We left relatively early (7:40) to catch the train to Nagasaki. The ride was relatively short at around 77 minutes. As we arrived at Nagasaki, my first impressions were positive: it emitted a busy, yet not busy vibe. It felt to be a gentle bustling city.
Our first stop was to Dejima, the artificial island (though no longer an island) where the Dutch set up a trading post with the Japanese. There were many European styles buildings that were set up as exhibits. Essentially, it felt like a giant museum town. We wandered through most of the settlement, and stopped to listen to the various English audio guides they had around the place. I was never too fond of history, but they did an excellent job of portraying the main points about Dejima.
After Dejima, we ventured to a well known Chinese Restaurant for lunch. Nagasaki is known for Champon (the type of ramen we had yesterday) and a braised pork bun. We had to wait 30 minutes, but we were able to get both specialities. The Champon was good, though I have to say that I enjoyed the one at Ringer Hut more. The pork bun was pretty delicious, due to the softness of the braised pork and the freshness of the bun.
After lunch, we headed to Glover Garden, a Dutch styled garden. There wasn't a whole lot to see, making the admission price a bit steep in my opinion. The walk to Glover was pleasant though, with shops going up an incline. It wholly reminded me of the walk up Kiyomizudera in Kyoto.
After the gardens, we headed to the Nagasaki Peace Park. Compared to Hiroshima, it seemed a lot bigger. Perhaps I'm accustomed to Hiroshima, but the park did not evoke as strong of a feeling. What did evoke strong emotions was the museum. The museum housed artifacts from when the bomb was dropped. We saw objects like a burnt clock with the hands frozen at 11:02 - the time of detonation. We also saw many pictures of burnt corpses and people in despair. It really hit home the devastation of nuclear weapons.
After the museum, we went to visit the water fountain and statue that were dedicated to those who lost their lives during the bomb. After a full day, we took the train back to Saga. We grabbed dinner at a family restaurant before returning back to our hotel for the night. The family restaurant was an interesting experience, since we did not know how their system worked in terms of drinks. I've been to one before, but that was with my cousin, so she helped me with everything. All in all though, my meal was quite tasty, which vaguely reminded me of Denny's back home.
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