What to do in Nagasaki

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum provides a very sobering and tragic account of the city’s horrific exposure to an atomic bomb, one of the world’s worst weapons of mass destruction. When the bomb, named the Fat Man, released all of its power 1,640 feet (500 meters) above the city, about 70,000 individuals instantly perished and another 70,000 later died from its effects. Visit the museum’s somber displays to face the grim realities that occurred in Nagasaki on a summer morning on August 9, 1945.

A trip to the top of this hill finds Nagasaki’s Glover Garden and its superb panoramic views of the busy city and harbor. The garden also provides a look back to the time when the area began to be industrialized. You’ll find nine spacious residences including some that belonged to Western industrialists who first came to Japan in the mid to late 19th century at the end of the Edo period. Find Glover Mansion, the original building on this site and also the country’s oldest Western-style residence.

After about a 50-minute boat ride from Nagasaki on Japan’s southern coast, you will arrive at Hashima Island. There are no residents here to talk to and nothing to buy. Just walk among the ruins of reinforced concrete.

A visit to Nagasaki’s Peace Park is a way to remember the thousands of civilians who perished on that August morning in 1945 when an atomic bomb detonated over the city. Those in the immediate area of the drop, known as the hypocenter, perished instantly while others farther away died slowly, many from radiation sickness. Listen to the somber music that plays every morning at 11:02 over the park’s speakers, marking the time of the explosion.

Oura Church in Nagasaki is the site of what was described by a pope as the Miracle in the East, referring to a group of people who identified themselves to a priest as Christians in 1865. Imagine the devotion these so-called Hidden Christians possessed to keep their belief intact in a country that had banned their faith centuries earlier.

Meganebashi or Megane Bridge in Nagasaki has been around since 1634 when Chinese monks living in nearby Kofuku-ji Temple built the bridge. It was originally one of many that crossed the Nakashima River to connect the temple with the city, but time and weather have dwindled the number that once stood at 14. Find the heart-shaped stone in the bridge that promises love will be a constant in your life. Determine its location by looking for a group of people who have already fulfilled their quest.