Tachibana Park: Chijiwa, Nagasaki Prefecture

Tachibana Park in Chijiwa, Nagasaki Prefecture is without a doubt one of the best places in Nagasaki, let alone the whole of Japan to stroll around and enjoy the fabulous and exhilarating Cherry Blossoms.  Thousands of cherry trees and spectators (of course) walk around this picturesque park and gaze with deep appreciation of the cherry flower.  I recommend everyone to come here and experience the park in all its glory, you won't be disappointed!

On many an occasion when a Private Nagasaki Tour and the change of seasons from Winter to Spring are in alignment, I always bring the private group to the Park and have a picnic under the Cherry Trees.  It is a once in a lifetime experience that shouldn`t be missed!


Check out Tachibana Park. Chijiwa, Nagasaki on a map!

Click on the photos below to enlarge:

Endless supply of blossoms

Close up of the pretty flower

Picture perfect location

Add caption

Spring time

Pretty As

Full Bloom

Care for a stroll?

Check out the video below for more amazing Cherry Blossoms:

Tulip Festival: Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki Prefecture

Huis Ten Bosch which is a theme park located in Nagasaki Prefecture, holds the Great Tulip Festival every year from March 2nd until April 8 when 300 000 tulips are in full bloom.

During the festival, there are three spots to view the beautiful tulips.  Firstly, the Island of Windmills and Flowers, secondly, the Flower Palace which features gardens colored with a variety of colorful tulips and thirdly, Tulip Square.  All three in their true right are remarkable and truly outstanding.  If you are a gardener or a flower lover then this place is for you.  Even people like me who have no real interest in gardening can be blown away by the beauty and sheer volume.

In addition to the tulip viewing, there are flower parades, flower markets and illuminations each night.  Highly recommended and of course an ideal way to celebrate the upcoming Spring Season.
But of course all this pleasure may come at a price because on weekends you will be fighting the crowds to the prime viewing season.

If you can manage a weekday visit then this will absolutely spare you of much stress due to the constant struggle of getting around without bumping into all the other visitors.  However you won't be disappointed either way as the images and joy of every one's face from the multitude of colors and different species of Tulips is the all encompassing factor.

Please check out the Tulip Festival at Huis Ten Bosch on a map!

Click on the photos below to enlarge:

Inspiring views

I like the pink Tulip's best!

Worth a look or two

Love tulips

Nice place to get married

Lots of colours

Anyone got a green thumb yet?

Here are some video's of the Nagasaki Tulip Festival Huis Ten Bosch for your enjoyment:

Nagasaki Lantern Festival: Nagasaki City

The Nagasaki Lantern Festival is absolutely the highlight in the Nagasaki Calendar year.  The Chinese New Year is always an exciting occasion.  Fireworks and fire crackers chase away evil spirits and dancing dragons and lions invoke the blessings of the heavens.  Hands are clasped in hopeful prayer, tables groan under mountains of sumptuous dishes and lanterns burn brightly into the night heralding spring.  Every year the Famous Nagasaki Lantern Festival brings all this exuberance to life.

As night approaches, some 15 000 lanterns light up the the city and thousands of people descend upon the festive illuminated Chinatown where night stalls selling Yumcha are enveloped in steam and traditional Chinese music fills the air.  On the stages throughout the city, acrobats, dancers and musicians entertain, bathed in the warm glow of the lanterns.  Nagasaki’s Lantern Festival is much more than a celebration of the Chinese New Year, it is a celebration of the city’s five-hundred-year legacy of openness to diversity, change and modernity.

For those reasons the Lantern Festival is held in Chinatown (also known as Shinchi) in Nagasaki City. During the festival period, about 15 000 lanterns (Chinese paper lanterns) and paper ornaments of the Chinese Zodiac Animals, decorate the city.  They add a rich touch of color to the urban district and attract people to the mystical world.

I implore anyone who likes a great festival to come and visit the Nagasaki Lantern Festival in February between the 7th and the 21st, you won't be disappointed but you will have to struggle with the crowds especially on the weekends, but still worth the effort!

Check out the famous Nagasaki Lantern Festival on a map!

Please click on the pictures to enlarge:

Reflections

Lots of Lanterns

Fully Decorated

Chinese Themed

The arcades are full of color

Check out all the videos below of the Famous Nagasaki Lantern Festival:

Nishiarie Christian Tombs : Nagasaki Prefecture

The Christian Tombs in Nishiarie are part of  the groups of Nagasaki Churches and Christian related Heritage, which aims to join the World Heritage status to promote and educate the world about the long Christian History in Nagasaki.  The gravestone in context is a semicircular column shape which is the most beautiful shape among Christians’ gravestones and indicates that someone of importance within the community at large died here and was buried with dignity.

The epigraph is the oldest Roman epigraph in Japan.  On the back of the gravestone, a cross shape emblem of flower petals was carved by a seal-engraving knife and the front has slightly dented dual edges.  On the higher part, there is a small wedge cross shape, the axial side is fully carved with Roman epigraph and the other axial side is dually edged and a clover cross shape emblem is carved on the flat part. The epigraph is Portuguese style with Roman letters and deciphered as Philisakuemon Diogo born year 1583 (died) 1610 October 16th.

It's very unique to see a Christian cross smack bang in the middle of a Japanese Cemetery which of course comprises of Buddhist emblems.  The cross and resulting gravestone isn't too difficult to find and one realizes that something special in regards to Christian history occurred in these parts of Japan so many years ago.

Definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in Christian History in general and or just to step back in time and lose yourself in the feelings and emotions of the day.

