Japan

Fukuoka, or Hakata as it's sometimes referred to, is the third largest city in Japan and accordingly it has the wide range of shops, restaurants, bars etc. that you'd expect. You can get up to whatever you want here, so just stick to what you like.

That said, there is very little sight-seeing to be done in the city. The huge Dazaifu Shrine outside the city is a big attraction, and the canal city Yanagawa is very beautiful at any time other than winter (I went once before in spring) - think Venice in Japan. In Fukuoka itself, the immense shopping centre Canal City is a focal point. In and around this area you can wander and get a feel for the place.

One part of the top (5th) floor of Canal City, is a floor dedicated entirely to Ramen from around Japan. There are 15 or so shops each serving up a variety of Ramen from a certain part of Japan. Look at the pictures outside each shop to get an idea and just go for it. Ichiran is a famous modern-style Ramen place which does real Hakata style tonkotsu stuff, but with it's own unique sauce. They give you a paper with 10 or so ways to customise your food - noodle texture, soup intensity, amount of meat. You sit in little booths which are supposedly designed to make you concentrate on the food, thereby enhancing its flavour. It wasn't the best I had in Kyushu, an air of novelty about it (sleek, black design), but it was fun, and very kitch-Japanese. Ichiran. 736-5272. 24 hours.

Fukuoka Tower is kind of interesting, and there's even a mini beach next to it. There are many museums (modern art and folk) which we didn't make it to.

We went to a couple of out-of-the-way but pretty typical places for dinner. Not worth trekking across town for, if only because I'm sure there are places just as good wherever you go. Motsu-nabe (meat hot-pot) is famous in this area, and it's great. I like drinking atsukan, hot sake, with it. It's not so straight-forward to eat though. Even Nanita, who is kind of local, had to ask the waitress exactly what to do. When she served the first round of food from the pot, she took some stock out as well. Apparently not the done thing... you have been warned!

Ohori Park (大濠公園), if you're in the area, is a large, pretty park with a big lake and lots of wildlife. (Photo at the bottom)

On the last day we took a drive out around the Hakata-wan peninsula, to the north of Fukuoka city. There a costal area that loops back round the mainland and gives a great view of the city, especially at night. While exploring the peninsula I actually drove up some ragged hill tops - almost wrecking the car in the process - but ended up coming across some nice little parks that had some great views over the mainland.

People in Fukuoka are great! Friendly and hospitable, a different world to Tokyo. The weather is also at the extremes. Freezing in winter, a furnace in summer - in both cases more so than Tokyo. Spending time in Fukuoka, and in the rest of Kyushu really completed my picture of Japan and I can't recommend it highly enough! You could probably tell from reading this that I like food and onsen. I think many people come to Japan not particularly interested in these things, but I really think that these are fundamental to understanding the country, the people, and taking advantage of everything it has to offer. Needless to say that knowing some Japanese really goes a long way, in the sense that you can find out more things, get more options for things to do. Reading, perhaps even more than speaking, is a real advantage. The Japanese like their brochures, whether for tourist attractions, menus, or onsen. Often not being able to read the words accompanying the pictures means you can miss out on some special places. I certainly made a decision to improve my kanji after this trip.

Kurokawa 黒川, North of Aso San, must be one of the most picturesque and quintessentially Japanese places you're likely to find in Kyushu. It's an onsen village, so if you don't like onsen, don't go. Unless you like ryokan (old style Japanese hotels), in which case you should.

Up in the hills and pretty remote, it is a small village along a river packed with some 30 gorgeous old-style ryokan, whose main attractions are their onsen. All but a few of these places offer a たちより (tachiyori/drop in) system, whereby you can use the onsen at your leisure without being an overnight guest. The thing to do here is get to the main information office first of all, where they have information and maps, and even sell onsen gear, such as towels and soaps etc. Most importantly, you should get the 'onsen pass'. Only 1200円, it gives you access to three onsen which you are (pretty much) free to choose from the 30 or so in the village.

