October 14, 2025 • 22 mins
Tim joins David to make the case for Nagasaki as a must-add to Japan itineraries—especially while the yen is favorable. Beyond its solemn WWII history, the city blends European influence, scenic harbor views, island day trips, and incredible food. We cover the Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum, Dejima’s Dutch trading post, Glover Garden, a boat trip to Battleship Island, what to eat (castella and champon), where to stay (from boutique Portuguese-inspired hotels to brand-new design stays), plus nearby onsen culture and the perfect sunset finale from Mount Inasa.
Why listen:
• A practical “second-trip to Japan” alternative to Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka
• How to structure a respectful visit to the Peace Park and Museum
• Exactly where Nagasaki’s Dutch/Portuguese legacy shows up today
• What and where to eat, stay, and soak—without renting a car
What to see & do
- Nagasaki Peace Park: Begin here to understand the city’s history and commitment to peace. Pair it with the Atomic Bomb Museum for context.
- Dejima Island: Re-created streets and warehouses from Nagasaki’s Dutch-trade era.
- Oura Cathedral & Glover’s House: Rare historic church and hillside European mansions with harbor views.
- Battleship Island (Hashima): A guided boat trip to an eerie, abandoned mining island with UNESCO recognition and a Bond-film cameo.
- Mount Inasa Ropeway: Ride up at dusk for glittering harbor views.
Eat & drink
- Castella cake: Nagasaki’s signature Portuguese sponge cake.
- Champon noodles: Pork/seafood ramen unique to Nagasaki—try a local favorite near Dejima.
- Dejima Wharf & Izakaya alleys: Perfect for fresh sushi, sashimi, and casual small plates.
Where to stay
- Hotel Monterey Nagasaki: Boutique Portuguese-inspired stay with azulejo tiles and antiques.
- Glover’s House boutique hotel: A hillside retreat next to Glover Garden with breezy views and local character.
- Hotel Indigo Nagasaki: Stylish new property with architecture nodding to the city’s European heritage.
- Nearby onsen options: Obama Onsen on the coast, or Kagoshima (a Shinkansen ride away) for private in-room hot spring baths.
Responsible travel notes
- Be respectful at memorials; photography may be restricted.
- Support local businesses like castella bakeries and izakaya instead of big chains.
- At onsens: follow etiquette (rinse first, no suits, tattoos may need covering).
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:40):
Foreign Nagasaki is a mediumsized city on the southern island
of Kyushu in Japan.
And it is most famous orperhaps infamous for the atomic bomb
that exploded there during theSecond World War.
But there's so much more tothis city.
(01:01):
It's an international portthat for many centuries was the only
opening from Japan to theoutside world.
Some people say it's a sliceof Europe in Japan as it was founded
by the Portuguese and thendeveloped by the Dutch.
It is volcanic, it istropical, there are beautiful beaches.
(01:22):
Puccini famously set his operaMadame Butterfly here.
And there is an operaticquality to this place with a harbor
surrounded by big mountains,palm trees and islands.
David, we're talking aboutNagasaki this week.
How are you?
I'm doing great and I'mlooking forward to getting back to
Japan here on travel in 10this week.
(01:43):
It's, it's somewhere.
Both me and you have spent alot of time traveling around the
country and Japan is hot right now.
Right?
It's, it's, it's been a hugedestination for, certainly for the
past year, if not more.
Now where I know the, the yenis, is not doing quite as well against
the, the US dollar or the euroor the Canadian dollar.
(02:03):
So a lot of internationaltravelers making their way there
and I think often when they'remaking their way there, it's on the
main route.
It's Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, notas many people getting down to Nagasaki.
This is a little of a lesstraveled alternative.
So I'm looking forward tohearing your take on it because it
(02:24):
is.
Although I spent a ton of timein Japan, not somewhere that I have
been yet.
Yeah, no, and I would agreewholeheartedly with you that, you
know, if you've beenconsidering Japan for a while and
putting it off, now is thetime to go to Japan.
Because as you've said, theyen versus the dollar, very advantageous.
I mean, the first few times Iwent to Japan, I found it to be quite
(02:48):
an expensive destination.
Everything was expensivebecause of the exchange rate.
Now not so much.
And you can actually travelreasonably economically if you stay
in, you know, two, three starhotels, things like that.
And Nagasaki, I think really,you know, you're absolutely right
that it's, it's not one of theobvious places.
(03:10):
A lot of people on their firstvisit to this, to the country, to
Japan, you know, they stickwith Tokyo.
They might go to Osaka, Hiroshima.