Check out the Nishiarie Christian Tombs on a map!

Click on the photos below to enlarge!

Christian Cross

The Tombstone

Centre Stage

Portuguese Writings

Christian Signage


Come and check out the Nishiarie Christian Tombs Nagasaki here on the video below:

Unzen Volcano: Nagasaki Prefecture

The Unzen Volcano in Nagasaki is very easy to access as one can drive straight up the mountain via the Nita Pass Road from where amazing views of the Mountain and Volcano can be obtained.  The lower and upper parts of the road have observation decks with views over the surrounding mountains and the Ariake Sea all the way to Kumamoto far below.  On very clear days, the panorama view is immense and views of Mount Aso hundreds of kilometers away in Kumamoto Prefecture in the middle of Kyushu are obtainable and impressive.

I really enjoy driving the Unzen Volcano Nagasaki road and can't tell you how many times I had taken this course but when that Volcano comes into view at various locations up the mountain I can't help but be overwhelmed by the sheer beauty, size and destructive powers that the Volcano possess.  As with most mountain passes, the road is very narrow, has plenty of twists and turns, cutbacks and hairpin turns.  

Absolutely fabulous for motor and driving enthusiasts like me but maybe not every ones cup of tea. However I can promise that on my private tours of Nagasaki I put my driving ambitions behind me and drive to the utmost care and safety of all my passengers.  Only when I am all by myself in the car is when my driving tends to get a little bit fast and aggressive.

Nature lovers will be enthralled by its size and of its different colors and flowers that bloom at various times of the year.  Others will be fascinated by its wrath of destruction that destroyed a town ship 20 years ago.  Whatever your poison the Volcano is absolutely a must visit place for all to inspect and ponder!

Well worth a visit or 2 or 3 .........

Come and check out the Unzen Volcano in Nagasaki on a map!

Click on the pictures below to enlarge:

The volcano scene

Spectacular views

The summit

Here is a video of the Unzen Volcano Nagasaki taken from the lookout point on the Nita Pass road for your viewing pleasure:

Megami Bridge: Nagasaki City

Nagasaki`s Megami Bridge, the newest bridge in the city is the longest cable-stayed bridge on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu.

The Megami Bridge is a remarkable feat of engineering and the citizens of Nagasaki are all proud of the finished product and really makes people proud to call themselves Nagasakian's.  The bridge measures 880 meters in length and 170 meters in height but it looks so much bigger than these statistics and is really an awe inspiring landmark on the Nagasaki Horizon.  Nagasaki`s Megami Bridge is heavily exposed to the elements and therefore takes a battering from the constant sunshine, rain, wing and of course everyone favorite natural disaster, the typhoon.  Therefore it is quite a common site to see dozens of workers at a time working and cleaning and maintaining the incredible beauty of the Bridge.

Located on the south side of Nagasaki City, the Megami Bridge, affectionately known as Venus’ Wing and provides relief to the chronic traffic congestion in the city by linking its southern and western parts o the city with one magnificently built bridge.  Also, the bridge was built to revitalize industry and culture in the whole region by strengthening the link between the city and the port facilities.  Illuminated in the evenings, the bridge has become a landmark of Nagasaki Port and a new symbol of Nagasaki City tourism.

I drive on this bridge regularly and I can tell you it is a wonderful feeling to pass over.  You can feel every metre of height and on a clear day you can see all the way down the harbor and of course well out into the open seas.  Well worth a drive on a wonderful scenic day.

It`s a great landmark as it`s the first recognizable symbol of Nagasaki as the Cruise Ships first arrive into Nagasaki Port, so on our Private Tours I always endeavor to include a drive across the Megami Bridge to add that extra dimension.

Check out Nagasaki's Megami Bridge on this map below:

   

 Click on the following photos below to enlarge:

Cable suspensions

Well constructed

Below are some more photos taken at various time during sunset, hope you like them!

Shofukuji Temple: Nagasaki City

Shofukuji Temple in Nagasaki was built in 1629. The Chinese residents of Nagasaki who hailed from Fujian Province constructed this Chinese Temple.  It houses 21 cultural assets, including two national treasures - Daiohoden (Buddha Hall) & Daippo-mon (First Peak Gate).

It is a temple with a unique pedigree as it is unique for housing so many cultural assets in one temple in Western Japan.  Shofukuji Temple Nagasaki has three gated entrances known as "the three gates." The red entrance gate and other structures in the precincts are rare examples of the architecture of South China during the Ming Dynasty.  The Chinese Bon Festival is held here from July 26th to the 28th and with Chinese people coming from all over Japan to participate in the ritual for the dead, it is one of the times where Chinese visitors will outnumber the locals.

I truly enjoyed the walking experience around the Shofukuji Temple.  It's peaceful and intriguing exterior leads into a tranquil and inviting interior where one can leisurely take their time and stroll around.  It allows one to see the connection that the Chinese were able to make with the Japanese in the 17th century through their association of religion and in particular Buddhism.  A true Chinese built Temple that was actually built in China and shipped piece by piece to Japan and rebuilt at its current location .  A true find and a place that anyone from all walks of life can find appealing and appreciative of its beauty and tension to detail!

Come and check out the Shofukuji Temple in Nagasaki on a map!

Click on the pictures below to enlarge:

The entrance

Main Altar

The views

Gate entrance

Buddhist offering

Roof tiles are intricate as well

Chinese Lanterns

New Years Decorations

Chinese Buddhism in Nagasaki

Splendid views

       

Here is a video of the Shofukuji Temple Nagasaki: