Mount Inasayama Was Not To Be
Mount Inasa (or Inasayama) is a mountain very close to Nagasaki's city center. It is 333m high so I guess not really a mountain, but it has a cableway to the top and the views are said to be one of three best night views in Japan.
After the debarkle that was Mount Hokadate (snowed out!) I thought I would give this one a go. So it seems that even though the days were amazing, for the 3 hours that I rode the cable car and tried to check out the view, it poured raining. I don't mean it rained I mean it frigging chucked down. So sadly no photo's to show you of Mount Inasa, I can however recommend the hot chocolate the street vender serves just outside the Ropeway entry at the bottom of the mountain. OMG so good!
Dutch Slope and The Glover Gardens
After such a rainy night I wasn't expecting the next day to be a great day but glorious sunshine arrived and I spent the day wandering the streets and parks of Nagasaki. I didn't do the Atomic Bomb park and museum as I'd already done Hiroshima and quite frankly I just couldn't do it again.
I wandered around and up and down the streets of Dutch Slope and while it was a pleasant walk, its not really amazing from an architecture perspective. There was one house open, Higashi Yamate 13, which was worth the visit but again you wouldn't feel like you'd missed out on anything if you didn't' visit it.
The Dutch Slope is a single street that goes up the hillside above the port in Nagasaki where a lot of foreign traders used to live. Despite what it sounds like, it wasn't just Dutch who lived there. The Dutch had been the only while people in the country for the last tow hundred years, so the term Dutch just mean westerners really. It was a nice walk but I must admit I expected a lot more architectural merit. I just didn't research it enough clearly.
What I did love however was Glover Gardens.
Glover Garden is a collection of mansions that several of the city's past residents built and lived in. The homes are a collective set in side some stunningly beautiful gardens. Glover House is the oldest building of western style in Japan I believe. It was built by Thomas Glover who was a Scottish traders who moved to Nagasaki in response to the city opening its trade in the mid 1800's.
The other homes in the park have been relocated there from other parts of the city and the park itself has a great view of the port and city area and is a lovely area to walk around, sit and while the day away. There are restaurants and cafe's and moving walkways for those less able to avoid walking up the steps and hills. The entry fee was around 600 yen and really worth it. I had a lovely morning wandering around checking everything out and then of course, had coffee and cake!
Like Kyoto, there was quite a few young women and children who were dressed in the traditional Kimono's for their day out sightseeing. While initially a little strange, I got to really enjoy it and looked for that splash of color everywhere I went.
I stayed at the Nagasaki Orion Hotel, just across from the main railway station so it was a nice walk for me to and from Glover Gardens and Dutch Slope. I visited the area in the afternoon so I was able to stop at Chinatown on the way home for some dinner!
Re my hotel: At the time (early 2016) the hotel had what they call “Business Man's Rooms” for $35 AUD per night. They are just single rooms really and while it's not anything to rave about it was central, clean and the desk clerk gave me heaps of local advice while practicing his English. I believe its about $70 now which I wouldn't pay. Japanese hostels are usually very good and it was only that the private room was the same price as a hostel bed that I chose the luxury of a room to myself.
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Are You Visiting Japan Soon?
Consider a JR Rail Pass. Available in 7, 14 or 21 day options, you can save up to 50% on your train tickets. They do have to be ordered prior to your trip and delivered to your home country, however you can activate them on your arrival in Japan starting from a set date so if you are going to be in and around Tokyo for the first 5 days you can set your JR Rail Pass to start on day 5 when you will start traveling.
