day 158, Nagasaki

Learning from the other day in Hiroshima I got up early to sort out where I was heading off to next. In the map for Fukuoka it advertised a northern Kyushu Japan rail pass which you could buy in Japan! Basically 95% of people travelling in Japan have a JR pass as it makes things sooooo much cheaper though the passes themselves are not cheap and most people plan their trips to maximise the value of the pass. Also you have to buy them out of the country normally well in advance. With this pass they were offering (3days for 7000 yen) it gives me freedom to go anywhere in that district. With that in mind I have 3 days to play with as I need to take a bus to Tokyo on Tuesday the 8th from Fukuoka, so have worked out I can go to Nagasaki for a day and night, train back to Fukuoka, onwards to Beppu (onsens and hells! (more on that later)) then on the Tuesday back to Fukuoka to catch the night Bus! So… jumped on a train to Nagasaki, checked into a very nice hostel and walked up to the memorial park and the memorial museum which was equally as interesting and a sobering experience as Hiroshima. From there I read more of the virgin suicides, walked back to the hostel stopping off along the way for things that interested me (a football game, interesting buildings, a statue…) then back at the hostel where I am the only guest, they had a giant hammock in the common room so sat there and finished off the Virgin Suicides which I thoroughly enjoyed and am on the lookout for the film version by Sofia coppola. Under the advice of the owner of the hostel I went down to the wharf to Red Dragon restaurant to sample Champon, this noodle dish in a meaty porky broth with squid, octopus, prawns and other things in. I got there around 8 and they were closing up so unperturbed I walked into Chinatown, found a restaurant and it was amazing, ridiculously nice then walked home with my headphones in, chatted to the Family on skype, booked a hostel in Beppu and went to bed!