August 7th, 2013: Nagasaki

 The port city of Nagasaki, found on the coast of the island of Kyushu, was a wonderful stop on our tour of Japan.

This is my second visit to the city. I had been 4 years ago and I remember the city being quite beautiful and unique in the influence from foreign countries. A lot of this has to do with the fact that Nagasaki was where the main trading port was for Portuguese and Dutch traders and when Japan was closed to foreigners for 200 years there was a small island built that allowed foreigners to live and trade.

Our day started with a visit to the Nagasaki Peace Park and Museum. The park is built on the grounds that once held a prison. Now it is an open park area with a statue that is meant to symbolize peace.

When we arrived they were having a rehearsal for the August 9^th Memorial, this year being 68 years since the bombs were dropped on Japan.

After the park we walked through the Hypocentre. Here we ran into a group of students travelling from Korea. Dad ended up striking up a conversation with the leader of the group and we followed them to the museum. Through this he said that the students offered to take us on their bus to lunch and then to the Memorial for the 26 Martyrs.

The Nagasaki Peace Museum is different from the Hiroshima one. It offers different information, a lot more on the aftermath and the after affects on the radiation.

After our lunch we visited the Site of the 26 Martyrs. The site memorializes the 26 Catholics who were crucified in 1567, It was during this time that Catholicism was outlawed in Japan. Of the 26 martyred, 6 were foreigners the remaining 20 were Japanese. The men were canonized in the 1862 and are considered the 26 Saints of Japan.

After our visit of the memorial we caught the streetcar and made our way to Dejima.

Dejima is a small, artificial island; that was built to be a trading post between Japan and the foreign world when Japan was going through its 200 years of isolation. The man made island was constructed by digging a canal through the small peninsula. The island is 9000 square meters and built in the shape of a fan. Initially built to house Portuguese traders, it was used more by the Dutch. The island is now considered a historic site and is no longer surrounded by water, but by the city of Nagasaki as it expanded and reclaimed land from the sea.

Model of the island

The island is an interesting to see because the buildings are a mix of Western and Japanese, with sliding walls and tatami floors, but western furniture.

After strolling though Dejima we made our way to Glover Garden. I had visited the garden 4 years ago and thought it was beautiful. Though there weren’t any hydrangeas to see the green of the garden was beautiful and the view from the balcony of the Mitsubishi house was breathtaking.

Nagasaki was another great city to see again.

August 6th, 2013: Beppu – Takasakiyama Monkey Habitat

An early start in Matsuyama was needed for us to make it to Yawatahama to catch a ferry to Beppu.

Beppu is a city in the Oita prefecture well known for its many onsen. We however weren’t there to spend time in the hot baths, we made a quick stop there to see the monkey habitat on Takasakiyama.

As we aren’t stopping in Nagano during this trip, I thought this would be an excellent place to see the Macaques that live in the Japanese mountains. The monkeys here don’t have a hot spring to sit in, but they do have a nice roped off area with a jungle gym and water to spend time in. They also get seeds and sweet potatoes when they come down from their mountain homes.

On the tram ride up to the main park area we met a volunteer tour guide who spoke English. She was very helpful in answering questions about the monkeys that frequent the park.

The park is home to two troops and each will arrive at the park at different times. The morning troop has over 700 monkeys and the afternoon troop, which we saw, has over 600 monkeys. In total the mountain is home to over 1300 monkeys and the two groups don’t mix at the park.

We made our visit at what is the most adorable time to see the monkeys. This is because the baby monkeys were born not to long ago. The mother monkeys would either carry the babies on their backs or hanging from their fronts. It was also cute to see them swinging and climbing or just playing with rocks.

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon before making the long drive to Nagasaki.

Goodbye Niihama!

The last two weeks of my time in Niihama were spent teaching. The last of July and beginning of August is Summer School for PKC. It’s an intense period of working and teaching and having fun.

Prior to the start of Summer School there was a few days at Kamogawa, where I got to enjoy the cool water and stay out of the heat.

With Summer School started I realized that I would be saying goodbye to the kids that I worked with for over a year. I was especially sad to leave one school. This school had all my favourite students and the ones that I know really want to learn and enjoy learning English. A few of the Junior students I had said goodbye to earlier because they were leaving for a homestay in Vancouver.

Saying goodbye at this school as Summer School finished was a great way to end my time in Niihama.

When Mom and Dad arrived on the 3^rd of August it was a whirlwind of packing and saying goodbye to the people that I spent the most time with and am really going to miss now that I will be back in Toronto.

On the Saturday after getting to Niihama I planned a dinner with Bret and Angelina at Wakamusha in Saijo. Before heading to dinner Angelina took us to the last night market of the summer. I was able to show Mom and Dad a little of Saijo and a great summer tradition. We also got to sample some delicious Nihon-shu (sake). For dinner I took them to the bar where I had spent many nights out. It was a great dinner and Dad really enjoyed himself.

Sunday morning was an early start to get everything packed. I bought a lot of clothing and shoes while here and it all had to be vacuumed sealed. By noon though we were getting antsy and hungry and it was decided that we would meet Bret and Angelina at Love Crepe, a delicious creperie in Saijo.

With lunch finished we were taken on adventure by Bret and Angelina. Dad wanted to see a little of Niihama so they lead us to Choshi-no-Taki Falls in Niihama. It was a heart pounding  drive up the mountain along a narrow road that at points had no railing protecting you from dropping into the river valley.

A Two Way Road

The falls were a 20 minute walk up the mountain from where we parked the cars and then we reached the 30m waterfall. The view was spectacular. The water was frigid. Dad and Bret were the only two that actually climbed the rocks and took a swim in the swimming hole beneath the falls.

After their swim it was saying goodbye to Bret and Angelina. I am so thankful that I got to know them and spend time with them. It made me year in Japan very fun and they were a great help to me. I’ll miss them, but with their return to the USA I hope that we can meet up.

With our adventure finished it was time to meet with my JTs Yuko and Aki for dinner. We had a delicious meal of yaki niku that was filled with great conversation. It was nice for Mom to meet two of my fellow teachers and two of the people who have been invaluable in terms of helping me in Japan. I was sad to leave them, but I will keep in contact with them when I get home.

It wasn’t sad to leave Niihama, but I will miss that city. And now for the next twelve days it will taking Mom and Dad around Japan and getting to say goodbye to this wonderful country.