ICT wrap up- Nagasaki in December

Time for my final ICT travel post, a quick trip to the unique city of Nagasaki just before Christmas.  Please enjoy the photos and captions below.  But this will not be the end of this blog!  I am now in Okinawa serving a Fleet Marine Force assignment.  While I will not post specifics of my professional life here, I will still be getting out into the Okinawan culture and will capture observations as the opportunities arise, and share them as time permits.  Thank you for your attention to this blog this past year, it has truly been rewarding for me.  Semper fi!


And now, Nagasaki...

One of the entrances to the city's Chinatown district, a big tourist draw but quite small and elegant compared to any of the cities I visited in China. 

The Koban, or "Police Box" neighborhood police office found everywhere in Japan takes a distinctly European flavor in the quarter where I spent a night.

On my way to see a church I happened across this important milestone...the birthplace of bowling in Japan.  I have not seen any huge balls of twine on my travels here, but this monument ranks pretty close.

The Catholic church which I believe is the oldest one in Nagasaki, which remains active but is also a museum.

The inside of the church with its many elegant if simple stained glass windows which have become popular designs for tourism gifts.

In another quarter of the city sits Dejima island, which was the only plot of land where foreigners were permitted to live in Japan during its 200+ years of isolation.  The Dutch ran a small factory on the island but were essentially prisoners on it. 

The wall of Dejima and what used to be the edge of the Nagasaki Bay.  For some time the bay has had reclaimed land built up on three sides so that now Dejima is no longer an island per se but it remains a main tourism draw of the city.

A picture of Nagasaki Bay with an old steam and sail ship at anchor, supposedly a museum but not open at the time of my visit.

Nagasaki is famous for many things- being the only city with foreign trade during the Tokugawa isolation, and also being the site of a dramatic Christian persecution during that same period.  Here is the Monument of the 26 Martyrs, who were publicly crucified in an effort to eradicate Christian influence in Japan in 1597.  Just behind the monument site you can see the twin modern Gaudi-influenced spires of an active Catholic church.

Nagasaki's religious influences today sit side by side throughout the city.  Just a short walk from the 26 Martyrs site is this impressive Buddha temple with its turtle-shaped roof.   

Of course, Nagasaki is commonly popular for being the second city to be atomically bombed, and its A-Bomb museum is an important element to the city.

An interesting timeline presented in the museum.  Both Nagasaki and Hiroshima appear to have made the decision long ago to present the history of WWII without much emphasis on the actions of Japan leading up to America's involvement in the Pacific.  

Despite its less than comprehensive criticism of WWII's inception and conduct, Nagasaki's A-Bomb museum does an admirable job of championing the cause of global nuclear disarmament.

Towards the promoting of a nuke-free world, no museum can offer as powerful a message as this monument of the hypocenter can, where 500 meters above the bomb was detonated.

Within walking distance of the hypocenter park is a peace memorial park with an international collection of donated statues.  I got pictures of them all but that would make a completely separate (albeit fascinating) post.  But here is the most famous one, an absolutely European style statue calling for hope and peace, according to the plaques.  And so that is what Nagasaki is, a unique blend of Asian and European cultures, old and modern, scarred and relevant.

ICT wrap up - Kyoto in November

They say that Kyoto is best seen in October or November, and I can now agree with that statement.  Many of my ICT trips had military or political interest as well as cultural, but this trip was really just to take in the ancient and rich history of Japan's old capital, and also some new stuff!  There are some sights here that can't be seen anywhere else, hope you enjoy the pics and captions.

Heian Shrine front gate, very Chinese in design, one block from the condo we rented for the whole trip.

Barrels of sake, very Trappist in design (joke), to the right of the Heian Shrine front gate above.  They get serious about their Shrine worship!  Shrines are where traditional weddings are held, after all.

Hanging from the Heian Shrine front gate, the ropes and lightning bolts that signify the gods and spirits of power there.  These items are also worn by sumo wrestling grand champions (Yokuzuna).

Now turning from Heian Shrine, time to explore this shrine which is literally across the street from our condo building.  Follow along below for the next few pics...

Inside the first gate are several more gates leading between these two buildings...