I ended up there, not bychance, but I had, the first time
I went, I had one of theseJapanese rail passes where you have
unlimited travel within acertain span of Time I think I had
(03:32):
two weeks and I wouldliterally get on the train.
Sometimes get on the train inthe morning and just ride for a while
and then say, okay, this placelooks nice, and get off and spend
a couple days there.
Nagasaki.
I think I did actually plan togo because I love history and I studied
history and, and so I knewabout it from the World War II history.
(03:56):
And I think it was one of theplaces that most surprised me for
what it had beyond.
You know, I mean, The WorldWar II history is very interesting,
but the city itself is quite abeautiful place and really offers
a lot beyond the World War II history.
And so I was back justrecently on a cruise, so it was just
(04:17):
one day, but it was a pleasureto be back and see some corners of
the city that I hadn't visitedthe first time.
So very much looking forwardto chatting about Nagasaki.
Was that the, did you do theJR rail pass?
Is that how you were doing itwhen you were traveling around?
Yeah, exactly.
And for any of our listenerswho are considering a trip to Japan,
(04:38):
I would wholeheartedlyrecommend this pass.
I'm not sure if this is stillthe case, but when I had it, it was
a pass and I've done it twice.
At least that you could onlypurchase outside of Japan.
You could, and it is not forJapanese people, it is for visitors.
And the goal is to havevisitors come and see more of the
(05:00):
country and maybe to promotepeople getting outside of the big
cities.
And it is a very good deal.
I mean, if you use it,especially if you use it every day,
you, it'll be much, muchcheaper than actually purchasing
point to point tickets.
There are certain trains, youcan't use the most expensive trains,
(05:21):
but you can ride theShinkansen, you know, the Bullet
train.
And it is just a reallywonderful and liberating way to see
this, this amazing country.
Awesome way to travel.
I, I traveled up and downJapan on, on the Shinkansen a number
of times and just to see suchan easy, easy way of traveling.
(05:41):
Right?
And the, the rail system inevery corner of Japan is so well
developed that, you know, I, Ithink in 14 trips there, I've never
driven.
I mean, I've ridden in a taxior an Uber, but I've never rented
a car for sure and been ableto see huge portions of the country
without it.
So, yeah, a great way to getaround the country for sure.
The Japanese went, went reallybig on trains right after the Second
(06:03):
World War, especially whereNorth America really sunk a lot of
money into interstate highwaysand Cars.
The Japanese went big ontrains, and you can get almost anywhere
in the country.
I mean, even the tiniestlittle town, you can get there on
a train.
So.
And as a train guy.
Yeah.
Really appreciate that fact.
So.
Yeah.
(06:23):
Now, I know you said thatthere's a lot more obviously, than
the, The.
The Atomic Bomb Museum, butthat is really an essential piece
of understanding the city andsomething that, you know, I had a
chance to see the one down inHiroshima and the Peace park there.
I imagine this is.
This is fairly similar, but Imean, what was your experience there
at the Peace park and theAtomic Bomb Museum?
(06:45):
So I would definitely say whenyou first arrive, kind of do that
first, like, kind of not, notto get it out of the way, but you're
going to do it.
It's an emotional experienceand it's definitely worthwhile, and
I think it is essential tounderstanding the way that the city
(07:05):
is now.
So you'll.
It'll.
It'll stay with you as youcontinue to tour and see other parts
of the city.
There's a great museum therethat tells the stories of.
I think the, the mostaffecting stories are the individual
stories.
So, you know, they, they dohave, you know, a big map that shows
(07:26):
you, you know, exactly wherethe bomb dropped and the timing of
the bomb dropping and all thatkind of stuff.
But, But I think for me, thestories that I carried with me out
of that museum were theindividual stories.
You know, people who woke upthat morning and they thought it
was just another day.
(07:47):
You know, kids going toschool, people going to work, and
just the individual stories ofhow that that bomb changed everything.
There's recreations of theruins, including beautiful cathedral,
perhaps built by thePortuguese, and that brings it to
(08:08):
life as well.
And that's inside the museum.
And then you walk next door tothe Peace park, and it's a bright,
open outdoor space.
Lots of individual monuments,some sent by countries in commemoration
of different anniversaries,some dedicated to different groups
(08:30):
that were particularlydecimated during the bombing.
And then there is thisbeautiful statue at the end of a
man, and there's.
He's pointing at the sky.
And he's in a.
In a yoga pose, but he'spointing at the sky.
And the idea is that, youknow, always be aware that death
(08:52):
can fall from the sky.
