Nagasaki and Sea Scapes

Kofukuji Temple

Upon our arrival in Nagasaki, we went through immigration.  Bureaucratic immigration procedures have been a pain throughoutthe Far East, and but we showed the proper stamp on the copies of our passports and we're ushered through.   We proceeded to the tourist information desk to see if there was an attraction that might be possible for Dwight with his walker.  The agent suggested a Buddhist temple she said was very flat. So we hired a taxi and went. Oops.  Not flat. Obstacles everywhere.  It's amazing how much people take their mobility for granted...me included. Anyway, the sun was out for a change and Dwight was able to sit in the sun in courtyard on  his walker while I made a quick visit. It was a deserted, lovely site.

After a short visit, we took a taxi to the shopping arcade looking for a Japanese restaurant the tourist official had suggested. She scored 100 on that one. We chose table and chairs over sitting on the floor and enjoyed a nice lunch with the natives.  We then hired a taxi to take us on a short tour.

First stop was the Peace Park.

Statue to Peace in Nagasaki

It was rather depressing to see another park dedicated to US atomic destruction in WWII.  We then had the taxi driver taketak to a final site, an old Christian Church. Nagasaki occupies a spot of land which has until fairly recently only been accessible by sea and in the past it was occupied by the Dutch and other Europeans.

All in all we would miss Japan.  Everything there was orderly and clean -- drivers stuck to their lanes and didn't honk their horns, and there was no trash on the street. People were helpful and polite.  We surmised that things might be different in China.

The next day was finally the "Ahh" day at sea I had been waiting for. Sleep late, read, wander around, and give body and mind a chance to absorb the sights and sounds of the last few days.  Although still too cold to enjoy the outdoors, the sea is very calming.