How to choose is a different matter, as they all have their own novelties. The outside changing and lack of showers in some may put people off in winter (it was pretty cold!), but others have full spa-like changing rooms and all the extras. Faced with the dilemma of choosing, I just asked for three recommendations from the girl in the office, and she was right on the money:

1. Shinmeikan. This place has a system of dimly lit caves flooded with water through out, and also a rotemburo for men only. No showers, and outdoor changing, so I wouldn't go here last.
2. Ikoi Ryokan. A real luxury, similar to Hyotan Onsen in Beppu. Two tropical style rotemburo connected on high and low levels with a waterfall stream in the centre, inside jacuzzi-style bath and a steam room. Very nice indoor heated changing rooms, well kitted out. Would be good to go here last. The ryokan itself is stunning... I would go there just to wander around and marvel at the design of the place... see photo below.
3. Yama Mizu Ki. This ryokan is famous throughout Japan for being luxurious and very expensive. There are some facilities here that are only available to overnight guests, but no matter - the mixed outside pool is phenomenal. Like a rock garden, with piping hot and very very pure water cascading into it and then down into the river you can see from the bath. I can't describe the feeling coming out of this place. (Note you will need a car to get to this one - it's a way out of the centre.)

Beppu is the onsen (hot-spring) capital of Kyushu, but regardless of how much interest you have in this, Beppu is a great place to go. It's easily reached (though quite far) from Fukuoka and there are a huge number of places in the surrounding areas. We went to a lot of them and they were highlights of the trip without exception.

In Beppu itself - go driving around the hills if possible. There are some gorgeous panoramic views of the city to be had just by driving around, and if it's not too windy, don't miss the ropeway which is staggeringly high. I wouldn't be surprised if you can see San Francisco on a clear day.

Ignore Lonely Planet (again) and go to the Jigoku (Hells). Make an afternoon of it and buy the 2000円 pass. With this you can go to all 8 of them (or pay 400円) individually. They are natural hot springs, many of which approach . Due to the geology of the area, they form pools of all kinds of colours, from ocean blue to blood red. It is somewhat touristy for sure, and very different from Unzen in the Shimabara Peninsula, but it is cool all the same and I don't think it makes any sense to visit Beppu and miss out on these. The footbaths inside the hells are great - I didn't really want to sit down and take my shoes of because it was so freezing that day, but the water is nice and hot (although not in all of them) and leaves your feet glowing for half an hour afterwards. Good stuff. A warning - in one of the hells there are some animals kept in shameful conditions, most strikingly a fully grown elephant with hardly enough space to turn round. Not Japan's finest hour... inevitably the Japanese tourists there don't seem to mind, and continue posing for photos in front of clearly distressed animals. You'd have to decide for yourself if this is sufficient reason not to go. There are some nice places to eat up near the main cluster of 5 hells - some very good 芸色 (set meals) for around 1000円.

Near Usuki, about an hour outside Beppu, there is a site with a collection of old stone-Buddhas carved into the side of a mountain. Cheap entrance, and an enchanting walk through the hills, stopping to admire the series of carvings and light some incense, a sweeping vista of the surrounding gorge and a serene atmosphere very typically Japanese, yet quite rare to feel so calming and spiritual. At the entrance of the park, and sharing a building with the ubiquitous local food shop, there is a restaurant that has some outstanding 芸色. Very unexpected. I had an Aji (あじ) set for around 1000円 that was so fresh and tasty I was stunned.

Go to this onsen, it must be one of the best in Japan, 3 Michelin Stars, as Yuki put it:

Hyotan Onsen. 500円. Towels for rent. 0977 66 0527; 158-2 Kannawa.
7 or 8 baths, including a nice 露天風呂 (outside bath), rock pool, and waterfall room which are set at just the right pressure. 2 steam rooms with different intensities and 3 or 4 additional random pools, all pretty hot.

Hoyoland Onsen is a special case. Old school, hardly visible at night (although open til 10pm), hard to navigate and easy to wander into the wrong (male/female) section by mistake, it has a collection of mud baths that must surely be an acquired taste. I didn't really like it myself... sitting down in mud is strange, and I found it hard to relax. But having said that, it's a unique experience and I'm pretty glad to have gone. Note: a little expensive... 1100円-ish. No proper shower facilities or soap either - decide for yourself if that's cool having just emerged from a mud bath. 0977-66-2221. www18.ocn.ne.jp/~hoyoland

Eating. There didn't seem to be an abundance of good places in Beppu, despite its fame for freshwater fish and wild vegetables. None of the local magazines were very inspiring and no books I'd seen had many good suggestions. So I'd recommend asking around during the day, perhaps at some onsen, try and get some local knowledge. Around the station and arcade area things close surprisingly early. There are all the usual izakayas, if all else fails.

