Nagasaki

We were up at 7am just in time to see the ship dock. Another dull and damp day. We left the ship at 9am and bought an all day tram pass for 500 yen. After getting some directions from the tourist information desk we caught the tram to the Peace Park. The park was crowded with school children and tour groups from the ship. The park features sculptures and a fountain that depicts butterfly wings. It is all aimed at promoting peace and making sure that nuclear weapons are never used again. Nearby is another park which was the epicentre of the Atomic Bomb. They have re-erected part of the wall of a church that was destroyed in the blast. Next we went to the Atomic Bomb Museum. A very well done and moving display of the destruction and misery that nuclear weapons and war in general inflict on ordinary people. It is hard to believe that out of a population of 240,000 around 73,000 were killed or injured and about 70% were women, children or elderly. We caught the tram back to Nagasaki Station and had lunch at a sushi train restaurant. We were made very welcome with hot towels and trays to put our bags on instead of the floor. Between each setting was a tap dispensing hot water, soy sauce, chopsticks and green tea powder. We really enjoyed our meal and at $12 for two, it was great value. After lunch we wandered around the shops and then caught the tram back to the ship. We had to change trams to go the last 2 stops, but there were so many people waiting we decided to walk. The rain was quite steady at this stage. Back at the cruise terminal we did a survey for the Nagasaki tourist organisations and we were given a gift in return. The sail-away was entertaining again with a school band performing. We gave the show a miss tonight and sat in the Ocean Bar and listened to the trio instead.Okumaya devam et