Nagasaki: Day 1

During spring vacation, I left for Nagasaki for a few days. I woke up Tuesday morning and boarded the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Shin-Osaka station. I took my seat next to my travel buddy, Banshee. Seats on the bullet train are surprisingly comfortable. There is plenty of legroom and the chairs lean back A LOT. The train from Osaka was full, but as we made our way down to Kyushu (the Southern Island of Japan), it slowly emptied. By the time we reached Hakata, the train was almost empty. From Hakata, we took a Limited Express Train bound for Nagasaki. The Shinkansen to Hakata was 3 hours. The ltd. Ex. Train to Nagasaki was 2 hours. I mostly played games on my iphone and read my book to pass the time.



Our first task, at Nagasaki station, was to purchase the unlimited tram passes. For 500 yen (about $5), we could ride the trams around Nagasaki as much as we wanted.



We then took the tram to our hostel. The hostel was in an excellent location. Nagasaki is a wonderfully constructed town. Everything seems to be within walking distance. The tram passes were almost completely unnecessary, but they were cheap enough.

After settling into the hostel, we decided to walk around the city a bit. Our first stop (literally 5 minutes away) was Spectacles Bridge. It is the oldest stone bridge in Japan. I know, it’s not THAT cool, but it was really close.




Afterward, we wandered into Nagasaki’s Chinatown. Nagasaki has a very large Chinese population. We were disappointed to find that most of the stores were closed. We found out later that everything is open on the weekends. Weekdays are a dead time for them. We still managed to find a Chinese restaurant. I ate shredded beef and green peppers. It was yummy! I really miss American Chinese food.



After dinner, we walked through the shopping arcade back to the hostel. I ate some “Easter Party” flavored ice cream (tastes like cake), then we slept. We had a long day of remorse and sorrow ahead of us.