とよ常 本店. This tempura place by the sea is great, and unfathomably cheap. Get one of the 4 the set meals for around 1,200円 (dinner!) 0977-22-3274 http://gourmet.yahoo.co.jp/0006344258/

さかな市場. This seafood place near the station is also pretty good - kind of like an izakaza. The servings for our ちゃんこ nabe were huge, which is always nice. 0977-22-0521 http://r.gnavi.co.jp/f035855/

Yufuin is a tourist village around an hour from Beppu. It's very pretty, and deserves a special trip to wander round. It has unfathomable numbers of shops, but incredibly they're all beautiful and seem to have uniquely intriguing and enticing things, including a great Studio Ghibli shop that puts the Tokyo Mitaka museum shop to shame. If you like buying stuff, bring plenty of cash. Walk down to the end of the long shopping street all the way to the lake. We found a great tofu restaurant for lunch - yet again a 芸色 (set), but so varied and fresh that it was a real treat. If you don't make it there, there are pleeeenty of other options.

Sleeping in Beppu: Nishitetsu Resort Inn Beppu. The best business hotel yet. As cheap as the others, free parking (!), bang in the centre, big room, a decent onsen in the hotel. The only problem was the breakfast. Not great, and ran out of everything 45 mins before the end. If you can live with that, this place is great...

http://www.n-inn.jp/hotels/beppu/index.php

There is no quick route from Kagoshima to Beppu because there are too many volcanoes in the way! The quickest route is to go all the way back up to Fukuoka and then east all the way across. Much much better would be to go east first and visit Miyazaki. We didn't go this time because of time restrictions and a previous visit, but it's a cool place with a lot of good food, people and scenery.

North-east of Kagoshima is Kirishima. There's no doubt that this place is special - a huge national park with volcanic lakes and large-scale hiking everywhere I'm sure you could spend a week there. えびの高原 (Ebino kougen - I'm not sure about the kanji here) is well-known throughout Japan. We were hit by bad weather so there was limited stuff we could see. You should get a good guide to the area if you plan to spend serious time there.

The following things are definitely worth stopping at - easy to get to by car, no idea about public transport.

On the approach to Kirishima from Kagoshima there is a collection of things all close together, the focal point being the 6th Century Kirishima Jingu. Not so much to set it apart from other Japanese shrines, but there are some nice walks around the grounds, and some interesting colourings and designs on the buildings, not to mention surrounding views.

Carry on driving up past the beautiful Maruo (丸尾) waterfall (although be prepared to stop on a horribly sharp turn in order to park)...

...and head up the Kirishima Skyline - Route 1 for the largest of the volcanic lakes - Onami Ike (大浪池). If you park up here there is a great 30 minute walk up to the top of the mountain through beautiful woods. Spectacular views of the lake and a long walk all around the circumference are in store.

Right at the very top of the plateau is the Ebino-kogen park and lodge area, from which all the walks and treks begin. I hope you get better weather. It promises to be spectacular.

Kagoshima the city has a similar feel to Kumamoto - an even larger range of arcades forming the focal point of the town - but with the imposing addition of the volcano Sakurajima overlooking the whole city. There are a lot of things to do in the area. There's certainly no problem filling 2 or 3 days.

1. Sakurajima. You can drive to and up the volcano. The view must be great, but we were unlucky with weather so didn't make it.

2. Senganen. Large, varied and beautiful garden overlooking the bay and has the city's best views of Sakurajima.

3. The aquarium. Whether or not it's your cup of tea, the main tank with the manta rays and huge whale shark is amazing.

4. Mount Shiroyama (城山). Very central, a fantastic view of the volcano.

5. Ibusuki. An hour's drive from Kagoshima - lots of immense resort hotels - go there to take a hot sand bath（さなぶろ/sanaburo）in one of many places along the main stretch in the town. The place that comes recommended is: Saraku Ryokan (www11.ocn.ne.jp/~saraku/saraku00.htm). We missed it because of early-closing on New Year's Day, but went to Iwazaki Hotel instead. It's a huge all-inclusive resort hotel that has no appeal whatsoever for travellers, other than the sand bath

6. RAMEN - it's amazing... any book or guide leaflet will have a list of places to go. There's a place called Tontoro that does an amazing black pork ramen (famous in Kagoshima). Tontoro is the fatty meat from the neck of the animal, and you get a serious serving of it in the bowl. 099-222-5857. The only criticism might be that it overpowers the rest of the dish, but barely. We stumbled across this place simply because of the queue outside in the street. Any place with a queue outside will probably be just as good.

