Day 3: Osaka to Nagasaki

Today is a rainy day, which is perfect for travelling. We woke up early at 5am to ensure we don’t miss the train, had breakfast at 7am when the restaurant opened, and checked out by 8:30am.

We caught the Midosuji subway from Namba station to Shin Osaka and it was packed. We went via the womens carriage. We arrived quite early at Shin Osaka, around 9am and tried to change to an earlier train but was told it was full so we just waited for the 10:09 train.

We spent a pleasant journey on the Shinkansen and glad we were not outdoors because it was bleak and wet outside. We originally wanted to stop at Hakata and do a quick walk around the station but because of the weather we decided to continue our journey on the next available train. We went through the transfer gate to the JR limited express line to Nagasaki.

The scenery on the coastal rail line from Hakata to Nagasaki was really beautiful. On the left side I can see the sea and the right consisted of rolling hills, farmland and beautiful villages with the traditional Chinese style roofs.

We arrived at Nagasaki close to 3pm and the rain has stopped. We went on a pedestrian overpass to catch the No. 1 streetcar to the hotel.

We noticed that Nagasakians look more “Chinese” than in other Japanese cities, perhaps because of the long history of Chinese trading and settlement in the city.

Our hotel is called the Richmond Hotel and is located at Shianbashi (思案橋), which is a historical district and originally a red light district but is now full of nightclubs, liquor shops and karaoke bars. The hotel is very posh, and gave us everything we need (including a full complement of skincare including facial masks)

We were hungry as we did not have lunch so we ventured out for a walk to find a place to eat. Everything is closed during the day around the hotel but we eventually discovered Hamanomachi – another covered shopping street similar to the one in Osaka.

Found a fantastic stationery shop selling a lot of fountain pens. Perved over all the different models, and bought two pen cases.

For dinner we debated whether to have pasta or try a local dish called トルコライス (Turkish rice). We decided to go for the latter. It was very unusual – a combination of Neapolitan spaghetti, curried pilaf fried rice, and your choice of topping (hamburg meat, tonkatsu etc.). I chose the mix platter consisting of hamburg, boiled egg and ebi fry.