36 Hours in Nagasaki

We saved 36 hours in Nagasaki for the final stop of our Kyushu tour. We arrived at Nagasaki station in the afternoon, left our luggage at the hotel, and purchased a one-day tram pass at the visitor center. Four tram lines provide access to most areas of the city. We ended up walking most of the time since Nagasaki is fairly small. Although it’s convenient to have a pass, I recommend mapping out your plan. Unless you will be using the tram a lot, it may be cheaper to pay per trip.

Our first stop was the Teramachi area with a lot of temples and shrines. It is near Meganebashi (spectacles bridge), the most famous of the 17th century stone bridges across the Nakashima River. The bridge is named because the reflection of the double arches in the still river looks like a pair of spectacles. It was too windy when we were there, but it is still a nice walk along the river.

We visited Kofukuji Temple, the oldest Chinese established Buddhist temple in Japan. It was founded in 1620 and built by Ming Dynasty merchants as a place to pray for a safe voyage between Japan and China.

Next we walked to Nagasaki Shinchi Chūkagai, Japan’s oldest Chinatown and still one of the three largest today. We were excited to try the street food. The kakuni manju had meltingly tender braised pork belly that was mildly sweet with a good gingery kick. There was a good bun to meat ratio and my husband noted the softness of the steamed bun. It was lighter and less dense and chewy than the typical steamed bun. The Ebi Hatoshi was piping hot crisply fried shrimp toast. The shrimp were super plump and sweet and complimented with onion. We also tried banana milk from a bubble tea shop. It was full of fresh ripe banana pieces.

Next we took a tram to Heiwa Koen (Peace Park). Seibo Kitamura sculpted the Statue of Peace in 1955 as a symbol of hope and peace. The right hand is pointed to the danger of atomic weapons, the left is extended horizontally to represent peace, and the eyes are closed in prayer for the atomic bomb victims. The right leg is in a meditative pose while the left is ready to stand up and help the world. There are also many other statues and monuments to peace from around the world. In neighboring Hypocenter Park, a monolith marks the hypocenter of the atomic bomb that was exploded 500 meters above at 11:02 on August 9, 1945.

For dinner we ate Champon Noodles at a restaurant in Nagasaki station. The noodles are probably Nagasaki’s most famous local dish. The chewy noodles held up to the intensely porky broth. The hearty bowl was full of pork, ham, cabbage, carrots, onion, woodear and shitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, squid, sliced chikuwa (fish cake), and shrimp.

For dessert we picked up the two most popular varieties of Nagasaki Minami Yamate purin. The runner up was the original flavor. The consistency was between pudding, custard sauce, and purin. It was more creamy than eggy with subtle sweetness and a nice caramel sauce. I didn’t know what to expect from most popular “stained glass” purin, but it was really good. The soft purin was topped with a delicate soft set jelly and fruit.

Day Two

The next morning we took a boat tour to Hashima island, more commonly known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island). The seawall and concrete buildings of the former coal mining city give the island the appearance of a battleship from a distance. Gunkanjima closed in 1974. Today it is one of Nagasaki’s most popular tourist destinations.

I booked weeks in advance but several boat companies were already sold out. We ended up using a company that lacked the ability to support foreign tourists. Since I booked from outside Japan, the staff gave us special colored badges and spoke to us in very slow and loud Japanese with an occasional incomprehensible English word. Thankfully we understood the Japanese instructions. This was most concerning for important safety and logistics announcements. The English language brochure covered all the key points explained by the tour guides. Since I can’t vouch for the other companies I have decided not to recommend a specific company, but please book well in advance.

After returning to the Port, we walked to Dejima which translates to “Exit Island.” It was the center of limited exchange with Portuguese and Dutch traders during Japan’s isolationist period. Dejima is now an open air museum with interesting exhibits on life during closed Japan.

We had lunch at Attic Coffee 2nd with a nice view of the port. We ordered two lunch bowl sets, the braised pork rib and chicken with tartar sauce. The pork was our favorite with chopstick tender meat and a good balance of savory and sweet sauce that went well with the Japanese mustard.

We also tried a Nagasaki Milkshake, a blend of ice, vanilla, and either sugar and egg or condensed milk. It reminded my husband of homemade ice cream from his childhood. It reminded me of Carnation vanilla breakfast replacement drink from the 80s.

After lunch, we had a nice walk along the water and back inland along the very sleep Dutch Slope. We stumbled on Sky Road, a public elevator that goes to the upper entrance of Glover Garden. Glover Garden is an open air museum of historic Western buildings and beautiful gardens. There are escalators to provide easy navigation from the bottom entrance to the top, but we enjoyed starting at the top and making our way down all the paths.

We witnessed a flurry of activity as a group of school girls spotted one of the hidden heart rocks in Glover Garden. They explained that finding one of the hearts will make your love wish come true. Make sure to keep an eye out if you visit.

Next we went to the Nagasaki Ropeway by taxi. The lower station is on the grounds of the quiet Fuchi-Shrine. It was a short 5 minute ride in an a small overly crowded ropeway car up Mt. Inasa. I love ropeways in Japan, but this one was underwhelming. Some hotels provide free shuttles to the ropeway station, but if you are going by taxi you may as well go directly to the observation area. The view of the sea was beautiful and on a clear day you can see Gunkanjima.

The city view has been called one of Japan’s top three night views. The brochure says that it was named one of the top three views in the world and calls the experience “an unforgettable thrill with close friends and that special someone.” I’ve seen some unforgettable views in Japan and around the world. I thought it was a nice view, but it wasn’t nearly as fabulous as many of the other views I’ve experienced in Japan.

We couldn’t leave Nagasaki without trying Castella. The Portuguese in introduced the cake to Japan in the 16th Century. The Nagasaki specialty has evolved to suit Japanese tastes. The Castella from Fukusaya was excellent. It had a great crunch and burst of flavor from large raw sugar crystals at the bottom. Sadly it wasn’t the same when we brought it home as gifts since the sugar had dissolved into the cake. I recommend trying it when you visit Nagasaki.

See more of Nagasaki in our video:

Details

Nagasaki is about 2 hours from Tokyo by plane, or 7 hours by Shinkansen (bullet train) and limited express train. The Japan Rail pass covers the trip but not on the fastest express trains so it takes an extra hour.

We had a great stay at the relatively new Hilton Nagasaki. Check out our review of the hotel: