When I first decided to come to Nagasaki, the main reason was because it was the second city in Japan that we used the atomic bomb on. I realized that barely anyone I knew had gone to their atomic bomb museum, but almost everyone had been to Hiroshima -- when most people think of the atomic bomb, they think of Hiroshima, not Nagasaki. Who can beat the classic picture of the A-bomb dome? In this way, Nagasaki is essentially the city victim to a "forgotten" atomic bomb despite the fact that the bomb (nicknamed "Fat Man") was more powerful than the one used in Hiroshima. Thursday, February 20, 2014
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
When I first decided to come to Nagasaki, the main reason was because it was the second city in Japan that we used the atomic bomb on. I realized that barely anyone I knew had gone to their atomic bomb museum, but almost everyone had been to Hiroshima -- when most people think of the atomic bomb, they think of Hiroshima, not Nagasaki. Who can beat the classic picture of the A-bomb dome? In this way, Nagasaki is essentially the city victim to a "forgotten" atomic bomb despite the fact that the bomb (nicknamed "Fat Man") was more powerful than the one used in Hiroshima. 
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Nagasaki - Japan's Isolation Period
All right, so remember how the Shogun was beginning to get antsy about Christianity? No? Well, go back and read my post then!
Monday, February 17, 2014
Nagasaki - The Suppression of Christianity
Nagasaki... probably one of my top cities, if not The Top City. I don't know if it was the fact it is on a harbor or its rich cultural heritage, but I toured the crap out of this place. I even visited multiple museums! I am not usually a museum person so this should say something. The people of Nagasaki are among the nicest I've met in Japan -- seriously, don't hesitate to ask them for directions.
One thing I picked up regarding traveling was to buy the one-day tram pass at a JR station (or hotel, supposedly). It cost 500 yen and provided unlimited travel for one day (or more... if you're unscrupulous).
One thing I picked up regarding traveling was to buy the one-day tram pass at a JR station (or hotel, supposedly). It cost 500 yen and provided unlimited travel for one day (or more... if you're unscrupulous).
I was originally going to divide Nagasaki up into multiple tours (as they were outlined in a tour book I bought), but I thought that it might be easier if I divide it into more of a linear historical way instead.
Let the games begin!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Hashima (端島)
Hashima, otherwise known as Gunkanjima (which translates into "Battleship Island" due to its similar appearance to a battleship), is an island currently uninhabitable by humans unless of course, you're Raoul Silva and planning to destroy the world in the James Bond movie Skyfall. Then the lack of water and electricity (maybe he used a generator?) wouldn't bother you. Despite the movie's trick into making you think it's not too far from Macau, it's actually right off the coast of Nagasaki.
I was able to get a see it via the tour company Gunkanjima Concierge and was even able to get on the island! Our tour guide was sure to wear a little construction (coal miner?) hat to complete the tour.
Hashima was purchased by the Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha to take advantage of its coal in 1890. As coal became the next big thing in energy production, the population of Hashima grew until had a population density greater than Tokyo. It was here that Japan's first reinforced concrete high-rise apartment buildings were built -- the concrete was used because the island had little protection from typhoons.
The above apartment building was for the rich people; each apartment had its own bathroom.
Coal mining was dangerous work... the miners (not to be confused with "minors") would ascend the stairway (seen below on the right) up to an elevator that contained no walls or roof. To get to the seabed coal reserves took them down 1,000 meters below sea level where they'd experience extreme temperatures and humidity in addition to the possibility of gas explosions. Controversy exists today because Mitsubishi forced Chinese and Korean laborers to work in the worst parts of mine and in general austere living conditions.
Returning from their work, they would wash in three different types of baths (two of which were salt water) in the brick building known as the General Office building. The bathtub was said to always be a pitch black from all the grime.
In the next photo, you can see the remains of the conveyor belt that would transport coal to the storage facility... it almost looks like a bunch of goal posts.
