The hotel stay package comes with 2 free entrance tickets to Glover Garden. We're going to Glover Garden today!
There's the Bunmeido (文明堂) main store just opposite our hotel.
Bunmeido is famous for their Castella cakes, and castella cakes is also a specialty of Nagasaki, which was brought over by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century.
We took a tram to Oura Tenshudo-shita station (大浦天主堂下駅) to access to Glover Garden.
Castella cake is just like a buttery sponge cake with eggs as the main ingredient. Bunmeido's castella are quite expensive! One peice (approx 27cm long) costs 1680yen. This 3 flavours are bunmeido's reresentative - original, black sugar and match.
There was a street of shops selling mostly castella cakes along the way to Glover Garden.
Below is the list of castella shops along the way... Whew! Nagasaki is really the home of castella cakes.
There is Seifudo (清風堂), which I bought my castella, as they were the cheapest and had many samples for tasting :)
The cheese flavour is the No. 1 best seller in the shop.
There is Nagasaki Izumiya (長崎 和泉屋). Their chocolate covered castella was the best seller and their Kireka (綺麗菓) - a two layered castella with red beans below was widely advertised.
Besides castella, there were also a few shops selling Nagasaki's other specialty - Kakuni (角煮) or actually "Kong-ba" in hokkien or what we call 东坡肉 in chinese. One piece of Kakuni Manju (actually kong ba bao) costs 300yen! I think I would just go to Westlake restaurant for my dose of kong ba bao instsead. However, they are very popular among High school students.
Another Kakuni shop.
There was also a quaint picture book museum along the way to Glover Garden (祈りの丘絵本美術館)
Stall selling trinkets on the way to Glover Garden.
Glover Garden is also a popular spot for students' outfield study trips.
Finally reached the entrance gate of Glover Garden.
Glover Garden is a park in Nagasaki, which was built for Thomas Blake Glover, a Scottish entrepreneur who contributed to the modernization of Japan in shipbuilding, coal mining and many other fields.
The entrance fee to Glover Garden is 600yen.
Glover Garden is located in Minami Yamate hillside overlooking Nagasaki habour.
You could also see Mount Inasa from here.
This building here is the the former Mitsubishi second dock house. So many students in the balcony!
There's a big koi pond in front of the Mitsubishi dock house. Great view from the balcony.
Beautiful koi fishes
The young and the old...
There's also an Al-fresco cafe in Glover Garden.
The former residence of Frederick Ringer - designated by the Japanese Government as an important cultural asset (国指定重要文化財).
The former residence of William Alt - also designated by the Japanese Government as an important cultural asset. William Alt was also a merchant influential to the development of Nagasaki as a trading port.
Happened to see this weird looking plant outside of William Alt residence.. the seeds inside seems to have this alien looking eyes staring at you..
Beautiful rose captured in Glover Garden
Finally reached the residence of Thomas Blake Glover or Glover House. Glover House is also designated by the Japanese Government as an important cultural asset.
Thomas Blake Glover, a Scots man came to Nagasaki in 1859. While dealing principally in trade, he engaged in the opening of modern industries. He also contributed in establishing the Imperial Meiji Restoration Government. For these meritorious deeds, he was awarded the Second Class Order of the Rising Sun. In 1911, at the age of 73, he was laid to eternal rest.
This monument is erected in honour of his meritorious deeds.
October 1961, Tsutomu Tagawa, Mayor of Nagasaki City
On the way out, we passed by a museum which was Nagasaki's traditional performing arts museum (長崎伝統芸能館). The museum introduces to you the city's most famous festival in Nagasaki - Kunchi.
Who could miss out the souvenir shop at Glover Garden?
Ryoma (龍馬) souvenir tee shirt ?
Not to forget returning back to the souvenir street to buy some castella cakes. This shop carries most of the castella cake brands.
They also sell packaged Kakuni, and freeze dried mentaiko.
woah! this signboard indicates the different schools and organization who are visiting today. A great welcome to them (and their cash spent buying stuff here)
After leaving Glover Garden, we took a leisure stroll along the streets nearby. Simply love these small streets with cafes along the road.
We passed by the Dutch slopes (オランダ坂 Orlando Saka) of Nagasaki - a pleasant hillside residential area of Western merchants, mostly from Netherlands in the 2nd half of the 19th century.
This memorial honors the Dutch slope as one of Japan's top 100 streets in Showa 61 year (1986), August 10. I have a new resolution now - to visit as many of the 100 streets as possible in my lifetime... difficult task?
We decided to walk back to our hotel as Nagasaki city is really a small place. Glover Garden is just 5 tram stops away from our hotel, but with the great weather and beautiful scenery, it was worth the walk.
There was a park on the way back. Many aunties and uncles were doing their water painting there. I would also love to take up water painting if I have the time.
We also passed by Dejima, which was a man made island constructed in 1636 to segregate the Portuguese residents from the Japanese population and control their missionary activities.
Last stop was Nagasaki Port Ferry Terminal. There is also a private yacht docking area, and a street of restaurants beside it. Nice dining Al-fresco area there as well.
We had a simple lunch of udon at the basement food court of a departmental store. Udon was cheap (approx 280yen for small bowl, 380yen for big bowl) but very delicious and QQ!
Zaru Udon with side dish - Kakiage (mixed vegetables tempura)
Soup Udon with side dish - Ika tempura
Of course we could not miss going to the supermarket just beside the food court after lunch. They carry all the varieties of instant chanpon noodles - something which you only find in Nagasaki supermarkets.
Also not to forget Nagasaki Sara-udon... hey it's on sale for 98yen per packet - cheap!
It's bye bye to Nagasaki. The same event area outside Nagasaki train station is having a dragon dance performance by some school students.
Shinkansen from Nagasaki to Fukuoka takes another 2 hours. This particular cabin is like the 'business class" of shinkansen. but no takers... seats were all empty.
This is another of my favourite drink in Japan - Royal Milk Tea. It has a stronger and creamier taste than our teh si.. oh, and it has to be Kirin brand. The others are not so nice.
By the time we reached our hotel in Fukuoka, it's already in the evening. The hotel is about 10 minutes walk from Hakata train station. Nice hotel, I think the best during our Kyushu trip. Furthermore, still cheap - costs about 5000yen per night.
Passed by a shopping street on the way to dinner. There was a restaurant with a few fish tanks outside. Here is the famous squid where they serve live squid sashimi (イカの活き造り ika no ikizukura). Apparently, the squid sashimi is transparent, and the head and tentacles are still moving.
Dinner was at a casual izakaya which apparently specializes in chicken. This is the cucumber appetizer dish, provided to all guests. The cucumber was sweet and crunchy, and they serve some salt and sesame seeds on the side for dipping.
Pork shabu salad. Pork was tender complimented with a sesame sauce for the salad dressing.
Chicken wings - a tad on the salty side
Sashimi 3 kinds - I simply had to try this : horse sashimi, chicken sashimi and glizzard sashimi. They are served with soya sauce, grounded ginger and a tangy citrus mustard paste. My favourite was the glizzard, still crunchy on the bite. Horse sashimi tastes like a normal tuna sashimi, whereas chicken sashimi really didn't have much taste.
Last dish we ordered was a chicken hotpot. Minced chicken ball was nice.
We walked around the area Nakasu (中洲) after dinner. Nakasu is the red light district of Fukuoka, with every other shop being a hostess bar. Besides the red light district, it is also popular among office workers for the rows of yatai(s) lined along the Nakagawa (Naka river), where they can catch a late supper with a few friends after work.. or after drinks?
On the way back to our hotel, we saw rows of trees decorated with lighting, all ready for the Christmas season.
