Nagasaki Japan

We arrived in Nagasaki on another beautiful, sunny day.  I cannot believe our good fortune with the weather!!

In this port, we did not book any specific tour.  After reading a lot about the city, we knew they had a marvelous public transportation system.  For just $10 for both of us, we purchased an all-day pass to ride the “cable-cars”.  This port city is the third largest island in Japan and lies on the mouth of the Urakami River.

In the port we purchased our all-day pass cards for the public transportation system.  We boarded the cable car about 5 blocks from the dock.  Our first stop – Peace Park, dedicated to the obvious, Peace in the World.  It was designed in the hopes of never having another atomic bomb dropped again anywhere in the world.  It is a beautiful, peaceful location.  The park is big and you get to it after a long climb up two staircases.  But the first steps were so worth it.  Upon arriving at the top, you could chose the second staircase or one of two circular pathways leading up.  Along these paths are the various monuments dedicated to peace from countries around the world.  At the top, there are several significant monuments.  One is the fountain, in the shape of angel wings.     

Another is the focal point of the park – the Peace Monument.  This one shows a man sitting, with one hand pointed to the heavens, and the other hand pointed to his right.  The first points upwards depicting the threat of the atomic bomb and the left hand stretches outwards, appealing for eternal world peace. The eyes are closed in prayer for the repose of the atomic bomb victims’ souls.  The folded right leg and extended left leg signify both meditation and the initiative to stand up and rescue the people of the world.  In front of the statue is a black marble vault containing the names of the atomic bomb and survivors who died in later years.  It is a very moving and memorable site.

Moving on, I came to a statue with a bell tower and bottles of water on the base.  I was told people bring bottles of water for those who survived the initial blast but were so thirsty because there was no source of drinking water.  There was also two buckets of water and 2 flower arrangements.  An elderly man came over who in his best sign language, told me he was 81 years old and a survivor of the attack.  He was so friendly and wanted me to “water the flowers” with him.  It too was very moving and I was so thankful I met him.  He harbored no ill will towards me.  Just a new-found friend. 

We left the park after an emotional visit there.  It is a living testament to the catastrophic dangers of an atomic war.  On to the area where there is a monolith designating ground zero.  More national monuments and an area that has never been touched-up – just left as is since August, 1945.  There was a museum on the grounds, but we chose not to go in. 

My day ended with an early return to the ship.  Joe, Gretchen and Carlos went on into the shopping area and a local lunch.

Our day in port ended with a wonderful send-off to the Diamond Princess.  She will not be returning to Nagasaki until October.  There was a children’s band playing and people lined the walkways outside the port fence for blocks.  It was very moving.