In the below photo, the white building is the quarantine building for patients with dysentery. The building immediately on the left is the hospital.
But what happened here? It actually had nothing to do with the atomic bomb.... it was simple economics. When Japan started to prefer oil to coal, the city was simply shut down in 1974. Though I do always love a good tragedy, I think it makes the island less creepy and more enjoyable.
Hashima was purchased by the Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha to take advantage of its coal in 1890. As coal became the next big thing in energy production, the population of Hashima grew until had a population density greater than Tokyo. It was here that Japan's first reinforced concrete high-rise apartment buildings were built -- the concrete was used because the island had little protection from typhoons.
The above apartment building was for the rich people; each apartment had its own bathroom.
Coal mining was dangerous work... the miners (not to be confused with "minors") would ascend the stairway (seen below on the right) up to an elevator that contained no walls or roof. To get to the seabed coal reserves took them down 1,000 meters below sea level where they'd experience extreme temperatures and humidity in addition to the possibility of gas explosions. Controversy exists today because Mitsubishi forced Chinese and Korean laborers to work in the worst parts of mine and in general austere living conditions.
Returning from their work, they would wash in three different types of baths (two of which were salt water) in the brick building known as the General Office building. The bathtub was said to always be a pitch black from all the grime.
In the next photo, you can see the remains of the conveyor belt that would transport coal to the storage facility... it almost looks like a bunch of goal posts.
In the below photo, the white building is the quarantine building for patients with dysentery. The building immediately on the left is the hospital.
But what happened here? It actually had nothing to do with the atomic bomb.... it was simple economics. When Japan started to prefer oil to coal, the city was simply shut down in 1974. Though I do always love a good tragedy, I think it makes the island less creepy and more enjoyable.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Nagasaki Lantern Festival
The Japanese are nothing if not punctual. If a train is coming at 11:41am then it is coming at 11:41am. If the Nagasaki Lantern Festival is over at 10pm, then you better believe that the lanterns will be off at 10pm. On. The. Dot.
I'm not joking about that… I was merrily taking photos of lanterns and then they just went dead. Off. Dark. I pulled out my phone and lo! It was 10pm. They don't mess around here, people. Because of a slight delay in my flight due to the Great Snow Fall (part 2) in Tokyo, I was only able to catch about 45 minutes of this amazing festival when they shut it down until next year.
Before I show off my average photography skills, I'll throw a little info your way regarding what the Nagasaki Lantern Festival even is. If you didn't realize it (and I didn't), Nagasaki is actually very close to the rest of Asia and was an excellent port for trade. As such, there are a lot of different cultural communities in Nagasaki -- Chinese being one (and is actually home to one of the three biggest Chinatowns in Japan with Yokohama and Kobe). Initially started by Chinese residents in Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown as a "Chinese New Year Celebration" (or Shunsetsu Festival), this festival has since grown in popularity and also in generic name ("Nagasaki Lantern Festival") since 1994.
Apparently, it is believed that the spirits can be seen flying through the sky and since people are nosy, they decided to use lanterns to ensure that they saw the aforementioned spirits. I don't know, seems kinda creepy.
Because of my tardiness, I missed most of the shows that were put on, but I was able to "be entranced" (as the pamphlet put it) by the 15,000 Chinese lanterns and even sneak a few photos of two of the main areas before they rudely decided I'd seen enough and turned off the lights. If you'll excuse the fact that I still haven't mastered lantern photography, enjoy the below!
This sorta made me think of Game of Thrones… but it was a prayer type place though I wasn't able to get to the bottom of all the pig heads.
You could get on this thing and take a photo, but I felt like too much of a dork asking some random stranger to take one of me.
