Samurai, beauty, history and horror of Nagasaki

Starting in Kumamoto Castle, home of the samurai, magnificent on the outside, sadly only in Japanese in the museum inside - then off via the ferry to Shimabara and another volcano and more greens to Nagasaki. The first city in Japan to open up to the West - initially the Portuguese bringing bread, guns and Christianity - then the only port open to external trade, nearest city to the Asian mainland and industrial powerhouse. Most famous now, of course, for the second atomic bomb on 9 August 1945. Fascinating layers of history in an absolutely stunning natural setting - kept imagining how it would have felt to arrive here in the 1500s for the first time, and how livable it is now.Read more