We were in Kagoshima for お正月 (New Year) and there was the ritual gathering of huge numbers of people at the main shrine in town, which is right underneath 城山. Kagoshima was also the friendliest city we found in Kyushu, people coming and talking to us on the street - fairly unusual for Japan.

A note about food - Lonely Planet Japan mentions a Bali restaurant in the centre of town, to which we went based on their recommendation. Unfortunately the food and atmosphere was nothing like described - I don't like leaving negative feedback on places, but given the persuasive power of Lonely Planet I thought it is worth a mention. We went there for a rare (for us) break from Japanese cuisine but wouldn't go back.

Sleeping in Kagoshima: Kagoshima Plaza Hotel Tenmonkan. Another business hotel, but one of the best. Good-sized room, great breakfast, right in the centre, really nice and friendly staff (especially in the parking lot), another 3000円 per night job, and coin-laundry which was really handy. www.rakuten.co.jp

Kumamoto Castle

Aside from the castle, which is a major sight and shouldn't be missed, Kumamoto is a strange town. Similarly to Kagoshima, the town is centred around some sprawling and bustling arcades, with a collection of hostess bars so big it makes Shinjuku look fairly tame. The interesting thing about this is that it really dominates the town centre and is a strange juxtaposition with the families and children also wandering around. There's not really much to recommend Kumamoto aside from the castle and some good nightlife, but it has these 3 possible advantages:

1. to see the castle
2. as a stop-over between Fukuoka and Kagoshima
3. a place to stay while visiting Aso.

Two izakaya we tried in the town. Both had been recommended, but were a little disappointing.

Izakaya: Uogashi Banya (Shimodori 1-5-22,1F)
Izakaya: Tachi (Shimodori 1-5-23 Yokoi Bldg.1F)

Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in the world. A 1.5 hour drive from Kumamoto, it involves a long windy drive up to a renowned museum and panorama of two lakes. The whole build-up along the country roads is gorgeous, as is the view of the lakes. However they are only a precursor to the cable car ride or short (cheaper) drive up to the summit and crater of the volcano itself.

This place is spectacular (very cold in winter - all covered in snow) and shouldn't be missed if you are in Kyushu for any length of time.

On the way back towards Kumamoto there is a beautifully picturesque onsen up in the mountains:

jigoku-onsen.co.jp/

It's cheap (c. 500円) and has 4 baths (3 of which outside), which are all fairly rustic (changing areas are mostly outside). Really atmospheric and well worth stopping at. There's also a nice-looking ryokan.

Sleeping in Kumamoto: the Super Hotel goes by its name. It's cheap (if you book online through rakuten.co.jp around 3000円 per person), with not-too-small rooms, central (10 mins walk from the centre), and a good breakfast...
http://www.superhotel.co.jp

This area is really has a lot to do, and it's different from the Shrine-Restaurant-Shop pattern of many Japanese places. You really need a car, because although it's possible to do it by bus, it'd be a real pain. Here is a list of unmissable things, followed by nice things to see in the same area.

Okawatiyama - part of Imari. It's a picture-perfect pottery village in beautiful surroundings up in the mountains. The streets are lined with places displaying the products, but it's also really nice is it's own right, with walks and trails off into the hills.

Hakata (Tonkotsu) Ramen - ”竹林” Address: 西松浦郡有田町曲川乙2573-1. Negi ramen. 6 levels of tenderness for noodles to choose from. This is seriously good local ramen, the stuff that Kyushu is famous for. This is the Negi Ramen (ねぎ):

Karatsu. There are many things to do here. Some "exquisite" gardens that we didn't actually get to see, a not-so-nice beach with a forest of pine trees all leaning at 45 degrees (strong winds!), but undoubtedly the best thing about this whole area is this place:

Kawatarou (0955-82-3208) in Yobuko-machi (Saga-ken). People come here all the way from Fukuoka apparently. I think this place is actually better known for lunch. When we left at around 9pm there was no-one else left in the restaurant.

Not for the timid. We had the complete course for around 2,500円. There is a huge swimming pool/tank in the middle of the place, swimming with squid. Needless to say they are caught and served up to you. When the squid arrive in front of you they are completely cut open and ready to eat as sashimi. However the squid are whole and still moving... in fact the tentacles and head were still squirming as we finished the sashimi, at which point they are whisked away and the remains turned briskly into tempura and brought back to you. My stomach did turn a couple of times while eating this, but, it was seriously good and washed down with local atsukan (hot sake), it was unforgettable.