Before I show off my average photography skills, I'll throw a little info your way regarding what the Nagasaki Lantern Festival even is. If you didn't realize it (and I didn't), Nagasaki is actually very close to the rest of Asia and was an excellent port for trade. As such, there are a lot of different cultural communities in Nagasaki -- Chinese being one (and is actually home to one of the three biggest Chinatowns in Japan with Yokohama and Kobe). Initially started by Chinese residents in Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown as a "Chinese New Year Celebration" (or Shunsetsu Festival), this festival has since grown in popularity and also in generic name ("Nagasaki Lantern Festival") since 1994.Apparently, it is believed that the spirits can be seen flying through the sky and since people are nosy, they decided to use lanterns to ensure that they saw the aforementioned spirits. I don't know, seems kinda creepy.
Because of my tardiness, I missed most of the shows that were put on, but I was able to "be entranced" (as the pamphlet put it) by the 15,000 Chinese lanterns and even sneak a few photos of two of the main areas before they rudely decided I'd seen enough and turned off the lights. If you'll excuse the fact that I still haven't mastered lantern photography, enjoy the below!
This sorta made me think of Game of Thrones… but it was a prayer type place though I wasn't able to get to the bottom of all the pig heads.
Year of the Horse!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Otaru Lantern Festival
Everyone (in Japan) knows about Sapporo's Snow Festival, but not as many people have been to Otaru's Lantern Festival. The city is located about 45 minutes by train outside of Sapporo and is worth the visit if you're there during Sapporo's festival. The city itself is known as the "Venice of Japan", because of a canal that runs along the coastline. At any rate, the city folk light up a bunch of candles to make their city oh-so-romantic. There are apparently two major sites, but I could not find the second one located in the area Temiyasen (apparently runs parallel to the Otaru Canal) which is a shame because I think that one was actually cooler. Instead I focused on the area right next to the canal known as the Unga Kaijo area. It's about a ten minute walk straight down the main street toward the ocean from the station.
The atmosphere from the candle lit frozen flowers, wax bowls with leaves, and snowball lanterns made for a very romantic setting. Just to drive home the point, many of their sculptures centered around hearts. If you were single, then you should probably leave this area feeling sad.
Ready? Set? Go!
Sapporo Art Park
Sapporo Art Park is an outdoor modern art park that was created to allow enjoyment of art in an outdoor setting. The park is truly meant to be enjoyed during the summer and spring, but the Japanese know never to miss out on an opportunity so they temporarily open it in the winter. It's free (normally it costs 600 yen) but the trick is you have to wear snowshoes. Additionally the usual warning of "don't rise to the work" (AKA - don't touch the statues) is null and void during the winter time.
Luckily there was an English pamphlet that instructed me on the correct application of the snowshoes. I thought I had it all figured out, but it turns out that I had no clue and was literally soaked when I was done because the snowshoes either didn't work or I was wearing them wrong.
Seeing the statues in the snow was actually pretty awesome, my favorite part being all the naked people enjoying their time in frigid outdoors.
Sapporo (札幌市)
All right, so there is quite a bit to do in Sapporo beyond staring at snow and ice sculptures. For one thing, we ate a lot of awesome food -- chief among which was known as Genghis Khan. Why would a food be named Genghis Khan you ask? Well it's certainly not after the Star Trek movie.
Sapporo Snow Festival
It's that time of year when Kelli must venture out into lands covered with God's frozen tears, so profuse that it sometimes hides bikes from their owners...
... and is used to create giant ice and snow sculptures, just for fun (and maybe some tourism). That place was Sapporo during their 65th annual Snow Festival (site is here). To quote their brochure, "Welcome to a world plaza that evokes a pristine snow fantasy."
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Fushimi-Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社)
This past weekend, my brother and I made a trip to Kyoto. Along the way, I finally got to see the thousand torii gate place, otherwise known as Fushimi Inari Taisha, otherwise known as the Shrine to Rice, otherwise known as the place in Memoirs of a Geisha.
Rice is pretty important in Japan, so naturally there's going to be a pretty awesome shrine dedicated to it. Apparently the Emperor himself comes out for a little rice festival in June. I mean, that's a big deal.