And it's very affecting.
It's a very beautiful place.
And just out there in the openair, in nature, and, you know, in
a city that is so peaceful andso dynamic and so interesting, now
there is that almost thatcognitive dissonance between trying
to imagine what it was like onthat terrible, terrible day and what
(09:15):
it is now and how far we'vecome and, you know, no sense of.
And I've been to Hiroshima aswell, and I think in both places,
places, no sense of, of blame,but just the, the feeling, you know,
both, you know, the theme is,is peace.
And I think the idea is let'sjust make sure it doesn't happen
(09:37):
again, right?
Let's make sure that an atomicbomb never again is used on a human,
you know, population.
So, so that is definitely, youknow, that'll probably be a whole,
a whole morning.
But really an interestingplace to visit.
Is it?
I mean, this, this is also acity that, that has a lot going on
from a historical perspective.
(09:57):
This was, my understanding islike long before World War II, during,
you know, the period of timewhere Japan was really quite isolated
from the rest of the world.
This city was a bit of a gateway.
Right.
It's, it's where the, theDutch, the Portuguese influence is
very much seen in thearchitecture and the food and the
religion in the city as well.
Yes, absolutely.
(10:18):
And there's a couple sitesspecific to that that I would recommend.
One is called Dijima islandand it was once a separated island.
Now it has been connected withthe mainland.
And this was the Dutch portduring the Edo period, during those
(10:38):
two centuries when essentiallyNagasaki was the only place open
to the rest of the world.
And it's, it's, it'sinteresting to walk through because
they have recreatedessentially what was a city there.
So the Dutch would come, theseDutch traders, and they would live
(11:01):
there and they, you know,would have connections with Japanese
in the city and they wouldtrade back and forth, I think mostly
with this, what's now modernday Jakarta.
They called it Batavia at the time.
And you can walk through andsee what was it like to live there,
what were the homes like, whatwere the warehouses like, what were,
you know, and kind of squintyour eyes and just imagine, I love
(11:25):
to just imagine what it wouldhave looked like in those days.
So, yeah, so very, veryinteresting spot to visit.
And then another place that's,that's connected with the, the European
history is the Oro Cathedral,which very rare to see a historic
(11:47):
church like this in Japan.
One noteworthy thing is thatthe stained glass there was imported
from France and it is a veryhandsome building and definitely
worth seeing when you are in Nagasaki.
You're telling me a bit tooabout another place that I'd never
heard of before, Battleship Island.
(12:08):
Can you tell us A little bitmore about that.
Yeah, absolutely.
I loved Battleship Island.
I mean, it's, again, there's alittle bit of a difficult history
there, but so it was, it's anisland off of Nagasaki.
You can book a boat tour andgo and you will kind of sail around
the island and then you can doa walking tour on the island.
(12:30):
And it was the site ofundersea mines and eventually what
they were mining ran out.
I believe it was coal and itbecame abandoned.
And so you had what was athriving community.
You know, I think up to 5,000people worked and lived there.
(12:52):
There's apartment buildings,there were bowling alleys, there
were social clubs, there werebars and restaurants.
And then, you know, the, thecoal dried up and everybody left.
And now it's this like, weirdabandoned island.
The name Battleship islandcomes from the fact that it actually
looks like a battleship.
Just the way that the islandis shaped with the buildings and
(13:15):
everything, it looks like itcould be a battleship sailing through
the sea.
There is a little bit ofhistory there.
It has UNESCO World HeritageSite recognition.
Korean slave labor wasprobably used, almost definitely
used there.
So there is that difficulthistory, but very interesting to
(13:40):
visit.
One footnote is that in theBond film Skyfall, it was used as
the, the Bond villains layer.
So, and like, it's perfect for that.
Right?
It looks slightly evil,abandoned, but at the same time,
you know, really aninteresting history to experience.
(14:02):
So I, I, I loved my love myday on Battleship island, found it
was fascinating.
And when it comes to that sortof Dutch influence, Portuguese influence,
do you see that coming throughbeyond just the history, do you see
it a lot reflected in?
Like, I imagine it's reallyimpacted things like the food and
(14:23):
architecture, things like thatas well.
Yeah, you do.
I mean, you see, I believeit's called the Glover Mansion, which
is one of the most visitedsites and Nagasaki, and that was,
I believe, built by the, bythe Dutch.
And I know you had aPortuguese dish in terms of the cuisine
(14:44):
that, that you had heard wasworth trying.
My understanding, castellacakes are supposed to be kind of
a specialty in, in Nagasaki, aPortuguese sort of sponge cake.
