Megane

I had visited Nagasaki for the first time in 2014 and it struck me as a really laidback city. It has a really welcoming atmosphere and if you mention you are from Oranda you've made instant friends. The Dutch were one of the first (and for over 200 years the only) counties do to trade from an isolated island in Nagasaki. The weather forecast predicted rain in the morning and dryer weather in the afternoon so i had a nice long sleep and took a train late in the morning from Fukuoka. There were some things i hadn't been able to visit in 2014 due to lack of time and i was determined to do them this time around and i figured since it were some smaller attractions i could squeeze them in one afternoon.
First up was Clover Gardens, the former residence of Thomas Glover, one of the first traders/merchants to come to Japan after the end of the 200 year seclusion of the country. He was of key influence of the industrialisation of Japan in the Meiji period. After looking around for the entrance for a while i finally found an elevator(!) that would take me to the entrance of the gardens. The Clover gardens are a collection of houses from that period that give a real nice feel of life in that period of time. Each house can be entered and information about it's history is given in both Japanese and English. Luckily the rain had subsided and so I had a pleasant walk while learning something about Nagasaki's history. Highlight of the gardens is Thomas Glovers house where a lot of authentic items are on display and you can learn about how he and his wife lived there.
Next up was Oura church which was only a 10 minute walk away. Now the Portuguese had tried to spread Christianity through Japan some 200 years ago before they were kicked out for that very reason. The Japanese people who converted to Christianity had been prosecuted and murdered by the shogunate at the time. The end of the Japanese seclusion however saw the influx of westerners and their religions again. And so many churches were built, the first being Oura church in Nagasaki. I've have seen many many churches in my life and normally i'm not very keen on entering one anymore. But this was one i had to visit. It has all the things you'd expect from a church, including the stained windows. The only exception being that there was a box that you had to throw 100 yen in before praying, just like in the temples and shrines here. :-) I had seen enough and headed towards the hostel. It was only slightly raining so i decided to walk the distance and do some people watching in the big shopping arcade. Just before getting to the hostel i made a smal detour to see the Megane bridge. In English this is called the glasses bridge. ("Megane" literally means "eye make") It's one of the older and more scenic bridges and makes for a nice picture. It was a short walk to the hostel from there and after check-in and a shower I went back out for some Champon, a Chinese noodle dish with pork that is only served in Japan. :-P
Back in the hostel i met up with Mark from Holland (finally another Dutchie) who was hitchhiking and camping his way through Japan. Really fascinating and inspiring to hear his views on traveling through Japan. After that it was time for bed. Tomorrow is going to be a Dutch day!Read more