The messenger of this particular deity is the fox, sometimes depicted holding a key in its mouth for the rice storehouse or a sacred jewel that represents the spirit of the gods. Apparently the fox became associated with the shrine for one of two reasons:
1. A really attractive fox couple visited the shrine so frequently that they HAD to be messengers of the gods
2. A fox gave birth to a healthy litter, making the farmers and everyone see that the shrine was associated with healthy offspring --> healthy rice production
Either way, they stand guard at the front of the various torii gate passenges and look like they might kill you before they ever let you give it the message you wanted passed along. In a creepy note, apparently the Japanese believe they can possess you; I guess a popular route of entry is underneath the fingernails. Ewww.
I was pretty excited when I came to the first grouping of torii gates... the iconic image of the two paths, complete with perplexed Japanese man staring at us.
Each torii gate was donated by a business, and they would inscribe their names on it.
It wasn't that bad, but I definitely wasn't expecting a crazy hike upwards for 2 hours.
It gets a little sad when you finally make it up a flight of stairs, and then you're greeted with this...
More stairs. :(
Eventually we did make it to the top to take our congratulations photos.
Successful in our quest to summit Mount Inari, we then returned to the safety and comfort of Kyoto.
How to get there:
From Kyoto Station, take the JR Nara line towards Joyo and get off at the Inari Station (should be two stops). From the train station, walk across the street and you'll see the large torii gate.
Rice is pretty important in Japan, so naturally there's going to be a pretty awesome shrine dedicated to it. Apparently the Emperor himself comes out for a little rice festival in June. I mean, that's a big deal.
The messenger of this particular deity is the fox, sometimes depicted holding a key in its mouth for the rice storehouse or a sacred jewel that represents the spirit of the gods. Apparently the fox became associated with the shrine for one of two reasons:
1. A really attractive fox couple visited the shrine so frequently that they HAD to be messengers of the gods
2. A fox gave birth to a healthy litter, making the farmers and everyone see that the shrine was associated with healthy offspring --> healthy rice production
Either way, they stand guard at the front of the various torii gate passenges and look like they might kill you before they ever let you give it the message you wanted passed along. In a creepy note, apparently the Japanese believe they can possess you; I guess a popular route of entry is underneath the fingernails. Ewww.
I was pretty excited when I came to the first grouping of torii gates... the iconic image of the two paths, complete with perplexed Japanese man staring at us.
On to the best part, where where Joel and I realized that the shrine is actually a shrine on top of a mountain (233 meters above sea level). Sherpas and oxygen bottles were purchased, and I wondered how much life would change for us if we made it back down alive.
It wasn't that bad, but I definitely wasn't expecting a crazy hike upwards for 2 hours.
It gets a little sad when you finally make it up a flight of stairs, and then you're greeted with this...
More stairs. :(
Eventually we did make it to the top to take our congratulations photos.
Successful in our quest to summit Mount Inari, we then returned to the safety and comfort of Kyoto.
How to get there:
From Kyoto Station, take the JR Nara line towards Joyo and get off at the Inari Station (should be two stops). From the train station, walk across the street and you'll see the large torii gate.
Tsukiji Market (築地市場)
Ahh, this blog post represents probably the most effort I ever put toward seeing anything in Japan. Friends, I had to wake up at 3:30am just to catch Time Travel's #1 thing to do in Tokyo -- see the Tsukiji Fish Market. Well, specifically the tuna auction, which is the only reason you'd wake up at 3:30 to stand in line at 4am to wait until 5:30am and then be done with it all by 6am.
The tuna market is actually just a small piece of the entire wholesale market (the rest of which opens for non-fish-buying folk at 9am), but is the most iconic part of the market... and also the biggest pain in the ass.
The actual auction starts at two times, the first being at 5:25 and the second being around 5:55. BUT. Yes, there's a but. It's like one of those rap guy's girlfriends. BUT... You must be at the Fish Information Center (Kachidoki Gate) no later than 4am to get a spot as they only allow 120 people (60 each group) to go. Yeah...