And then you were talkingabout, we were talking earlier about
a noodle dish that, thatthey're really well known for as
well.
Yeah, exactly.
And again, I'm probably notgreat on the pronunciation here,
(15:07):
but I believe it's calledchampon and it's the most typical
Nagasaki dish and it is aChinese inspired dish.
So we're talking about a soupwith fried seafood or pork and there's
ramen noodles.
And of course ramen is verycommon in Japan, but it's a different
type of ramen noodle that are,that's made just for this dish.
(15:30):
And I, I did not try, I didnot try it at this place, but I heard
that IRO bishi, which is rightnear Dejima is definitely the best
place to try it.
And there's just a couple ofother really good.
You know, with any port city,especially in Japan, you're going
to get really great sushi,sashimi, you're going to get fresh
(15:52):
seafood.
So any of the restaurants onDejima wharf are going to get you
that beautiful taste of the sea.
And right near Dejima islandthere's a great little pocket of
Japanese style tapas places.
This wonderful tradition inJapan where you can just pull up
(16:12):
a chair at the counter, sittight shoulder to shoulder with the
people next to you.
If they speak English, you canhave a nice chat and they bring the
food out and it's like littletapas dishes.
So there's a great littlepocket of those right near Djuma.
So I would recommend that as well.
(16:33):
Nagasaki, beyond food, when itcomes to places to stay, any places
that jumped mine that werekind of great spots when you were
passing through?
Yeah.
So I mean there are lots ofbig four and five star hotels.
Nagasaki is a reasonably large city.
So you're going to find yourHilton, you're going to find your
Marriott, you're going to findother hotels like that, which are
(16:55):
always, always great.
Two that I would call out thatare not, you know, in the, in the
chains are Hotel Monterey,Nagasaki, which is a Portuguese style
hotel.
So it calls back to thatPortuguese history.
There's Portuguese antiques,there's those colorful tiles that
(17:16):
anyone who's been to Portugalwill be familiar with.
So that's part of theornamentation that they have within
the hotel.
And then one other one Iwanted to mention was Cetra Glover's
house, which is next to GloverGarden, which is, it's a historic
building, it's a small hotel,boutique hotel.
And it is up set up on thehill near the Glover house with these
(17:41):
beautiful views, nice breezes.
It can be quite hot and humidin Nagasaki, so beautiful breezes
and lots of charm.
The tram is five minutes away.
And my favorite part, free snacks.
So they have free snacks thatyou can enjoy and free drinks.
I'm not sure what the limitsare on those, but that definitely
is a nice little added featureand something that is a little bit
(18:04):
different from the big chains.
And what was that one called?
Tim, that last one, it'scalled Setra, so it's spelled S E
T R E Glover's house.
Okay.
And I'm just, I'm noticinghere just looking at another really
cool looking one on Gloverstreet, but brand new hotel called
Hotel Indigo Nagasaki thatlooks like it's very much that sort
of Portuguese influence on thearchitecture there.
(18:25):
Quite cool.
The other, the other thing Ialways loved when I was traveling
throughout Japan were the, theryokans and the, and the onsen hotels
as well.
I'm just reading about onehere called Obama Onsen.
That sounds interesting.
But now we're outside of Nagasaki.
Looks like a very cooloceanfront outdoor baths and Ryokan.
(18:46):
And Ryokan Yamotoya there,which, which looks very cool as well.
Yeah, I stayed at a, at anonsen resort in Kagoshima which is
right at the end of the lineon the Shinkansen and not too, too
far from Nagasaki.
And that was an amazing experience.
I mean I had a room thatactually had the hot spring water
(19:08):
piped in onto the balcony ofmy room so I could have my own private
hot spring there and verytraditional food and drink.
I actually had chicken sashimiwhich is a specialty in Kagoshima,
raw chicken.
And so maybe we'll have to doa whole episode on, on Kagoshima
(19:30):
and onsen culture.
And that's another veryfascinating thing that you can encounter
in Japan for sure.
And in Nagasaki.
Yeah.
Something that if you're goingto Japan you absolutely have to stay
in at least 1, 1 ryokan.
And even if you're staying ina lot of the western hotels have
kind of Japanese ryokan stylerooms usually as well that you can
(19:50):
find as well with the tatamimat floors.
And sometimes even in the bigchain hotels they'll have like a
sort of an onsen typeexperience within them as well.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
And you get a real sense of.
And a lot of hotels you canhave a Western style room which will
be, you know, your two doublebeds and whatever, a desk.
