Nagasaki (pop. 419,000) is one of the most well-known Japanese city for Westerners. That is where the first Europeans arrived in the 16th century, but also the only port that remained opened to foreign trade during Japan's two and a half centuries of seclusion. Finally, it is were the second atomic bomb was dropped by the United States on 9 August 1945, bringing the Second World War to an end (see Hiroshima).
History
The Portuguese came first in 1542 as their ship was blown off-course to Tanega-shima Island (in Northern Okinawa). St Francis Xavier came in 1560, along with other missionaries, to convert the Japanese to Christianity. The guns introduced by the Portuguese revolutionized warfare in Japan and led to an intense warring period which ended with the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Nagasaki experienced a small economic boom thanks to the trade with the Portuguese and Chinese. However, in 1587 the authorities came increasingly worried by the influence of Christianity and expelled the Jesuit missionaries from Japan. Christians were to be persecuted in the following decades, with the most famous examples being the crucifiction of 26 Christians (9 Catholic missionaries and 17 converts) in 1597, and the anihilation of the Christian uprising in Shimabara (Nagasaki prefecture) in 1637.
Christianity was officially banned in 1614. From 1637, all contact with foreigners was banned and Japanese were prohibited to travel abroad or faced execution if they returned to Japan. The Dutch and Chinese were the only foreigners allowed to trade with Japan during this long period of isolation known as sakoku (鎖国 or "closed country"), and they were limited to small enclave on Dejima Island in one of Nagasaki's districts.
Dutch books were permitted to enter the country again from 1720, and "Dutch knowledge" as it was called by the Japanese, influenced the scientific and artistic life of Nagasaki. The city re-opened completely to foreign trade in 1859.
Nagasaki subsequently prospered with shipbuilding, which made it a target for the atomic bomb in 1945. Ironically, the bomb fell a few kilometers north of the center, in one of Japan's most Christian district.
Sightseeing
Nowadays, Nagasaki is one of Kyushu's most interesting places to visit, thanks to its history, geographical location and foreign influence - as well Chinese as Western. Although its population is just under half a million, it can compare easily to other cosmopolitan port cities like Kobe and Yokohama.
Many visitors to Nagasaki come to learn more about or pay homage to the victims of the Atomic Bomb. A simple memorial reminds of the visitors of the site above which the bomb exploded. Next to it is the instructive A-bomb Museum (8:30am to 5pm, ￥200). North of the hypocenter site is the Peace Park with numerous commemorative sculptures from around the world, dominated by the Nagasaki Peace Statue. From behind the statue, one can see the reconstructed Urakami Cathedral, which was the largest Christian church in Asia when the A-bomb was dropped in 1945. South of the A-bomb Museum is the the Suwa-jinja Shrine, with its half stone torii left as a reminder of the A-bomb.
A few hundreds meters south of Nagasaki Station is the old Dutch district of Dejima. The settlement was an island from the 17th to 19th centuries, but has since become part of the city center due to land reclamation. Many of the original buildings have been reconstructed using authentic materials. On the other side of Dejima is Nagasaki's small China Town, a good place to sample the local culinary speciality "champon" (noodles with meat and seafood).
Just south of Chinatown, don't miss the Confucian Shrine (孔子廟, entry ￥500). It claims to be the only the only Confucian Shrine built by Chinese people for Chinese people outside China, and is on Chinese territory directly managed by the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. Originally constructed in 1893, it was entirely rebuilt after the A-bomb. The grounds used to host a primary school, which was demolished in 1982 and replaced by the Museum of Chinese History (same ticket as shrine). The museum has outstanding objects of all periods of Chinese history directly borrowed from top museums in China. Exhibits at the time of writing included a skull of the Peking man, first-rate Bronze-age objects, a gold crown of a Chinese emperor, world-renowned terracota soldiers from the ancient capital of Xi'an, the world's first seismometer, and 18th-century clocks made in Britain and China. The shrine itself is remarkable for its collection of white stone statues of Chinese sages. Each statue is unique, depicted with great details in postures and facial expressions.
The neighbouring hills of Higashi-Yamate to the East and Minami-Yamate to the South were settled by Westerners after the Meiji Restoration. Although dubbed "Dutch Slopes", its inhabitants were mainly British expatriates. The most famous of them was the Scottish entrepreneur Thomas Blake Glover (1838-1911), who has given his name to the Glover Garden of Minami-Yamate. The Garden commands magnificient views on the city and comprises 7 Western-style residences from the Meiji era. Admission to Glover Garden is ￥600 and includes the also interesting Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Museum. The white Oura Catholic Church is at the foot of the garden.
Immediately east of Nagasaki Station is the 26 martyrs memorial, dedicated to Christian missionaries and converts executed under the Tokugawa shogunate. Not far from there is the Fukusai-ji Temple, easily distinguishable from the big statue of Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, on top of the turtle-shaped temple. Other attractions include the Shofuku-ji, Sofuku-ji and Kofuku-ji temples.
The Dutch history of Nagasaki is still alive in the theme park Huis ten Bosch, one hour by train north of Nagasaki. It is a reconstruction of a Dutch town with plenty of tulips, romantic canals and beautiful brick architecture so rare in Japan.
How to get there
Nagasaki is isolated between two peninsulas at the Western edge of Kyushu. There are direct trains to Hakata/Fukuoka (2h, ￥2,700), but few other touristic destinations.
Most travellers will reach the city by air. JAL and ANA both have flights to Tokyo (Haneda), Nagoya and Osaka (Itami). ANA also flies to Okinawa.
Nagasaki Airport is 50min from the city centre by train (￥800)