Also worth a stop:

Imari - shrine(s) by the river.
Arita - Kyushu Ceramic Museum (free).
Arita - original quarry where the clay was discovered by a Korean artist.
Hill top views of the surrounding towns at night.

Hirado is on the coast. Parking in the centre, there is a small harbour and a nice main street with a few small shops. The thing to do here is the trail up and along a hill littered with beautiful temples and shrines. Right at the summit there is a turquoise coloured church established by traders in 16th Century.

We began finding at this point that there are many nice little traditional Japanese sweet shops around the area (and probably the rest of Japan!). You will probably have seen these around and assumed, like me, that they are just for present-buying etc. Actually, you can stop off in these places, try one or two of these sweets with some fresh tea, and it'll only cost a couple of hundred yen. It's great to try the local produce and also gives a little energy fix until dinner.

I've found the history of these Western parts of Kyushu really interesting (the arrival of the early European traders and what they got up to) so it was good to read about this around the town. There are many plaques around the place giving short history lessons. All in all, Hirado is an interesting place to stop off at if you are in the area, although I'm not sure it's worth a trip from much more than an hour away unless you have a special interest.

In Sasebo, South of Imari, there's a nice onsen in a hotel up in the hills - http://yamanoren.co.jp/
Only 500円, nice place, with a steaming outside bath as well as 4 or 5 inside and a sauna.

There is a steak restaurant in Imari that is spectacular - it definitely counts among the best meals I've had in Japan. Plate after plate of impossibly tender cuts of beef, I was glowing for hours. Takumi (0955-23-9713) http://yakiniku-takumi.com/imari/
Don't miss this. Although be warned... restaurants in this part of the world close early, so try to be there by 8pm, and definitely call ahead to reserve.

If you drive up into the mountains, there are some great views of the surrounding towns at night. And you can see the stars - if you live in Tokyo you may have forgotten about these...

From Nagasaki, taking the West route 206 up the peninsula, we went to Imari. It's a nice drive with some good coastal views. There's a great stop half way up at Saikai Bashi Kouen, right before the suspension bridge. A park with landscaped gardens and some lookout points with a huge panoramic over the cliffs.

We were lucky enough to be hosted for a couple of days in Imari with a guy who we think was genetically engineered to be the perfect host. Yuki spent his entire weekend giving us an unbelievable tour around the area. It reminded me how valuable it is to get some local knowledge - I doubt we'll get such a good insight into local Kyushu life anywhere else on this trip.

The mountainous path in between Nagasaki and Unzen is very atmospheric. On the way you can pass through Obama. If you don't know why this place is famous then you probably shouldn't bother going.

Filled with onsen, we travelled through there on a drizzly day, which made the place look pretty apocaliptic - huge streams of steam rising from every vent along the main street.

Yoshichou onsen (よしちおう), on the main road by the sea front is a huge bathhouse but has an excellent restaurant on the 2nd floor which appears to be open all day. We had deep-fried oysters, the local and rather uninspiring Nagasaki speciality Champon (チヤンポン), and an absolutely unforgettable dish whose name I forgot to write down...!! It's similar to a Chinese speciality which is like fatty slices of pork belly on a bowl of rice. It was very very good. If you do go there, there are pictures of it plastered around the place so you shouldn't have too much trouble getting it ordered. (Just found it - it's called Kakunidon/かくに丼). I bet the onsen is pretty good itself, but we didn't go in.

The drive round the whole Shimabara peninsula is along mountainous rounds, pretty fun to drive. We were really unlucky and got a really overcast day so we got no views at all, however, it's very high up and there are a lot of viewing points, so there's no doubt there are some fantastic views.

On the way from Obama to Shimabara there are many places to stop - we found a nice waterfall (Ayagaeri?) on route 132, near Nakayukawauchi.

If you drive that way you'll see signs, but it's not really worth going out of your way for. Due to the weather we didn't make it to Unzen itself.

Shimabara is definitely worth stopping at. We didn't get a good look round - it was getting dark when we arrived. The castle is very atmospheric and the town is full of beautiful little features such as the carp stream (a waterway that runs through a whole area in which there are hordes of Koi carp swimming around) and a picture-perfect old street lines with Samurai houses and a stream running down the middle (this time without carp) which used to be their source of water. Great stuff.