(20:13):
And then you can also stay ina Japanese style room which you know
is like as you've said, thetatami mats.
And so I definitely recommend,you know, I'm not a man who's very
good at sitting on the floorand things like that, but it is worth
spending at least one night ina Japanese style.
So.
Okay, any final, any campmisses or final tips that you would
(20:35):
give us for, for a trip toNagasaki, I.
Would just say at the end ofthe day, take the cable car up to
the top of Mount Inassa.
It is a beautiful view fromthe top of the mountain.
The city will be kind of atyour feet.
You can see the harbor and thesparkling lights all around the harbor.
(20:56):
And it's just a wonderful wayto end what's probably been quite
a busy day in Nagasaki.
So, yeah, that would be my recommendation.
Fantastic.
Well, thank you, Tim, as always.
Always great to get yourrecommendations on some new and undiscovered
places around the world.
I know you're off to the wildsof Alaska here shortly and looking
(21:20):
forward to hearing about thatsoon, too.
Absolutely.
Always a pleasure to chat withyou, David, and safe travels and
looking forward toreconnecting on new and exciting
destinations down the road.
Thanks.
Thanks, David.
Foreign Nagasaki is a mediumsized city on the southern island
of Kyushu in Japan.
And it is most famous orperhaps infamous for the atomic bomb
that exploded there during theSecond World War.
But there's so much more tothis city.
(01:01):
It's an international portthat for many centuries was the only
opening from Japan to theoutside world.
Some people say it's a sliceof Europe in Japan as it was founded
by the Portuguese and thendeveloped by the Dutch.
It is volcanic, it istropical, there are beautiful beaches.
(01:22):
Puccini famously set his operaMadame Butterfly here.
And there is an operaticquality to this place with a harbor
surrounded by big mountains,palm trees and islands.
David, we're talking aboutNagasaki this week.
How are you?
I'm doing great and I'mlooking forward to getting back to
Japan here on travel in 10this week.
(01:43):
It's, it's somewhere.
Both me and you have spent alot of time traveling around the
country and Japan is hot right now.
Right?
It's, it's, it's been a hugedestination for, certainly for the
past year, if not more.
Now where I know the, the yenis, is not doing quite as well against
the, the US dollar or the euroor the Canadian dollar.
(02:03):
So a lot of internationaltravelers making their way there
and I think often when they'remaking their way there, it's on the
main route.
It's Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, notas many people getting down to Nagasaki.
This is a little of a lesstraveled alternative.
So I'm looking forward tohearing your take on it because it
(02:24):
is.
Although I spent a ton of timein Japan, not somewhere that I have
been yet.
Yeah, no, and I would agreewholeheartedly with you that, you
know, if you've beenconsidering Japan for a while and
putting it off, now is thetime to go to Japan.
Because as you've said, theyen versus the dollar, very advantageous.
I mean, the first few times Iwent to Japan, I found it to be quite
(02:48):
an expensive destination.
Everything was expensivebecause of the exchange rate.
Now not so much.
And you can actually travelreasonably economically if you stay
in, you know, two, three starhotels, things like that.
And Nagasaki, I think really,you know, you're absolutely right
that it's, it's not one of theobvious places.
(03:10):
A lot of people on their firstvisit to this, to the country, to
Japan, you know, they stickwith Tokyo.
They might go to Osaka, Hiroshima.
I ended up there, not bychance, but I had, the first time
I went, I had one of theseJapanese rail passes where you have
unlimited travel within acertain span of Time I think I had
(03:32):
two weeks and I wouldliterally get on the train.
Sometimes get on the train inthe morning and just ride for a while
and then say, okay, this placelooks nice, and get off and spend
a couple days there.
Nagasaki.
I think I did actually plan togo because I love history and I studied
history and, and so I knewabout it from the World War II history.
(03:56):
And I think it was one of theplaces that most surprised me for
what it had beyond.
You know, I mean, The WorldWar II history is very interesting,
but the city itself is quite abeautiful place and really offers
a lot beyond the World War II history.
And so I was back justrecently on a cruise, so it was just
(04:17):
one day, but it was a pleasureto be back and see some corners of
the city that I hadn't visitedthe first time.
So very much looking forwardto chatting about Nagasaki.
Was that the, did you do theJR rail pass?
Is that how you were doing itwhen you were traveling around?
Yeah, exactly.
And for any of our listenerswho are considering a trip to Japan,
(04:38):
I would wholeheartedlyrecommend this pass.
