March 11
Since we were reentering Japan, we had another early morning for
immigration.
Today we were joined by Jim & Pam and Art & Gay (fun group) and our guide was
Maasaki (our 2nd crappy guide) He literally ran ahead of us and didn’t care if
we were behind him or not and even when we stood right next to him, we couldn’t hear him speak. One
time he jumped on the tram and didn’t even check to see if we were following.
It was crowded but we all squeezed in. He would stand and talk about something for
10 or 20 minutes and then wanted to leave without us actually looking at what was
there.
band greeting us
walking to the tram
not sure why this was on a porch of a store
On August 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m.: three days after the first atomic bomb
was dropped on Hiroshima, the second atomic bomb was dropped over the Urakami
district of Nagasaki. Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum covers the history of this
event in the accessible form of a story. It begins with the disastrous scene of
the attack and includes the events leading up to the dropping of the atomic
bomb, the reconstruction of Nagasaki up to the present day & the history of
nuclear weapons development. It was set up quite similarly to the one in
Hiroshima. Again, these are tough places to visit, but necessary.
walls that children decorated hoping for peace
In 2024, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, "for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons".
found in a house near Sanno Shinto Shrine about 800 meters from hypocenter the clock was shattered by the blast and its hands stopped at 11:02 - the moment of the explosion
for me, the photos of the deceased are the most powerful
The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb aka Fat Man
melted glass bottles
helmet with the remains of a skull
survivors had horrible burns
We then walked to Hypocenter (Ground Zero) and Peace Parks. Many
countries have donated statues to share in the hope of peace in the world. Again,
he wanted to talk about the statues but not go to look at them up close. We
could have easily seen them all if we had been given free time. We can read a
plaque to know where they came from. Instead, we saw a small sampling. It is a
sobering and serene park.
colors of the Olympics
ground level at the time of the atomic bombing
Urakami Cathedral Wall Remnant
origami cranes
Maasaki shared a photo he found when going through his parents' photos - he is in the photo by the cathedral
a simple, black monolith marks the explosion's epicenter
Atomic Bombing 50th Anniversary commemorative Projects Monument
"shelters dug at the foot of a hill were dark and musty, The shelter floor was always damp with drops of waterfalling from the ceilings. I felt that the candlelight was very bright. Immediately after the A-bombing, everyone in the shelter remained silent maybe because we were at a loss."
stairs to the Peace Fountain & Park (there are also escalators)
looking down the stairs
Peace Statue
these were on both sides of the Peace Statue
Maasaki wanted us to wait until after the cable car to have lunch which
would have been pretty late in the day, so we asked to go someplace close. He
seemed mystified as to where to take us. He said there wasn’t any “quality”
places close by. We said it didn’t need to be fancy. So, he took us to the
local mall and there was a short wait to get in. Jim & Pam came with us and
Jill & Chris went to Starbucks. (they don’t really eat off the ship).
Maasaki couldn’t tell us what the food was. (it was in Japanese, and we figured
he could read that) We all finally decided on a sweet and sour type dish with
these wagon wheel looking things in it that he told us was lotus root. It was
all quite good and turned out to be a good choice, it was just frustrating that
he wouldn’t help us with what we were ordering or in ordering it.
The Mall
The restaurant
a type of sweet and sour pork
Next, we were supposed to take taxis to get to the Mt. Inasayama Ropeway,
but Maasaki said we could walk it. (it took way too long and taxi’s would have
been the better call, but he didn’t give us the choice he just took off) This
was a nice stop and the view was clear. Ropeway is their translation of a cable
car/gondola. Again, like the museum we spent way too much time here, instead of taking in the view and
leaving so we could see the other stops we were supposed to have. We probably spent an hour up there which was way more time than needed to see the view.
we could see our ship and an NCL ship in port
inside the gondola - after you got out the attendant carefully checked that people didn't leave anything behind
Mt. Insa Summit Radio Tower
Art & Gay
leaving the station
We took a tram to Suwa Jinjya shrine situated on a forested hilltop and
reached via multiple staircases with nearly 200 steps, this enormous shrine was
established in 1625.
Suwa Jinjya shrine
an early cherry tree
Greg and Maasaki
Maasaki
meticulously keeping the gravel clean
After that we still had 2 places we were supposed to have visited. He
said they would take too long to get to. Poor time management skills aren’t desirable traits in guides.
He thought of a closer place to go so we went there. Once there, we
realized that it was the kind of place that should take a couple of hours to tour
appropriately.
Dejima National Historic Site is on a fan shaped island dedicated to the
Dutch. The Dutch were allowed to trade with Japan during the Edo period
(1603-1868) because they were perceived as less of a religious and political
threat than other Western powers, particularly the Portuguese and Spanish, who
were associated with Christianity and expansionism. It looked like an
interesting place, just no time to see it.
we ran to catch the tram
Dejima National Historic Site
sun dial
So, we take buses and trams to get back to the port. It was a long walk
to the ship, and he walked to the ship, and he went ahead and was on his way
back before he even knew we found the way. (unlike the Tokyo guide who waited
until he saw us get on the ship)
We stopped to watch the ceremony for the first cruise ship to visit
Nagasaki this year.
ceremony at the ship for first visit to Nagasaki
the captain spoke and they have gifts for Nagasaki
waving goodbye
views from the ship as we sailed away
magnet
So, we missed Sofukuji Temple and 26 Martyrs Hill & museum. Given a
choice we may have skipped the lookout stop. We all agreed that we saw the most important things.
Tonight’s entertainment was also someone we had seen on Princess. Syan the
Balloon World Performance Champion. (not one of our favorites)
Nagasaki, Japan https://photos.app.goo.gl/GdVzLc2L6JFoPrrA9
Tomorrow, we visit Kagoshima.
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