Nagasaki

As our JR pass that speeds us around Japan is quickly running out we decided to make our last stop on Kyushu island Nagasaki, a name I'm sure that everyone will know for all of the wrong reasons.

A goat in the city having a nap!

Nagasaki is chock full of history during Japan's period of isolation Nagasaki was one of the only areas in contact with the outside world, Nagasaki was one of the first areas of Japan to get Christian missionaries. Parts of Nagasaki are very pretty, there are hundreds of small temples, shrines and churches and dozens of small bridges that cross the numerous rivers and lots of interesting architecture. There are admittedly parts of Nagasaki that are not so easy on the eye (like the chemically factory thing behind the station) but just down the coast there are also some beautiful fishing villages.

The spectacles bridge, so named for its reflection

Nagasaki is tucked into the hills so there are lots of great views

Topiary like this appears frequently in peoples front gardens

We are still holding our for the blossom, things are starting to look good

So there is a lot more to Nagasaki than the Atomic Bomb but it is a huge part of its history so we spent our first day paying our respects at the Atomic bomb museum and Nagasaki Peace park. Having been to the museum at Hiroshima before I knew what to expect from the tales of devastation and suffering but watching and reading people tell their stories and seeing exhibits of what was left behind was still just as moving. There is a strong theme of promoting peace and nuclear disarmament at the museum and it is very hard to see how you could leave the museum and not sign the petition (we both did as the exhibits only reenforced our existing views but we still have the weapons so someone must disagree). We sat in the peace park and reflected while listening to the splashing of the fountain.

There are a number of sculptures in the peace park each with the idea of promoting peace

These origami cranes are so beautiful they make a brilliant counter to the sadness of the museum

After the peace park we spent the afternoon in Mister Donut eating sugary treats to renew our faith in mankind, how can a species that invented a strawberry flavoured Donut with strawberry cream in the middle be bad.