I'm not sure if this is stillthe case, but when I had it, it was
a pass and I've done it twice.
At least that you could onlypurchase outside of Japan.
You could, and it is not forJapanese people, it is for visitors.
And the goal is to havevisitors come and see more of the
(05:00):
country and maybe to promotepeople getting outside of the big
cities.
And it is a very good deal.
I mean, if you use it,especially if you use it every day,
you, it'll be much, muchcheaper than actually purchasing
point to point tickets.
There are certain trains, youcan't use the most expensive trains,
(05:21):
but you can ride theShinkansen, you know, the Bullet
train.
And it is just a reallywonderful and liberating way to see
this, this amazing country.
Awesome way to travel.
I, I traveled up and downJapan on, on the Shinkansen a number
of times and just to see suchan easy, easy way of traveling.
(05:41):
Right?
And the, the rail system inevery corner of Japan is so well
developed that, you know, I, Ithink in 14 trips there, I've never
driven.
I mean, I've ridden in a taxior an Uber, but I've never rented
a car for sure and been ableto see huge portions of the country
without it.
So, yeah, a great way to getaround the country for sure.
The Japanese went, went reallybig on trains right after the Second
(06:03):
World War, especially whereNorth America really sunk a lot of
money into interstate highwaysand Cars.
The Japanese went big ontrains, and you can get almost anywhere
in the country.
I mean, even the tiniestlittle town, you can get there on
a train.
So.
And as a train guy.
Yeah.
Really appreciate that fact.
So.
Yeah.
(06:23):
Now, I know you said thatthere's a lot more obviously, than
the, The.
The Atomic Bomb Museum, butthat is really an essential piece
of understanding the city andsomething that, you know, I had a
chance to see the one down inHiroshima and the Peace park there.
I imagine this is.
This is fairly similar, but Imean, what was your experience there
at the Peace park and theAtomic Bomb Museum?
(06:45):
So I would definitely say whenyou first arrive, kind of do that
first, like, kind of not, notto get it out of the way, but you're
going to do it.
It's an emotional experienceand it's definitely worthwhile, and
I think it is essential tounderstanding the way that the city
(07:05):
is now.
So you'll.
It'll.
It'll stay with you as youcontinue to tour and see other parts
of the city.
There's a great museum therethat tells the stories of.
I think the, the mostaffecting stories are the individual
stories.
So, you know, they, they dohave, you know, a big map that shows
(07:26):
you, you know, exactly wherethe bomb dropped and the timing of
the bomb dropping and all thatkind of stuff.
But, But I think for me, thestories that I carried with me out
of that museum were theindividual stories.
You know, people who woke upthat morning and they thought it
was just another day.
(07:47):
You know, kids going toschool, people going to work, and
just the individual stories ofhow that that bomb changed everything.
There's recreations of theruins, including beautiful cathedral,
perhaps built by thePortuguese, and that brings it to
(08:08):
life as well.
And that's inside the museum.
And then you walk next door tothe Peace park, and it's a bright,
open outdoor space.
Lots of individual monuments,some sent by countries in commemoration
of different anniversaries,some dedicated to different groups
(08:30):
that were particularlydecimated during the bombing.
And then there is thisbeautiful statue at the end of a
man, and there's.
He's pointing at the sky.
And he's in a.
In a yoga pose, but he'spointing at the sky.
And the idea is that, youknow, always be aware that death
(08:52):
can fall from the sky.
And it's very affecting.
It's a very beautiful place.
And just out there in the openair, in nature, and, you know, in
a city that is so peaceful andso dynamic and so interesting, now
there is that almost thatcognitive dissonance between trying
to imagine what it was like onthat terrible, terrible day and what
(09:15):
it is now and how far we'vecome and, you know, no sense of.
And I've been to Hiroshima aswell, and I think in both places,
places, no sense of, of blame,but just the, the feeling, you know,
both, you know, the theme is,is peace.
And I think the idea is let'sjust make sure it doesn't happen
(09:37):
again, right?
Let's make sure that an atomicbomb never again is used on a human,
you know, population.
So, so that is definitely, youknow, that'll probably be a whole,
a whole morning.
But really an interestingplace to visit.
Is it?
I mean, this, this is also acity that, that has a lot going on
from a historical perspective.
(09:57):
This was, my understanding islike long before World War II, during,
you know, the period of timewhere Japan was really quite isolated
from the rest of the world.
This city was a bit of a gateway.
Right.
It's, it's where the, theDutch, the Portuguese influence is
very much seen in thearchitecture and the food and the
religion in the city as well.
