Category Archives: Nagasaki

Nagasaki, Saga

Nagasaki and Saga

A visit around the island of Kyushu in Japan is a trip not to be missed, and it is a journey that can easily be made by car if you have the opportunity to drive when visiting the land of the rising sun.
Nagasaki, located in the west corner of the island of Kyushu, is famous for the devastation of years gone by from the nuclear bomb that had been dropped on the city during the war; but it today is more famous for its stunning food, diverse people and culture and impressive history, with the city being one of the few places in Japan that foreigners were allowed to visit many hundreds of years ago.
Saga is perhaps the quietest prefecture within Kyushu, but it is also not to be missed with some stunning historic places to visit, such as one of Japan’s most famous three temples.
Nagasaki Saga
A trip to Nagasaki will likely start out with a flight into the airport. Note, that the airport is quite some distance away from the city centre (approximately 45 minutes drive), but there is ample opportunity to secure a hire car at the airport if necessary.
The Nagasaki city centre has dozens of impressive sights and sounds to see. Perhaps the most famous spot to drive to would be a visit to Mount Inasa, one of Japan’s most famous night views and an easy trek of a few kilometres to the top from the city centre.

Mount Inasa
Mount Inasa
While in the city centre, you should also take time to visit the Nagasaki Peace Park. There is plenty of parking available nearby and 20 minutes at this location is more than enough, unless you opt to visit the museum. From there, a short drive to Glover Garden makes for a pleasant visit, whilst you may decide to see Dejima (the only area at which foreign people could visit Japan) and also Kofukuji or Sofukuji temple.
Nagasaki and Saga are also famous for their onsen (hot spring baths), and the opportunity to try one should not be missed. Perhaps the area’s most famous onsen spot is Unzen or Ureshino, but places such as Obama on the Saga coast also provide plenty of options.
Places of note to visit (other than Takeo Onsen) include Sakura-mon, Takeo City Library and also the stunning 3000 year old tree next to the city library makes for a quick viewing opportunity.
From Takeo, the next port of call should be on the east coast of Nagasaki and Saga, to stop off at Yutoku Inari Shrine, a famous religious landmark in Japan. The Yutoku Inari Shrine is located very close to Kashima, which offers some dining options but perhaps the best place to eat would be a little further down the coast south of Kashima, where you can eat fresh seafood and in some places can even cook this yourself on a BBQ.
Yutoku Inari
Yutoku Inari
From Kashima, it’s only an hour or so in to Mount Unzen. This is a very famous active volcano in Japan but presents you with some of the best batheing opportunities in all of the country. If you have an opportunity, a quick drive to Unzen Jigoku (Unzen Hell) makes for an interesting – albeit smelly – experience!
Also keep a look out for the 16 famous fruit bus stops along the journey! Definitely a fun spot to take a picture or two.
Unzen_Fruit
Along the way there are plenty of spots to stay for the night, but Unzen does have some rather lovely hotels.
Finishing your trip at Unzen will also leave you only an hour or so out away from Nagasaki airport when it is time to return home.
Nagasaki and Saga are definitely worth visiting if you have a long trip to Japan and are also a pleasant drive, too.

Kumamoto, Nagasaki

From Kumamoto to Nagasaki prefecture by car

Having enjoyed a memorable stay in Kumamoto, it was time to head on to the next prefecture to the East and arguably my favourite prefecture in all of Kyushu; Nagasaki.

Driving around from Kumamoto to Nagasaki is possible; and there is a route through Saga. However one of the nicest ways to travel between these two prefectures is to make use of the ferry between both. There are multiple points at which to take the journey across and we chose to use the Ariake Ferry (telephone: 096-311-4100) which would take us right into Unzen of Nagasaki.

The drive up to Ariake Ferry is beautiful as well, particularly if you take the route through the mountains and come down on the other side – a stunning view of Nagasaki across the bay and Unzen can be seen before reaching the ferry port.

The ferry is quick and good fun – only taking 20 minutes approximately – and you can take your car on board.

Unzen is a beautiful small town located on Mount Unzen, known historically for being very volcanically activate. These days the volcano is deemed safe, but visitors still enjoy the onsen in the surrounding area.

Driving through Unzen is an experience in itself. There is “Unsen Jigoku hell”, which sends off smoke due to the incredibly hot ground on which the area rests.

If you have a chance, be sure to stay at a ryokan for a night. Some of these are old or expensive, but you can find the occasional bargain if you look hard enough.

The drive from Unzen to Nagasaki’s central areas takes about an hour and a half. Once in the city, the first port of call and arguably the most symbolic should be the A-Bomb Museum (telephone: 095-844-1231).

Kumamoto to Nagasaki
Kumamoto to Nagasaki

From there, you can walk quickly to the Nagasaki Peace Park, which has the world famous statue in the park.

Nagasaki Peace Memorial
Nagasaki Peace Memorial

One other famous place to visit along the way is the Megane Bridge, which is a very common spot for tourists to check out on their visit through the city.  The Megane Bridge is also about 10 minutes drive from Dejima, which is famous for being the only place where foreigners were originally allowed to visit in Japan.

Dejima
Dejima

Whilst in the Dejima area, see if you can find a nice Chinese restaurant for lunch – we found a great spot for Xiao Long Bao and then headed to our next port of call – Gunkanjima. Being an island, taking the car is not possible and you will need to take a passenger only ferry from Ohato.

Gunkanjima itself is one of the best places to visit in Japan. A very old island that was originally the largest coal mine in the country, eventually coal became less popular as more economically suitable and safer variants were used in Japan. Visiting this island is a real experience and well worth the expense – about $50

After returning to Gunkanjima, and if you have enough time, try and take a look at Kufukuji or Sofukuji; both beautiful temples in the prefecture. From there, you can then walk on to Chinatown.

Gunkanjima
Gunkanjima

To wrap up your trip, head to Mount Inasa and see the wonderful night view – it is a stunning way to finish your trip in this stunning prefecture.