Today is another trip outside of Fukuoka. Nagasaki it is! Pris planned to visit Kumamoto actually but my Japanese friend told me to visit Nagasaki instead. The first reason was that Kumamoto is not safe at the moment, still have earthquake going on. The second one was because Nagasaki is the most beautiful city in Kyushu according to her.
For breakfast, I bought croissants from Il Forno Del Mignon. I tried their mentaiko croissant and I liked it. This time I bought all flavor! It was empty in the morning. Usually, they always had a lot of people lining up whenever I passed by, especially for chocolate croissant and sweet potato croissant.
We bought 2 tickets at the machine for 3800 yen but couldn’t enter the gate. The officer said we need to get the fare ticket as well. The one we bought was only limited express ticket. Since I didn’t know how to buy the fare ticket via machine, we went to counter. The person struggled to understand us and we tried so hard to explain. But he finally got the message! He changed the tickets and gave us the new one. 6180 yen for 2 people. Now, this is about right cost. We only paid the difference. I was wondering why it was so cheap when we received our first ticket from the machine.
Looked up at the sign for Kamome 7 (the train to Nagasaki) at 7.53am. It was at platform 4. We boarded the train. It was very cozy and comfortable. It has a unique floor pattern as well.
Arrived at Nagasaki, we went to information center and bought a day-pass tram ticket for 500 yen (adult) and 250 yen (children). Single trip for tram is 120 yen (adult) and 60 yen (children).
We followed the sign for ‘streetcar’. Across the fly-over and get down to the platform. Our first destination was the kimono rental place. The name is Kimono Hoppen. Located near Sianbashi tram station. Pris already made a reservation before via online and got the confirmation via email. The rental fee was 5420 yen per person. The hairdo was extra 1600 yen.
We chose kimono from their collection, then we put on the kimono with the help of the lady. There were only 2 persons working there when we came. I took the hairdo as well since my hair was not in proper shape lol. But I didn’t like the result of their hairdo though. After finished all, we needed to choose bag to match the kimono and to bring some stuff. We left our backpack in the shop and went out with a smaller bag.
There are a lot of temples around that area. A whole row of temples. We visited Sofukuji temple first and took some photos there.
On the way back to Kimono’s place, we stopped by at Daikoji temple and only took few photos since we already starving. Couldn’t climb another set of stairs..
We had lunch at Garan resto. The only restaurant in that area that was opened. I ordered Chicken katsu curry. It was not bad but not special as well. It was good enough to refill my empty stomach.
After lunch, we went back to Kimono Hoppen to return the kimono. We actually could rent it until 6 pm but we didn’t want to walk around the city with that! Very tight and hot as well, also it looked like gonna rain. Walking under the rain in kimono is not a good idea for holiday xD
We took tram to Oura Catholic church, stopped at ouratenshudo-shita station. Just followed the sign on the street until we saw an inclined road with many shops along the way, including the famous brand for kakuni manju (Nagasaki delicacy). At the end of that street, we saw Oura Catholic church.
Entrance fee is 600 yen. We got the English book. It is not allowed to take a photo inside the church. On the right side of the church, there is an exhibition inside an old building. Free of charge.
Continue walking to Glover garden. We didn’t enter because if we did we would not have enough time to go to other places. On the way back to tram station, we stopped by at souvenir shop and ate kakuni manju at Iwasaki Hompo shop. According to my Japanese friend, it is the best manju in Nagasaki. And it is! Pris loved it. I don’t like the bun though.
After filling up our tummy, we continued our trip. Next destination was atomic bomb museum. We took the tram and stopped at station number 20 (hamaguchi-machi). Again, we just followed the sign to museum. But we only saw Nagasaki National peace Memorial Hall and no sign of bomb museum. Apparently we need to go inside the gate of Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall first then on the left side, there is a pathway to go to atomic bomb museum.
We used the coin locker to put our bags away because it was too heavy. It costs 100 yen. And we got it back when we took out the bags! Worth it 😆
Entrance fee to atomic bomb museum is 200 yen. We needed to go down to B2 (ask the information lady if you can’t find the way). We bought the ticket from machine and just scan it on the gate. We are allowed to take photos but can’t use flash. It was a very interesting museum and made me cry.. The message (some might say propaganda but for me it’s pure message) is too deep. Especially when I read the testimonials from the survivors.. It is a must visit place in Nagasaki.
We planned to go to the memorial hall as well since we already there but canceled because we didn’t have enough time 😦 We needed to see Urakami Cathedral and it is closed at 5 pm. Although, we could take photos on the outside still. Urakami Cathedral was one of many building that got destroyed at the time of the bombing, and they rebuilt it. It was the biggest cathedral in Asia before the bombing.
Around 6 pm we rushed back to Nagasaki station. I wanted to go to Mount Inasa and seeing the night city view of Nagasaki which I heard very beautiful, but it was time for dinner and we need to catch up the train as well. In Nagasaki Station, we went to Amu Plaza, to the 5th floor. That’s where most of the restaurants are. We picked one of the Japanese Restaurant from Directory (and I forgot to note the name! but it was number 5 on the floor directory).
I ordered fried chicken (tori karaage) and it was delicious!! The price was a reasonable as well! Happy tummy 😀
After dinner, we went to ticket counter and bought a ticket for Hakata Station. It was 3090 yen per person. Easy and no more mistake made 😀
The Souvenir shop (next to entrance) was closed at 9.30pm. But the other shops around it were closed by 8 pm mostly. I bought castella cake from Fukusaya shop. There are a lot of castella cake brand but this Fukusaya was recommended by my Japanese friend who was growing up in Nagasaki. So it should be a valid recommendation! The cake can only last for a week though!
I found the kakuni manju shop as well at Nagasaki station. The same one as the one we found near Oura Church, Iwasaki Hompo. The seller was really nice. He explained to me that the manju can be taken around for 12 hours and can last for 1 month in freezer or 10 days in the refrigerator. I was thinking about my trip and decided not to buy it because it was not possible with my flight schedule and transit time. I’ve really appreciated that guy! He couldn’t speak English, yet he tried so hard to explain to me so that I didn’t waste my money, in case I don’t have enough time to get it in the freezer. Love Japanese people!
We sat down in the train back to Hakata and just rest for the day. I even fell asleep quite fast! From my experience in Nagasaki, it was not enough to go there for a day. You need at least 48 hours in Nagasaki to really enjoy the city and culture.
Ciao!
tastymonial 