Nagasaki to Obama

…it’s hilly out there

A lovely view of Nagasaki from our room.

It may seem odd to include a photo of a toilet in our journal, but this thing feels like it has joined our family. It is so involved. When you walk into the bathroom, the lid pops up, the light comes on and it precleans the toilet. That is good, however if you are brushing your teeth, etc it continually goes up and down trying to keep up with your movement. It could drive you nuts on a bad day.

When you can’t get to an onsen or a public bath, this Japanese style tub room is the next best thing. Use the cleansing area beside the tub and then jump into a hot tub with the jets on and relax. So good.

Even the area by the elevator is pretty in this hotel with stained glass and nice fixtures.

This couple were staying down the hall. It is a small world as they are Canadian and he is from Calgary, Barry’s home town. We wish Brad and Edrienne well in their travels.

Below this pool of water signifying the victims pleading for water, is a room containing shelves of the names of the deceased.

Children and water have special significance in Nagasaki. One representing hope and the other the water that was so desperately needed by the people affected by the bomb. No drinkable water was available as all of it was contaminated.

This sculpture honours the mothers and children lost that day.

The area where the Peace Park has been developed was a wasteland after the bombing. Today it is a place of reflection, remembrance and beauty. The image shows the devastation.

Remembrances stones for people killed from other countries. This stone remembers those who died from Korea.

Mother and child - remembering those who perished.

This statue dominates this end of the park due to its sheer size and the message it portrays. Sculptor Seibou Kitamura, a Nagasaki native, created this 9.7 metre high bronze statue. It symbolize Nagasaki citizens wish for peace. The raised right hand points to the heavens signifying the attack of atomic weapons, and the left is raised horizontally to represent the wish for peace. The figure’s eyes are closed slightly in prayer for the victims. Every year on August 9, the anniversary of the bombing, a Peace Memorial Ceremony is performed in front of this statue with a peace declarations is made to the world.

An effective installation, powerful in its simplicity.

A pair of special statues, with the symbolic crane garlands, stand on either side of the Statue of Peace.

The Fountain of Peace. The movement of the water resembles the beating of a dove’s wings. The fountain is in memory of all the people who cried out for water as they were dying.

The Global Peace Walk features statues and monuments which support Nagasaki and their quest for peace.

This pole was a cenotaph at the Hypocentre. It was replaced with the tower below.

Interesting details below about the destruction of Urakami Cathedral.

The remains of Urakami Cathedral that survived the blast.

As you can probably sense, visiting Nagasaki has had a profound impact on us. It took us a few days to put the experience in context and write about it.

As we were riding out of Nagasaki we noticed a man driving with his camera pointed out his side window. As we came down a bridge, this same man was waiting to take our photo and chat with us.. He is a photographer based in Nagasaki and he is known for his street art photography. What a delight he was to chat with.

His name is Hiroyuki Miyazaki and his work can be seen at www.hiroyukimiyazaki.com

The ride out of Nagasaki was pretty busy so we are ready for a treat…

Happiness can be so easy to achieve when travelling. A simple stop at a Lawson’s for a good cup of coffee and a treat is all we need.

Roses have been planted and well looked after for miles along this road out of Nagasaki. Lovely

Isn’t it funny, we kind of figured that carrots were happy vegetables. Now we know for sure.

We do love carrots, but these are a bit heavy to add to our load.

During our travels here, we have grown to respect the hard work and incredible job farmers do planting and harvesting. The soil looks luscious and the backbreaking work of creating terraced beds with stone semi-walls reinforcement is impressive. Hillsides can be .broken into several terraced beds…a smart use of space. Our destination for tonight, we think, is across the bay. Many climbs ahead, but the views are awesome.

These berries are very tempting to try, but not sure if they are edible.Thanks to Bill S for writing me…one can not be confident as they can be lethal.

We need some lunch and we saw this conveyor belt sushi restaurant. It is packed with locals, so we will give it a try.

When travelling, try anything at least once and this includes wiener sushi. It was actually quite tasty…but weird.

Barry placing our order….4 items at a time are the limit.

It is fun when you hear the whoosh of your tray arriving.

Passing the Love Hotel we stayed at a few nights ago.

We knew that going to Nagasaki a return trip, backtracking to carry on south. It was a worthwhile decision.

Taking a well deserved break. This large farm is being worked by this couple. Their work is meticulous and so much seems to be done by hand.

Such beautiful country…and the hills keep coming.

The whole family have turned out to, help, even the little ones.

Marriage rocks. The first we have seen since Shikoku.

Such beauty in these hills. This trip has helped (forced) us to develop more endurance. Days like this are endless uphill climbs of several km without break. Scenery like this makes it worthwhile.

We are excited to be close to our destination, Obama Chuo. We didn’t realize that the last stretch would be about 5 km uphill with a lot of traffic. Now we are back to sea level and we are greeted by a Canadian flag. It is in front of an Anne Shirley Tea House of the beloved Lucy Maud Montgomery’s books about Anne of Green Gables.

We puzzled over where to stay here. There were two places available: one hotel has an onsen, costs 14500¥, got a very low approval score and the other was only 4500¥ and got great reviews. It didn’t make sense. The cheaper one looked pretty bad in the photos. We gambled on the cheaper one. Upon arrival, we discovered that no desk staff worked at our hotel and we had to get our key at the more expensive one which was a run down mess. Our hotel for $40 was beautiful, completely redone with a natural spring onsen and a kitchen. They even had a frig with welcome drinks, juice, yogurt. Unbelievable. The best deal so far.
The other surprise was that this small town is like Beppu with steam emanating from the ground and the earthy sulphurous aroma of natural hot springs. What a treat after a long day of riding.

The view from our room. A great was to finish an interesting day.

Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 1,395 km (866 miles)

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