and interesting history to the city. We visited the Dutch Dejima Island, this was a small man made Island where the Dutch traders were allowed to settle during this period, the Island is now a very interesting museum.
We also spent some time wandering through the streets of China town and trying some of the many food delicacies on offer. We finished our journey near an area called the Dutch slopes, where Westerners were allowed to live and settle after 1850. There is also a simple but pretty cathedral here which was particularly stands out as there it not what you expect to see in Japan.
That evening we went to a Sushi place recommended by our hostel and enjoyed one of the best meals we have had while traveling, it was fantastic. So much so we ended up eating our next two meals in the very same place. It's fair to say after this we were a little over Sushi-ed out but the food was so good!
During the time we were in Nagasaki a festival known as O-Bon was taking place, a celebration to welcome back the dead, it was nice to feel the build up; with distant sounds of firecrackers and fireworks, the building of straw boats that would be put into the river. It's a shame that we were leaving on the same day as the main procession.
Our final day in Nagasaki was somewhat rain affected but overall we had really enjoyed the city wish its unique mixture of history and tragedy.
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