The map below gives a rough idea of where the information center is, but I recommend getting there the night before to save yourself the possibility of getting lost, losing your spot, and making that sad discovery that you've been awake since 3:30 am for nothing. The red dot is the center, the purple one is part of the fish market.
Once we successfully grabbed our vests and sat around for 1.5 hours, we were ushered in a neat and orderly line to the center of the auction.
The magic, my friends, was not quite seen yours truly... we saw the huge tuna but we weren't allowed to get close to them. The buyers would taste the tuna flesh, jam it with their pointy sticks... there is no way to not make that last sentence weird.
I only saw one actual auction, but you can experience it yourself via this google translation from the very website itself:
After that, I tried some sushi at 6am... it was delicious. Apparently there are some awesome places actually inside the fish market but we never made it that far.
The rest of the market (or the "intermediate sellers market") was not open to visitors until 9am... and I made the unfortunate mistake of sleeping in until 10am and missed most of the action. From what I saw left over, there were quite a few interesting things... live octopus, squid, various fish. It was easily more entertaining than the tuna auction in my opinion. Another stolen photo gives you a good idea of that:
It was also a matter of life and death in there... if you weren't paying attention you could get run over by a death machine! I managed to escape with my life intact so that I could pass on this treasure to you.
How to Get There:
From Tokyo Station, take the Marunouchi Line toward Ogikubo and get off at Ginza Station (1 stop in between). At Ginza station, take the Hibiya Line towards Kitasenju and get off at Tsukiji Station. From there it's a 5 minute walk.
The tuna market is actually just a small piece of the entire wholesale market (the rest of which opens for non-fish-buying folk at 9am), but is the most iconic part of the market... and also the biggest pain in the ass.
The actual auction starts at two times, the first being at 5:25 and the second being around 5:55. BUT. Yes, there's a but. It's like one of those rap guy's girlfriends. BUT... You must be at the Fish Information Center (Kachidoki Gate) no later than 4am to get a spot as they only allow 120 people (60 each group) to go. Yeah...
The map below gives a rough idea of where the information center is, but I recommend getting there the night before to save yourself the possibility of getting lost, losing your spot, and making that sad discovery that you've been awake since 3:30 am for nothing. The red dot is the center, the purple one is part of the fish market.
Once we successfully grabbed our vests and sat around for 1.5 hours, we were ushered in a neat and orderly line to the center of the auction.
The magic, my friends, was not quite seen yours truly... we saw the huge tuna but we weren't allowed to get close to them. The buyers would taste the tuna flesh, jam it with their pointy sticks... there is no way to not make that last sentence weird.
I only saw one actual auction, but you can experience it yourself via this google translation from the very website itself:
This stolen photo gives you an idea about the tuna set up, though there were not nearly that many when I was there.At 5:30 a.m. the tuna auction starts. “How much do you bid?” The auctioneer of a wholesale firm asks in a loud voice. Answering this, a lot of middlemen and authorized buyers bid against each other. The tuna received on the day sell out rapidly.
After that, I tried some sushi at 6am... it was delicious. Apparently there are some awesome places actually inside the fish market but we never made it that far.
The rest of the market (or the "intermediate sellers market") was not open to visitors until 9am... and I made the unfortunate mistake of sleeping in until 10am and missed most of the action. From what I saw left over, there were quite a few interesting things... live octopus, squid, various fish. It was easily more entertaining than the tuna auction in my opinion. Another stolen photo gives you a good idea of that:
It was also a matter of life and death in there... if you weren't paying attention you could get run over by a death machine! I managed to escape with my life intact so that I could pass on this treasure to you.
How to Get There:
From Tokyo Station, take the Marunouchi Line toward Ogikubo and get off at Ginza Station (1 stop in between). At Ginza station, take the Hibiya Line towards Kitasenju and get off at Tsukiji Station. From there it's a 5 minute walk.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)