Trip Report - JAPAN: Nagasaki and the Goto Islands (Dec 2024)

PART 2a: NAGASAKI CITY: Dec 24-25, 28-31 (6 nights total)

LODGING: Dormy Inn Premium Nagasaki Ekimae. Centrally sited near an Airport Bus stop and within walking distance of the train station. Rooms had good soundproofing and were slightly larger than most such Japanese hotels we have stayed at.

Dec 24 (Tue): Our plane left Tokyo Haneda Airport at 1:05pm and we arrived at our hotel in Nagasaki city at 4:30pm. After dinner at a nearby Okinawan restaurant (whose owner is a big fan of Japanese and American pro baseball) we rode a bus 10 minutes to catch the Nagasaki Ropeway ride to the top of Mt Inasa for the lovely view of the Nagasaki nighttime cityscape. Reputed to rank alongside Monaco and Shanghai among the top 3 city night views. We caught the 9:30pm return ropeway ride and were back in our hotel at 10pm.

Dec 25 (Wed) Sights visited: Focus on the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

Christmas is not a holiday in Japan, though it is heavily used in marketing goods and services (eg Christmas cakes to take home for dinner, special Christmas dinners offered by restaurants), and many commercial areas are festooned with Christmas decorations. For example, there was a huge artificial Xmas tree in the plaza in front of the shopping center at Nagasaki station.

Most sights related to the 1945 atom bombing of Nagasaki are located near each other in the northern part of the city. We left our hotel at 10:15am and after a short bus ride were at our first stop at 10:45am.

• Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum was quite crowded; I wish there had been timed entry. The displays were well done.
• Afterwards we walked to the nearby Peace Park, site of the bomb hypercenter and many statue/memorials received by the city as gifts (mostly from then-Eastern bloc or from Asian nations). After a picnic lunch we then walked to 2 other bomb-related sites:
• The tiny museum at the former home of Dr. Takashi Nagai, and
• Urakami Cathedral.
  

At 4:25pm we boarded a bus back to our hotel, arriving at 4:48pm. Later we had an excellent Christmas dinner at the afore described L’OASIS SAKAMOTO (ロアジス坂本).

PART 2b: NAGASAKI CITY: Dec 24-25, 28-31 (6 nights total)

Dec 28 (Sat) Sights visited: Glover Garden, Oura Church Museum, Gunkanjima Digiital Museum, Dutch Slope. All within walking distance of each other in southern Nagasaki city.

We walked to the TI at Nagasaki Station to buy 2 ¥500 Day Passes, which provided unlimited rides on one bus line and discounted entry to many sites; we caught a bus at 10am and were at our first site before 10:30am.

• Glover Garden. The grounds are on a slope; most people enter from the bottom and walk uphill. We started from the TOP after riding a public elevator up several stories to the upper gate; thus we strolled DOWNHILL. We joined a free (Japanese-language) 1 hour tour that started at the top gate, but one does not need to join a tour to learn the history of a Western businessman who settled in Nagasaki, married locally, and became wealthy.
• We next walked about 3 minutes to Oura Cathedral Museum. The museum provided a good overview of the “Hidden Christians.” (A movie set in that period is Silence, from the 1966 novel by Shusaku Endo.) (On another day we visited the 26 Martyrs Museum in another part of the city; it also provided good historical background of the “Hidden Christians”.)
• Upon leaving the Cathedral we walked downhill on the (mostly Japanese) touristy road leading from it and Glover Garden. Along the road we had delicious renowned Iwasaki steamed folded buns from the small Iwasaki shop.
• After a 4 minute walk we were at Gunkanjima Digital Museum. A real pleasant surprise, as we knew nothing of this now-vacant small island that had a large imported community to mine coal. Fascinating planned city; cutting-edge modern for the early 1900s.
• Next we walked along the preserved Western-style late-1800s era buildings of Dutch Slope. We briefly visited one that had a free museum describing its past role as a protestant Christian school.

By 4:45 the day’s sightseeing was complete.

Dec 29 (Sun) Sights visited: 26 Martyrs Museum, Dejima.

As on the previous day we bought Day Passes at the TI (though we could have just purchased enough for 2 days on that day). From the TI we then walked 15 minutes to our first site, arriving at 10am.

• The aforementioned 26 Martyrs Museum, which described the “Hidden Christians”. We left shortly after 11am and began walking to…
• … the Nagasaki Museum of History & Culture. Sadly, it was closed for the year-end holidays. Happily, a young girl gave us a cheery English greeting. During the walk we stopped at Kanzenji Buddhist Temple.
  