Yes, absolutely.
(10:18):
And there's a couple sitesspecific to that that I would recommend.
One is called Dijima islandand it was once a separated island.
Now it has been connected withthe mainland.
And this was the Dutch portduring the Edo period, during those
(10:38):
two centuries when essentiallyNagasaki was the only place open
to the rest of the world.
And it's, it's, it'sinteresting to walk through because
they have recreatedessentially what was a city there.
So the Dutch would come, theseDutch traders, and they would live
(11:01):
there and they, you know,would have connections with Japanese
in the city and they wouldtrade back and forth, I think mostly
with this, what's now modernday Jakarta.
They called it Batavia at the time.
And you can walk through andsee what was it like to live there,
what were the homes like, whatwere the warehouses like, what were,
you know, and kind of squintyour eyes and just imagine, I love
(11:25):
to just imagine what it wouldhave looked like in those days.
So, yeah, so very, veryinteresting spot to visit.
And then another place that's,that's connected with the, the European
history is the Oro Cathedral,which very rare to see a historic
(11:47):
church like this in Japan.
One noteworthy thing is thatthe stained glass there was imported
from France and it is a veryhandsome building and definitely
worth seeing when you are in Nagasaki.
You're telling me a bit tooabout another place that I'd never
heard of before, Battleship Island.
(12:08):
Can you tell us A little bitmore about that.
Yeah, absolutely.
I loved Battleship Island.
I mean, it's, again, there's alittle bit of a difficult history
there, but so it was, it's anisland off of Nagasaki.
You can book a boat tour andgo and you will kind of sail around
the island and then you can doa walking tour on the island.
(12:30):
And it was the site ofundersea mines and eventually what
they were mining ran out.
I believe it was coal and itbecame abandoned.
And so you had what was athriving community.
You know, I think up to 5,000people worked and lived there.
(12:52):
There's apartment buildings,there were bowling alleys, there
were social clubs, there werebars and restaurants.
And then, you know, the, thecoal dried up and everybody left.
And now it's this like, weirdabandoned island.
The name Battleship islandcomes from the fact that it actually
looks like a battleship.
Just the way that the islandis shaped with the buildings and
(13:15):
everything, it looks like itcould be a battleship sailing through
the sea.
There is a little bit ofhistory there.
It has UNESCO World HeritageSite recognition.
Korean slave labor wasprobably used, almost definitely
used there.
So there is that difficulthistory, but very interesting to
(13:40):
visit.
One footnote is that in theBond film Skyfall, it was used as
the, the Bond villains layer.
So, and like, it's perfect for that.
Right?
It looks slightly evil,abandoned, but at the same time,
you know, really aninteresting history to experience.
(14:02):
So I, I, I loved my love myday on Battleship island, found it
was fascinating.
And when it comes to that sortof Dutch influence, Portuguese influence,
do you see that coming throughbeyond just the history, do you see
it a lot reflected in?
Like, I imagine it's reallyimpacted things like the food and
(14:23):
architecture, things like thatas well.
Yeah, you do.
I mean, you see, I believeit's called the Glover Mansion, which
is one of the most visitedsites and Nagasaki, and that was,
I believe, built by the, bythe Dutch.
And I know you had aPortuguese dish in terms of the cuisine
(14:44):
that, that you had heard wasworth trying.
My understanding, castellacakes are supposed to be kind of
a specialty in, in Nagasaki, aPortuguese sort of sponge cake.
And then you were talkingabout, we were talking earlier about
a noodle dish that, thatthey're really well known for as
well.
Yeah, exactly.
And again, I'm probably notgreat on the pronunciation here,
(15:07):
but I believe it's calledchampon and it's the most typical
Nagasaki dish and it is aChinese inspired dish.
So we're talking about a soupwith fried seafood or pork and there's
ramen noodles.
And of course ramen is verycommon in Japan, but it's a different
type of ramen noodle that are,that's made just for this dish.
(15:30):
And I, I did not try, I didnot try it at this place, but I heard
that IRO bishi, which is rightnear Dejima is definitely the best
place to try it.
And there's just a couple ofother really good.
You know, with any port city,especially in Japan, you're going
to get really great sushi,sashimi, you're going to get fresh
(15:52):
seafood.
So any of the restaurants onDejima wharf are going to get you
that beautiful taste of the sea.
And right near Dejima islandthere's a great little pocket of
Japanese style tapas places.
This wonderful tradition inJapan where you can just pull up
(16:12):
a chair at the counter, sittight shoulder to shoulder with the
people next to you.
