Chasing Cherry Blossoms, Old Friends & Uncle Jack

[Jacques Vert]

Next day we drove to Nagasaki. May be I have asked Miss Garmin to avoid the tollways once too often, because now it doesn’t seem to matter what I ask of her: she always takes me the scenic route taking twice as long as estimated.

This time it was certainly worth it:







This spiral on the climb over the mountains was interesting:

 

[Jacques Vert]

A few more along the way:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Sure was a pretty drive:

 

[Jacques Vert]

NAGASAKI

As I noted in post 135, it is hard to say what route Uncle Jack took from Omuta to Manila.

It is known that many, if not most, POWs traveled via Nagasaki and Okinawa, with the Australian POWs then heading to Manila where they boarded HMS Formidable for the voyage to Sydney.

So it is possible that Uncle Jack and his fellow prisoners passed through Nagasaki within ten days of the bombing. I wonder what they thought of it after all that they had been through and all that they had seen over the previous three and a half years.

We arrived early evening and checked into the ANA CP Gloverhill. Another fairly typical CP; not surprising given that all (most?) CPs in this country are owned or managed by ANA. Although not quite in the centre of town, the CP does have a tram stop almost at the front door so it is easy to get to anywhere. There is a one day pass available (you can buy it at most hotels) for 500 Yen.

I have to say that I already like Kyushu; this is a very pretty island and as there are many international flights from Fukuoka, including to Europe via Helsinki with Finnair, I can see this becoming a favourite way to Europe (presuming the seats are available).

Now for some photos:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next morning we headed to the Peace Park:







One hand points to the sky from where the bomb was dropped; the other is outstretched in a sign of peace.




A memorial to the large number of children who died in the bombing...




The Hypocentre:

 

[Jacques Vert]

We came across this fellow who was there at the time:









Although he spoke less English than I do Japanese (which is very little), we were fortunate enough to meet a Japanese girl who was willing to translate. We had an interesting, if brief, conversation about his experience and that of Uncle Jack.

Some of the remains of Urakami Cathedral, the largest church in Asia at that time:





This bit had been re-positioned to near the hypo-centre to allow a new cathedral to be built.

 

[Jacques Vert]

and the Atomic Bomb Museum:





A replica of "Fat Man":

 

[Jacques Vert]

Some more from the Atomic Bomb Museum:

 

[Jacques Vert]

The Cathedral, Asia's largest catholic church at the time.

Of course this is the replacement but parts of the original can be seen in museums and elsewhere:







This is the original north bell tower that has been left where it fell, as stated in the photo above, adjacent to the new church.

 

[GarrettM]

Confronting imagery JV. Thank you for posting them. Can I ask what it was like to experience in person?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Confronting imagery JV. Thank you for posting them. Can I ask what it was like to experience in person?

Hmmmm...Confronting, sobering, saddening, shocking; I'm not sure that words can describe what it is like to visit a place like this.

+1 made the comment that everybody should be made to visit this place. Impracticable yes, but a good idea nonetheless.

As I said above, I wonder what those who had been POWs thought when/if they passed by here? Did their years of mistreatment prepare them for what they saw, were they beyond being shocked?

No wonder that many of them never spoke of what they saw/experienced during those terrible times.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I forgot to mention that when we arrived in Nagasaki, we asked the lovely ladies at the CP for some suggestions for dinner.

Nagasaki has a healthy China Town called Shinchi and the ladies at the CP suggested we try there or another area a bit further away.

Coincidently, the Concierge at the Hilton Fukuoka had suggested the same establishment when we mentioned that we were heading to Nagasaki. So why not give it a go:







Was pretty tasty and good value as well.

And Sapporo is always good

 

[Jacques Vert]

After finishing our meal we walked towards the other area that had been suggested (Shianbashi). This is an area full of bars, restaurants, and people, and it has its more sleazy side as well.

By now you must realise that I am amused by J'English. +1 found these gems outside a Korean Yakitori restaurant along the way:











We just had to check it out and the food looked and smelt good so we made a booking for the following night:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Some more photos around Shianbashi:

 

[Jacques Vert]

More scenes from Nagasaki:




These two trees were thought to be dead after the bomb split their trunks:







But nature has a way of surprising us:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Back to the Korean restaurant. Couldn't read the menu but it helps when you have the options in front of you and you can just point at something that looks familiar:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Gunkanjima (Battleship Island)

The original name of this World Heritage site is Hashima Island, but it is not hard to see how it got its nickname:





Situated about 19km southwest of Nagasaki Harbour, this is a tiny island (480m x 160m) with a seabed coalmine. As the quantity of coal being extracted increased, so did the population.








At its peak, the population was 5,300 (nine times greater than the population density of Tokyo at the same time). In fact, we were told it had the highest population density on the planet. Services included a school, hospital and clubs. The first reinforced concrete high-rise apartment building in Japan was constructed here in 1916.

 

[Jacques Vert]

As power production moved from coal to oil, the population declined until the mine closed in 1974. Now mostly derelict, it is still a fascinating place to visit.















No, that's not an outhouse; it is the remains of a shrine.

 

[Jacques Vert]

To get here you take a ferry from Nagasaki; cost varies between various operators but is around Y4,000 per person. The ferry takes about 45 minutes to get there, same on the way back, and you get about an hour on the island.

There are some interesting views along the way:

 

[Jacques Vert]

You are restricted to a path around the outside with a guide (just as well because the rest is unsafe); the guide’s talk is all in Japanese but with the aid of a few photos, etc., it is still very informative.