• We took a tram (though not covered by our Day Passes) about 10 minutes to Shinchi Chinatown and lunched at fukuju. As it was the last day it was open before the holidays, it was a 1 hour wait for a table. Afterwards we walked to...
• The reconstructed settlement on the artificial island of Dejima. The original was completed in 1638 for Portuguese traders but transferred to Dutch use in 1641 after the Portuguese were expelled from Japan. We walked about the streets and inside the buildings, peopled by staff in Tokugawa-era garb, for 3 hours, leaving shortly before it closed at 6pm.

PART 2c: NAGASAKI CITY: Dec 24-25, 28-31 (6 nights total)

Dec 30 (Mon). We had considered a day trip to the hot springs town of Unzen, but decided to instead stay in Nagasaki city and visit a few lower-priority sights. The day was mostly sunny and warm.

• Leaving our hotel at 9:30am, we walked 20 minutes to Dejima Wharf, which has various shops. Unfortunately, almost all were closed for the year-end holidays. So we went to a 7-11 store and picked up pastries and onigiri for a picnic breakfast in Nagasaki Seaside Park. Three stealth warships were visible moored at the shipyard across the waterway.
• We walked to the nearby Former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Nagasaki Branch Museum, spending 90 minutes viewing the exhibits. Fairly interesting; from the descriptions it seemed to be at least partly funded by the Chinese government. (The highlight of the men’s bathroom was that it had both western and traditional Japanese toilets.)
• After a quick tram ride we arrived at Megane Hashi (Eyeglasses Bridge). It looked cute and is worth seeing if one happens to be in that area. Near Megane Hashi is Nagasaki Omagari Neko Shrine (Curved-Tail Cat Shrine). A shrine that is more of a tiny store, with a description of how curved-tail cats dominate Nagasaki’s cat population (and several other places in Japan and other parts of Asia). A diverse selection of cat-themed items for sale.
• Lunch was at Yokohama Chinese Restaurant, which despite its name has no relation to the city of Yokohama. We waited 30 minutes for a table as the restaurant was about to close for the holidays, and most other restaurants were already closed.
• After lunch we walked 5 minutes to Sofukuji Buddhist Temple, established by Chinese and built in a Chinese style, a unique feature of many Nagasaki Buddhist temples. Following a 10 minute stroll we visited another Chinese-style temple, Kofukuji Buddhist Temple.

Dinner was at a restaurant in the shopping center at Nagasaki station, as most of their stores hadn’t closed for the holidays.

Dec 31 (Tue). In the morning we flew out of Nagasaki Airport.

PART 3a: SHINKAMIGOTO in the GOTO ISLANDS: Dec 26-27.

In the middle of our visit to Nagasaki we spent 2 days and 1 night in the Goto Islands, known for their history related to the “Hidden Christians”, and the site of a UNESCO-recognized Catholic Church. We arrived in Narao Port on the southern end of Nakadori Island (one of the 2 islands making up Shinkamigoto) and departed the following day from Arikawa Port up north.

Dec 26 (Thu).

We checked out of our hotel in Nagasaki city at 6:30am, taking only one small backpack each; the hotel kept our larger bags for us until our return on the 28th. We walked to the Nagasaki Ferry Terminal to catch the 7:40am hydrofoil, Pegasus. (We had reserved our seats on-line in Oct.) The ship reached our destination, Narao Port, at 9:50am after a brief stop at Fukui Port. To our surprise, instead of walking 10 minutes to the Toyota Rental Car office, when we disembarked there was a Toyota employee waiting to give us a ride.

At 10:10am we began our journey in a Toyota Yaris, which was larger than most cars we saw on the islands. Total drive time was about 2 hours. Most of the stops were small churches, all except one of which were open for visitors though most had no one inside. There were many more churches we didn’t visit. Our stops:

• Narao Ako Tree, a 670-old tree designated as a national monument.
• Kiri Church. The main attraction is the view of the sea.
• Fukumi Church. The only church we visited that was locked. Enroute we drove by Takaitabi Beach.
• Lunch: we drove over Wakamatsu Bridge to Wakamatsu Island, and had an outstanding lunch of sashimi and fish miso soup at simple Yushokukan restaurant on the waterfront of Wakamatsu Port. The seafood was fresh that day from the sea outside, and the quantity was generous.
• After lunch we stopped at nearby Ryukanzan Mountain Scenic Viewpoint, located along a hiking trail. We were the sole visitors. We then drove back over Wakamatsu Bridge to Nakadori Island.
• Nakanoura Church.
• Oso Church. One of our favorites and one of the few brick churches. Required a climb up a long stairwell, though there was a narrow lane available for cars if necessary.
• Yagatame Viewpoint. We visited from 3:45-4:05pm, too early for a view of the celebrated sunset. The wind was ferocious after one hiked the stairway up to the top, though we heard later that it was quite mild on this day. We were alone at first, but were joined by a Japanese couple in an RV.
• Hiyamizu Church. We had to park about 50 meters down the road and then climb a stairwell to reach this church.

