Sohonzan Shrine: Saikai Town, Nagasaki Prefecture

Our popular WW2 History and Culture Tour of Nagasaki incorporates a long drive at the beginning of the day. I was looking for a location to visit in order to reduce the time spent between attractions. Low and behold this huge Torii (Gate Entrance of Shinto Shrines) came into view and instantly I knew that this was the place that I was looking for.

At first, I thought that the Cultural component of the tour would be boosted to meet up with the many historical locations already firmly in place. But little did I expect the Sohonzan Shrine to tick every box and literally surprise me to no end that this location in its own right is one of the highlight attraction of the whole day.

It has everything you need as a shore excursion stop.  A chance to stretch your legs, a toilet break, nature and landscapes, a strong cultural component and in total a site that makes you glad it was included in the itinerary. 

Of course, in my time here in Japan, I have been to a thousand shrines. Some are excellent, some are ho hum, some are preached as the most important or religiously significant shrines of the region.  In this case, I won't do any of that but what I will tell you is that Sohonzan Shrine will leave a strong impression on you even if you have been to many in the past.

I am really please that many of our clients have felt exactly the same way about their visit and time here at Sohonzan Shrine as I did on my first time.  It is now a mainstay attraction of this tour and I hope it will be for many years to come.

Please look below to see the Sohonzan Shrine on a map:

 

Please click on the photos below to enlarge:

The entrance

Pray for Ukraine

Names of benefactors

Cleansing
station

Peaceful location

Beautiful gardens

Shinto heavenly powers

Plenty of Carp

Impressive even from a distance!

The torii gate is massive

Please click on the videos below to see more about Sohonzan Shrine and its appeal.

Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture: Nagasaki City

The Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture opened in 2005 and is an excellent, modern museum dedicated to the theme of "Overseas Exchange" in the 17th and 18th century, namely between Dutch and Chinese merchants and Japan through the medium of this port city.

The museum holds 48,000 items in its collection, including historical documents and arts and crafts, that tell the story of Nagasaki as the sole window opened to foreign countries during the period of national isolation  The Museum also shows the role Nagasaki played in post-restoration Japan in the diplomatic sphere, as well as being at the forefront of modern medicine, printing, ship building and industrial technology.

On this day I had time on my side which is a bit of a rarity, so in essence I was able to let the history and culture of Nagasaki seep into my consciousness and really feel the effect and continued residual flow that Nagasaki has created and fostered to allow Japan to get to where it is today, a economic superpower on the worlds stage.

I will use this facility on my private tours with forecasted rainy days as it will give many people a great background on many historical facts about Nagasaki especially on my 2 or 3 day tours which allow for more time to explore and investigate.

Click here to see Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture on this map:

Click on the photos below to enlarge:

Depiction of earlier times

Nice finishes

Magnificent Folding Screens

Ancient scroll

Lots of interesting facts

One of the buildings

Tensho Embassy Journey

View from outside

Nagasaki Industrial Age

Click on the video below to see Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture in more detail:

Nagasaki Art Museum: Nagasaki City

Nagasaki Art Museum was opened in April 2005 and is located next to the Nagasaki Seaside Park which is just a 400 metre walk from the International Port Terminal.  The Museum's glass walls allow brilliant sunshine to fill the interior, creating a bright, spacious atmosphere.  The Museum's wonderful design and excellent location perfectly represent the concept of the place.

The museum strives to be popular enough to be casually used by almost all age groups, from children to elderly people, and seeks to present possibilities for the future.  Serving as a bridge between human beings and the arts, the museum will promote a wide range of efforts to encourage interaction among nations, regions and age groups, as well as between artists and museum visitors.

Upon my first (but definitely not my last) visit to the Nagasaki Art Museum the thing that most impressed me was the amount of natural light that fills the building even on cloudy overcast days.   It provides the Museum with a pleasant if not radiant feeling of openness that makes one feel comfortable immediately.  The 400 yen entrance fee is very reasonable and one can easily spend 2 to 3 hours here to satisfy their artistic impressions or even a full day to waste some time that they have to spare.  Come and check it out, you will absolutely enthralled by the art work and their coffee shop is pretty impressive too!

Check out the Nagasaki Art Museum on a map!

Please click on the pics below to enlarge:

Even the entrance is cutting edge

Has something for everyone

Great views from every angle

Interesting from the outside too

A great place to walk around

Interesting Statues

Ultra Moden