… site of one of the US nuclear bomb drops on August 9, 1945 which helped to end WWII. Nagasaki wasn’t the first intended bomb site, but cloudy weather obscured the primary target, so Nagasaki was chosen. Fortunately, the bomb exploded at 1500 feet, and only about 10% of the radioactive core reached the ground. Nagasaki’s ocean location also helped dispel some of the blast’s effects. Even with those ameliorating circumstances, approximately 73,000 people were killed instantly, and 74,000 injured. A third of the city was leveled. Supposedly the city today has very low radioactivity levels. We went first to a scenic overlook on Mt. Inasa; the view of the city was breathtaking because there is very little haze in winter. The lovely houses squeezed together on the mountainside are now mostly empty; their elderly residents have moved closer to needed downtown facilities, and young people would rather rent apartments in center city.
Our next stop was Nagasaki Peace Park, dedicated to world peace. The main statue is an imposing 30’ tall. The park’s many beautiful monuments were gifts from nations around the world, commemorating peace.
In the afteroon, we explored Nagasaki on foot, hiking up steep Glover Street to peek at its quaint little shops. We discovered the site of the first bowling alley in Japan, and shared a Japanese cheeseburger – different but delicious. Can you see something out of place? It yelled at us as we walked by …
This cute little building sat on a busy corner. Dessert was purple sweet potato ice cream. The ice cream was in a plastic cup container, which was inserted into a special machine. A press of the button turned it into a soft swirled cone. Magic! Few napkins are provided in Japan, just moist cloths on the tables, like the green one here.
All good things come to an end, and we reached the top of Glover Street. It was a very long way down. But the ship looked tantalizingly close …. so Frank located a tall flight of stairs, and then another, and another … and eventually we reached street level.
It was a perfect afternoon!
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