Following the gates, we find ourselves in a quaint and clean alley of homes...(those are their front doors)

At last, after three corners, we come to the neighborhood shrine, kept immaculate.

The standard assortment of worship utensils complete our small journey across the street from our condo building.

On to a bit more grander sights.  This is the main gate into Nijou Castle, very historic and large castle grounds, famous throughout Japan.  Distinctive from the designs found at Heian Shrine, by comparison.

No photos were allowed inside Nijou Casle itself, unfortunately, but I bought this postcard of a scene we saw inside of these statues arranged in the Emperor's receiving room.  There were other sights on the grounds, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

An impressive pagoda along Chawanzaka (Teacup Hill), also close to our condo rental, with some nice blooms in front.

Chawanzaka from another angle, it actually got shoulder to shoulder busy within another hour.  Old style architecture, mostly shops selling just about everything distinctively Japanese.

In the same neighborhood, at Kiyomizu Temple, looking down from a balcony area on another part of the temple which boasts wonderful mineral water for drinking and praying about.

One of the more concentrated collections of Buddhist child spirit statues I have seen, on the Kiyomizu Temple grounds.  These children died at young ages for a variety of reasons, and are being remembered and prayed over now.

Still in the same basic area, different time, this skit is part of the Gion Corner culture theater.  This is a comedy piece about servants trying to drink up their master's sake.  Timeless.

The largest wooden temple gate in Japan at Chion-In, it leads to an extensive temple grounds.  You can also walk along the top level balcony of it, but with so many spotlights shining on you, the view and pic opps are not that great at night.

Candle vigils on the Chion-In grounds, reminded me of Catholic churches.

And now for something completely different...watching samurai dramas being produced at the Eiga Mura (Movie Village) studio grounds.  Very cool place, filled with historic building which you can walk all around and through provided they are not being used for filming.

Also at Eiga Mura, a ninja scoots along a wire, forward, then backward.  From a distance he really fools you, until you see him do it backward.

Last shots of the post, of the Nanzenji Temple grounds.  Can't really tell but this was on a Japanese holiday so the place was packed with people come to look at the foliage.  But everyone was so respectful it did not feel crowded.

One of my more favorite shots, of the wonderful fall colors inside one of the gardens.

Last shot, will leave you with a zen rock garden inside Nanzenji Temple.  Gaze and meditate, let me know if you have any deep thoughts!

Last wrap up post will be the December trip to Nagasaki.  See you there.

ICT trip wrapups- Misawa in September

Still feel the need to dutifully catalog something of my last three trips during my ICT last year before I can move on to sharing my new experiences living in Okinawa.  For this post, then, here are some choice pics and captions from my trip to the northern most prefecture of the main island of Honshu, Aomori, with focus around the town of Misawa.

Beautiful recreational lake that can be accessed from the Misawa shared U.S. Naval Station and Japanese Air Self Defense Force base. 

Lots of natural beauty to be found in this prefecture, including a long drive through a gorge with many waterfalls and hiking trails.

That gorge with the waterfalls comes from here at Lake Towada, the deepest lake on Honshu.

In the distance a sample of the many windmills installed in the countryside here, working hard to harness energy in a variety of ways (not just from nuclear reactors)

On the Shimokita Peninsula, the very most northeastern tip of Honshu, lies Cape Shiriyazaki, with this wild horse reserve and lighthouse park.  The lighthouse was built in the Meiji era and survived WWII though it is not in use now.  

These last four photos are not actually in Aomori prefecture but were part of the return drive to Tokyo.  Actually just over a mountain range from Fukushima is the beautiful town of Yonezawa, with a fascinating central shrine park.  Here is a lily field at one entrance to the park.

Some revered lords of old Yonezawa, quite famous throughout Japan for the peaceful reign of their clan for hundreds of years. 

Uesugi Shrine entrance, old and much respected in the entire region.

Yep, I posted this one previously but it belongs in this collection from Uesugi.  Getting the official Shinto priestly blessing for the car- a straightforward enough ceremony, and we wish the driver safe travels.

Thanks for viewing, Kyoto and Nagasaki trips up next.