Trip to Southeast Asia Part VI - Nagasaki and Kagoshima, Japan and Shanghai, China

Nagasaki

We left Pusan and arrived the next day at Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu.

Nagasaki is synonymous with its tragic history of the atomic bomb and its place in world history.  However, today it is a busy port and modern city with kind and friendly people - it was one of our favorite stops.

From the port, we walked a few blocks to where we could take a cable car to see the Nagasaki Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Museum.

After we got off of the cable car, we walked up the steps to the Peace Park. There were many beautiful and poignant statues in the park - many were gifts from other countries - we took photos of some of these.  

The entrance to the Peace Park
We appreciated that the theme and focus of this park commemorating this sad day in history and  the terrible effects of war was PEACE.

 Joy of Life Statue -gift from Czech Republic    Statue of Peace - gift from USSR

Monument of the People's Friendship - gift from the GDR

The Peace Bell

Remains of the Urakami Branch of the Nagasaki Prison

Hypocenter of Atomic Bomb

The Peace Statue was covered because it was being refurbished when we were there.

I found this photo of the statue online.  The right hand is pointing to the sky to remind us of the danger of nuclear weapons, the left hand symbolizes eternal peace, the eyes are closed representing a prayer for the repose of the victim's souls and left leg reminds us to stand up to help the world.

Some of the tragic results of the bombing - August 9, 1945

To me, this statue of a mother mourning her baby was the most touching of all.

As we made our way from the park to the Atomic Bomb Museum, we passed by 2 different school groups that were also there.

This cute group of children were eating their lunch - I love that they all have hats alike.  Probably so their teachers could spot them in a crowd!

We visited the museum but didn't take many photos inside or stay very long.  It was difficult to see the effects of the bomb and the tragedy that took place on that terrible day.  We know that the decision to drop the bomb was an agonizing one, and that the bomb ultimately saved more lives that it took by putting an end to the war; however, seeing human names, faces and consequences to this decision was very difficult to see and comprehend.

The Atomic Bomb Museum

Inside the museum

A mock up of the bomb - we were surprised that it was not larger.

A clock that was stopped due to the bomb - memorializing the time of the tragedy. We were sobered and saddened by all that we saw.

After our visit to the museum, we walked back to the cable car stop and rode to see more of the city.

This sweet garden was outside one of the homes we passed on our way to the cable car stop.  The Japanese people love beauty and color and that was evident everywhere we stopped in Japan.

We stopped in Nagasaki's Chinatown, which is one of the largest Chinatowns in Japan. It was colorful with decorations for the Chinese New Year. The cute little boy in the photo below looked as if he was celebrating.

We stopped in a shop that had beautiful crystal items that were very similar to Swarovski crystal (only at a much better price) - so of course we had to buy some for souvenirs. This cute clerk was very patient and helpful as we made our choices of what to purchase.

We walked around to look at some other shops and then took the cable car back to the stop that was a few blocks from our ship.

We took these last 2 photos from our balcony on the ship. They show some of the hillsides that are part of Nagasaki.

Our day in Nagasaki was a a day of contrasts as it was both sad and happy. It was good to see that this city that was so devastated by war is now thriving and honoring peace. The Japanese are remarkable people!

Kagoshima

Kagoshima (like Nagasaki) is on the the southernmost of the 4 main islands of Japan - the island of Kyushu. This was our last port in Japan.

A view of the harbor as we came into port. Kagoshima is nicknamed "The Naples of the Eastern World" for its bay location and warm climate.

Kagoshima City with the Sakur-jima Volcano in the background. This volcano is active and sends up clouds of steam continuously, and minor eruptions often take place multiple times a day.  It rises to an elevation of 3,365 feet.We left the ship and went into the port terminal where we took these silly pictures.

 Outside the terminal there were beautiful flowers, palm trees and walking paths so we decided to go for a walk.

We had view of the Sakua-jima Volcano and the bay.

After our walk, we took the ship's shuttle to Dolphin Port which was nearer to the city.  As we rode along, we saw many tiny cars like the one below.

We also had views of the volcano.

It was a rainy day and we walked in toward the city a ways and then returned to Dolphin Port and explored the shops and restaurants there.  There was a large gathering of people and long lines at some of the food stalls. We weren't sure what they were serving, but it was must have been good!

I found a small backpack/shoulder bag at one of the shops. The photo below is of Hal with 2 of the clerks.

We took the shuttle back to the ship and took this photo on our way.

On Board the Westerdam

The decor of the ship was modern and there were always interesting, modern flower arrangements throughout the ship.
Every night our room stewards would make and place cute towel animals and sea creatures on our bed.

These were our awesome waiters - they always had a happy smile for us and knew what we liked!
This cute little guy was there to greet us every evening as we came to the dining room and then he was there with yummy butter mints, ginger and dates after dinner as we left the dining room.  We were very pleased with our ship and the excellent service we received.

 Shanghai and Goodbye!

We left Kyushu island and after a day at sea we arrived at our final port - Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It is the world's biggest city and its most populous with 24.1 million people.  It also is the world's largest port. 

After 31 days aboard the Westerdam, we said goodbye to our ship. 

We then had a long wait in line to get a taxi into the city and then a 45 minute drive from the port to our hotel.

Shanghai is a very modern city with a beautiful skyline that has lots of interesting skyscrapers.

We stayed at the City Center Marriott Hotel which was a great location and one of the nicest hotels we have stayed in.  Our room was a suite with 1 1/2 bathrooms and a separate sitting room. The lobby (pictured below) was beautiful.

We didn't arrive at the hotel until about 3:00 PM.  I was intrigued with the Chinese Tea time that I saw in the lobby restaurant - the way they presented the food and the interesting items that were served. I had to kind of sneak to take the picture below.

We took our things to our room and then left to explore Shanghai in the little time we had.

We walked around and saw some of the large skyscrapers that were near our hotel and then Hal got directions to the metro from a helpful Chinese man.

We made our way through the underground maze to buy tickets to ride the metro and then we rode to find a Chinese market that had been recommended to us.

I loved seeing the cute Chinese children.  The little boy below finally gave me a  little smile when I showed him the picture I had taken of he and his mom.

We boarded the metro and off we went. Right away I noticed that people are the same everywhere - on their phones!!

This cute little Chinese girl was riding with us.

We located the underground market which was near where we got off the metro. There were hundreds of shops selling clothes, purses, cosmetics, fabric, shoes etc. etc. We shopped until dropped!  I bought some Chinese silk scarves and Hal bought some shirts. The merchants were happy to bargain with us and Hal drives a hard bargain! So we got some good deals.

 

 

We rode the metro and then walked back to our hotel. On the way we could see that Shanghai comes alive when it is dark!

 

Back at our hotel, we ate dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants that featured a buffet of oriental foods as well as steak, other meats and an array of tasty dishes and desserts.

The next morning we had to leave early to catch our flight. I snapped a few pictures of Shanghai from our taxi window as we made our way to the airport.

At the airport, I had to take a picture of this darling little Chinese girl pulling her luggage and following her mom.

Our flight home was LONG with stops in Hong Kong, LAX, Seattle and finally SLC!  We were glad to get home to our family and our beds!! It was an awesome trip of a lifetime and our chance to see some of the Orient!