At 4:30pm we arrived at our lodging, a rather traditional family-owned minshuku with the semi-French name La Mer Villa Uotake. Breakfast and dinner included. The set dinner was mostly fresh seafood, and so generous that we could not finish everything. During dinner the town loudspeaker made an announcement to the village children that it was time to consider going home.

PART 3b: SHINKAMIGOTO in the GOTO ISLANDS: Dec 26-27.

Dec 27 (Fri).

During the 7am breakfast (generous and delicious) the town loudspeaker announced that the day’s hydrofoil from Nagasaki city was cancelled due to high waves; the minshuku’s son assured us that our afternoon high-speed ferry back to Nagasaki city would not be cancelled as it was less sensitive to high seas than the hydrofoil.

We checked out and drove out at 8:45am; the day’s total drive time was just over 2 hours.

• Kashiragashima Church. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. The only church we visited that required advance registration and the only one that had staff supervising visitors. The most popular of the churches, the parking lot had been enlarged to accommodate buses, though we were the only visitors when we parked our car. A parishioner escorted us on the church visit, explaining its history. He reported that only ten members remained, all of whom were over the age of 80. After the church, the volunteer suggested we visit the preserved large traditional house next door. The house's caretaker explained that the house had been moved (by disassembling and reassembling) from a different location on the island when the former owner purchased it; this was a common practice in earlier times when it was less expensive than importing building materials by sea.
• Aosagaura Church.
• We then drove up and back on the single road leading up the rugged northern peninsula. The churches here were newer construction and unremarkable, and we visited only Chuchi Church. The views along the drive made it worthwhile.
• Lunch was at a relatively new restaurant owned by a long-time maker of local-style udon noodles: Toraya. The restaurant was on the 2nd floor of a new building, and had floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides with wonderful views of the sea; there was also an open-air balcony. Traditional noodle dishes were on the menu and were excellent. The 1st floor had a small bakery and a store selling Toraya products: noodles, baked goods, and sea salt. When we stopped in the store the woman working there – who we learned was the founder’s daughter – offered us a tour of the small salt producing facility next door. It was fun, and we bought some salt.
• Tainoura Church (old and new). After WW2 a brick bell tower that includes some bricks from Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki, which was destroyed by the atomic bomb, was built in front of the old Church.

After filling the gas tank we turned the car in at the Toyota Car Rental office in Arikawa; the staff gave us a short ride to Arikawa Port. We arrived at the ferry terminal just after 3pm.

Our hi-speed ferry (not hydrofoil) ride departed at 4:50pm and arrived at Nagasaki city at 6:09pm. Only about 25% of the seats were occupied. My partner had lost a treasured glove at the Nagasaki ferry terminal sometime when we caught the hydrofoil on the 26th. We happened upon a custodian; after hearing her description he brightened her day by pulling the errant glove out of his office and handing it to her.

We walked over to the Dormy Inn Premium Nagasaki Ekimae and checked back in, picking up the luggage that the hotel had safeguarded for us.

Wow -this is fantastic! There’s about 1000 things I need to look up on Google Maps and Google Images from your report! Thanks for posting!!!!

Loved reading this! I will go back again and reread. Today I just drove my second rental in the last week) from Toyota Rent a Car and was thinking that it’s my new favorite company.

I also lived in Japan for 8 years (ages ago) - but my reading is limited to hiragana and katakana for the most part. And have only been able to get back a few times in the last 35 years. Never to Nagasaki, so I enjoyed reading this!

Thanks Geoff, we head to Japan in the fall and Nagasaki is a port on our Viking cruise so this is helpful! We are also going to Hiroshima and I’m wondering if I can take seeing both bomb/peace memorials. Have you also been to the one in Hiroshima?

Have you also been to the one in Hiroshima?

Yes, in 2009 we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Peace Park as a family with our 2 (at that time) teenagers. During that stay we also boated out to Miyajima and spent one night, visiting Itsukushima Shrine. Was a good time.

If your time in Hiroshima and/or Nagasaki is limited, if it was me I would visit just one of the peace memorials and use the time to visit other sites.

Thanks Geoff, both places will be a port stop on our cruise. I’m assuming I should go to the Hiroshima one?

Thanks Geoff, both places will be a port stop on our cruise. I’m assuming I should go to the Hiroshima one?

All things being equal, I would choose the one in Hiroshima.
Having said that, if all things are not equal, then it also depends on your relative priorities for visiting alternative sites in each city. For example, if one prioritized a visit to Hiroshima Castle over a visit to (Nagasaki's) Dejima, then one could visit the atom bomb memorial museum in Nagasaki instead of the one in Hiroshima.