Day 6--The Powerhouse of Japan

With a JR Pass, I traveled by railway as often as I could. In Kyushu, I saw the construction of shinkasen here and there. People can move in a swift from the west to the south and from the north to the south. Time can be converted to memory and experience in a more effective and efficient way.

An Old Way to Venture into Nagasaki
We decided to give up the free train ride from Kumamoto to Nagasaki and attempted our voyage in the most primitive and traditional way, the waterway. After hunting for our breakfast at a convenient store near JR Kumamoto Station, we got on the bus for Kumamoto Harbor at 7:40, took the 8:30 ferry, arrived at Shimabara at 9:40. We waited for departure of the round island bus at 10:40 and arrived at Isahaya at 11:50, changed to Kamome (Sea Gull) train to Nagasaki at 12:30. It's indeed a long way, but we experienced all facilities of travel possible in Japan. Dear Madame Butterfly, I'm finally coming to Nagasaki to see you!

Cio-Cio-san in Nagasaki
Among Giacomo Puccini's numerous Opera libretti, I like Madame Butterfly the most, simply because it was based upon a love story in the east, in the city of Nagasaki in early 1890s. Ten years ago, after my studies of Japanese language in Okazaki for three months, I performed Madame Butterfly with Toastmasters Steve Weaver at Grand Toastmasters Club's Installation Ceremony on July the 4th, 1998. I changed the story to make it a happy ending, Cio-Cio-san and Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton lived happily ever after.

Streetcar in Nagasaki
I like the streetcar in Nagasaki. It runs very often, and the fare is only 100 yens one trip. For one day pass, it is 500 yens. Since the operation of Nagasaki Electric Tramway in 1915, many tourists have benefited from the most convenient transportation vehicle to see the beauty of Nagasaki. After an easy and relaxing lunch at Royal Host at Nagasaki Train Station, Gina and Midori got off the streetcar in front of the University Hospital to shop for baseball gloves for Midori's boss, while Emily and I went on to visit the Urakami Cathedral.

11:02AM
Without prior warning, the Fat Man was exploded 500 meters above Nagasaki and burned 74 thousand people to death at an instance Thursday morning, August 9th, 1945. When Emily and I saw the remains of the old Urakami Cathedral, we were speechless. After a short tour of Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, Gina and Midori joined us at Nagasaki Museum of History and Folklore and headed for the other direction to visit Oura Catholic Church and Glover Garden.

Funny and Humorous Tiger Nagasaki
Tiger Nagasaki was born in Nagasaki, in the year of Tiger. He reminded me of a Japanese dandy on the movie poster in the 60's. When he approached us and offered his helping hands to take photos of us in front of Glover Garden, we decided to practice the negotiation skills we learned in Toastmasters. Tiger Nagasaki agreed upon a special deal to guide us around Nagasaki for two hours.

Being a charter taxi guide, Tiger Nagasaki didn't know he would have to entertain Japanese speaking toastmasters from Taiwan. His face turned red when we insisted he speak his local dialect in front of our video camera. It was a big challenge for him. He switched to standard Japanese automatically and apologized he couldn't speak his local dialect in front of a group of young and beautiful foreign ladies. I hope Nagasaki Toastmasters Club can be chartered soon so that many local residents can attempt the speeches in Nagasaki Ben soon in the future.

Tiger Nagasaki is indeed a friendly taxi driver, he showed us many scenic places in Nagasaki, took us to the best Castella shop, sang us many Enka on the way, and drove us to the best Chinese restaurant in China town. Thanks to Tiger Nagasaki, we had a memorable and enjoyable day in Nagasaki. We were happy it didn't rain in Nagasaki we were there, even though we sang loudly the popular folk song "it also rained in Nagasaki tonight"!

Spectacular Night View of Nagasaki
When Tiger Nagasaki drove us to the observatory on the top of Mt. Inasa (333 meters above sea level), we were on cloud nine to see the panoramic night view of Nagasaki from 6:30 till 7:30PM. Tiger Nagasaki protested when I mentioned that the top three spectacular night views in the world are Hakodate, Hong Kong and Naples. He insisted the best night view in Japan is Nagasaki, also quoted the Oriental Naples. No matter what I was contented I have seen them all, three most beautiful night views in Japan and in the world, be it Hakodate or Nagasaki. But I agreed with Tiger Nagasaki that the night view was awesome. Our tears flooded when we saw the light-up at the epicenter of the Atomic bomb blast, right in the center of Nagasaki.

Tainan and Nagasaki
Tiger Nagasaki is like a walking dictionary of Nagasaki. During our two hours encounter, he sang many old popular songs of Nagasaki. "The Lady in Red Shoes" about a pretty girl went away with a foreigner caught my attention. The lyrics reminded me of Song of An-ping reminisce, the love story between a local girl and a foreigner man in Tainan, the ancient capital of Taiwan. Tainan and Nagasaki shared many common traits. They are both ancient cities full of historical places, Dutch relics, temples. Surprisingly, both cities are famous for local delicacies. In my opinion, Tainan Toastmasters Club members have every reason to attend the charter ceremony of Nagasaki Toastmasters Club.

The Last Supper
Before he said sayonara, Tiger Nagasaki drove us to his favorite Chinese restaurant, the final destination for today. Upon his recommendations, we ordered Chanpon (Seafood Noodles), Seafood with Crispy Noodles at Kouzanrou Restaurant, we didn't order Dongpo Pork Stew, because the best is at the Shanghai Country House in Taipei and we ordered Fried rice instead. I promised Tiger Nagasaki if he could come visit Taipei, I would show him around to reciprocate his hospitality and kindness to let us know Nagasaki in such a short time.

Litter China in Nagasaki
For Chinese, Nagasaki means home, especially for Southern Chinese, like us from Taiwan. From the layout of the city (inner circle full of Chinese temples and outer circle full of cathedrals and churches), the delicacies of the city (Tongpo Pork Stew), and the culture of the city (Confucius Temple), everything reminded us of Southern China. Were I given a chance to choose one city in Japan to spend the rest of my life, Nagasaki is it. Have a look at photos of Day 6 in Kumamoto, Shimabara, and Nagasaki.