If they speak English, you canhave a nice chat and they bring the
food out and it's like littletapas dishes.
So there's a great littlepocket of those right near Djuma.
So I would recommend that as well.
(16:33):
Nagasaki, beyond food, when itcomes to places to stay, any places
that jumped mine that werekind of great spots when you were
passing through?
Yeah.
So I mean there are lots ofbig four and five star hotels.
Nagasaki is a reasonably large city.
So you're going to find yourHilton, you're going to find your
Marriott, you're going to findother hotels like that, which are
(16:55):
always, always great.
Two that I would call out thatare not, you know, in the, in the
chains are Hotel Monterey,Nagasaki, which is a Portuguese style
hotel.
So it calls back to thatPortuguese history.
There's Portuguese antiques,there's those colorful tiles that
(17:16):
anyone who's been to Portugalwill be familiar with.
So that's part of theornamentation that they have within
the hotel.
And then one other one Iwanted to mention was Cetra Glover's
house, which is next to GloverGarden, which is, it's a historic
building, it's a small hotel,boutique hotel.
And it is up set up on thehill near the Glover house with these
(17:41):
beautiful views, nice breezes.
It can be quite hot and humidin Nagasaki, so beautiful breezes
and lots of charm.
The tram is five minutes away.
And my favorite part, free snacks.
So they have free snacks thatyou can enjoy and free drinks.
I'm not sure what the limitsare on those, but that definitely
is a nice little added featureand something that is a little bit
(18:04):
different from the big chains.
And what was that one called?
Tim, that last one, it'scalled Setra, so it's spelled S E
T R E Glover's house.
Okay.
And I'm just, I'm noticinghere just looking at another really
cool looking one on Gloverstreet, but brand new hotel called
Hotel Indigo Nagasaki thatlooks like it's very much that sort
of Portuguese influence on thearchitecture there.
(18:25):
Quite cool.
The other, the other thing Ialways loved when I was traveling
throughout Japan were the, theryokans and the, and the onsen hotels
as well.
I'm just reading about onehere called Obama Onsen.
That sounds interesting.
But now we're outside of Nagasaki.
Looks like a very cooloceanfront outdoor baths and Ryokan.
(18:46):
And Ryokan Yamotoya there,which, which looks very cool as well.
Yeah, I stayed at a, at anonsen resort in Kagoshima which is
right at the end of the lineon the Shinkansen and not too, too
far from Nagasaki.
And that was an amazing experience.
I mean I had a room thatactually had the hot spring water
(19:08):
piped in onto the balcony ofmy room so I could have my own private
hot spring there and verytraditional food and drink.
I actually had chicken sashimiwhich is a specialty in Kagoshima,
raw chicken.
And so maybe we'll have to doa whole episode on, on Kagoshima
(19:30):
and onsen culture.
And that's another veryfascinating thing that you can encounter
in Japan for sure.
And in Nagasaki.
Yeah.
Something that if you're goingto Japan you absolutely have to stay
in at least 1, 1 ryokan.
And even if you're staying ina lot of the western hotels have
kind of Japanese ryokan stylerooms usually as well that you can
(19:50):
find as well with the tatamimat floors.
And sometimes even in the bigchain hotels they'll have like a
sort of an onsen typeexperience within them as well.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
And you get a real sense of.
And a lot of hotels you canhave a Western style room which will
be, you know, your two doublebeds and whatever, a desk.
(20:13):
And then you can also stay ina Japanese style room which you know
is like as you've said, thetatami mats.
And so I definitely recommend,you know, I'm not a man who's very
good at sitting on the floorand things like that, but it is worth
spending at least one night ina Japanese style.
So.
Okay, any final, any campmisses or final tips that you would
(20:35):
give us for, for a trip toNagasaki, I.
Would just say at the end ofthe day, take the cable car up to
the top of Mount Inassa.
It is a beautiful view fromthe top of the mountain.
The city will be kind of atyour feet.
You can see the harbor and thesparkling lights all around the harbor.
(20:56):
And it's just a wonderful wayto end what's probably been quite
a busy day in Nagasaki.
So, yeah, that would be my recommendation.
Fantastic.
Well, thank you, Tim, as always.
Always great to get yourrecommendations on some new and undiscovered
places around the world.
I know you're off to the wildsof Alaska here shortly and looking
(21:20):
forward to hearing about thatsoon, too.
Absolutely.
Always a pleasure to chat withyou, David, and safe travels and
looking forward toreconnecting on new and exciting
destinations down the road.
Thanks.
Thanks, David.
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