Eating in Nagasaki: Try Biton (095-829-0325) (Tram stop - Kanko Dori/観光道り) (Area: Douzamachi/どうざまち) - an unusual Izakaya in that everything on the menu is very good. Specializing in pork, they have a nice range of local food, including gyoza in soup, some great yakiniku/tori and a nice selection of local sake and shochu. Get the carpaccio (fish - not meat) of the day and the fried tofu and the gyoza in soup. The more expensive of the shochu from Kagoshima (富乃宝山) are also great.

Fukuoka Airport

From Fukuoka airport we rented a car at Budget Rent-a-Car via Tocoo (http://www2.tocoo.jp), the only English rent-a-car service in Japan that I found. Very easy and no fuss, 65,000円 for 2-weeks in a small car with GPS navigation.

We left at 12pm and drove all the way down to Nagasaki via local roads (no toll charges). There are a couple of interesting points along the way, but it's nothing special. 大橋公園　(oo hashi kouen) is a big dam about two-thirds of the way to Nagasaki, just past Saga. It's a nice place to stop and very beautiful.

Nagasaki

Once in Nagasaki we stayed with friends in one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen - huge, very Japanese and will a mountain-top view of the whole city. Not much use for others, but nevertheless a fascinating insight into how some people live in this part of the world. It is certainly a far cry from the rabbit-huts we are all used to in Tokyo!

Nagasaki is a cool city. It is very Japanese, but with a strong link to the West predicated on trade links to Europe (espcially Holland and Britain in the 19th Century), and very very different to what anyone living in Tokyo or Hokkaido would be used to. It's set within a small mountain range that is curiously reminiscent of the slopes Rio de Janeiro, particularly the views from up high in Laranjeiras. A stunning setting. Electric trams whisk you around the city in no time, and you can get a day-pass for 500円. Single trips are now 120円. So for most people it will be a no-brainer. Most places are also walkable from one to the other if you have more time. The centre is actually all quite compact. All guide books will give you an exhaustive list of places to go in Nagasaki, but here are my impressions:

The main 'sights' are mostly outside the immediate city-centre. So even after a full day of sight-seeing, I was left feeling like I hadn't really seen the heart of the city. So it'd be a good idea to set aside an hour or two for aimless strolling around the JR Nagasaki station area.

The hypercentre of the 2nd atomic bomb detonation is 15 minutes outside the centre by tram. There are monuments, fountains, a park and a museum. It's not as overwhelming as the equivalent in Hiroshima, but still moving, and a necessary excursion regardless if you are in the area.

The shrines dotted around Nagasaki are all nice. Beautifully maintained, and some with great views over the city. If you've seen shrines in Japanese cities before, you know what to expect.

The famous Megane-bashi (Spectacle Bridge) is pretty and there is a great arty cafe with excellent food/coffees/teas where you can easily spend an hour or two. [Cafe Foglio (095-822-2442) It's right next to the bridge on the 2nd floor. Looks terrible from the outside, but it's not.] They also have local handicrafts and art work on display and for sale. Great! (Tram stop: Nigiwaibashi)

The many sites around the hilly area of Sofukuji Temple (Tram stop: Shokakuji-shita) are beautiful and I'd suggest you head for that area and spend an hour or two just wandering. 中の茶屋 - Nakano Chaya is a lovely garden with teahouse up in the same area. Everything around there is superbly signposted in four languages and you really can just go exploring.

If you happen to be around the (small but nice) Chinatown area around lunchtime, you could try Kakuni-manjiu (かくにまんじう) for a quick lunch. It's sold in stalls on the street and is a tasty Chinese white-bun with meat/pork and only 300円. If you do this, don't make the mistake of eating in the nearby square at the end of the road. There a clan of huge eagles/hawks that hang out on the nearby power cables. If they spot someone eating they quite literally fly right at you from behind and snatch lunch out of your hands, meaning you have to walk all the way back down the road and get some more. Trust me.

The other must-see place is the Glover Garden. Really not what you'd expect from rural Japan. A fascinating story of English families that came to Japan in the 19th Century, built multi-national trading companies, befriended samurai and even contributed to the over-throwing of governments. This huge sprawling park houses original and reconstructed houses from the period, and some beautiful landscaped gardens and fountains. There are also moving walkways and elevators built into the side of the mountain in a very 'only-in-Japan!' kind of way. Aside from the contents of the gardens, there are stunning views of Nagasaki throughout. When we were there, there was a Christmas-infused jazz concert under way. Not great, but the atmosphere was special. Go at night.

We went to the harbour area by Ohato station for dinner, on a recommendation. It wasn't great food, but possibly a nice date-spot.