Nagasaki: Peace Park, Glover Garden, Dejima, champon in Chinatown and the night view from Inasa

The city that was Japan's only window to the world for 200 years, and was then wiped out by the second bomb: a memorial and a museum in the morning, the Scottish merchants' houses on the hill, the artificial Dutch island, and a spectacles bridge. A city on slopes, with a tram.

A day in Nagasaki, a city on slopes that you get around by tram. You start in the morning at Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Museum, ride to the Spectacles Bridge, and eat champon down by the harbor. In the afternoon you walk up to Oura Cathedral and Glover Garden, come down to Dejima, and in the evening ride the ropeway up Mount Inasa for the night view. The tram is ¥150 a ride, and this day has five rides, ¥750, so the day pass, ¥600, pays off. It is sold at the tourist information center and at the front desks of the hotels along the line, not on the tram.

Verified online, September 20268 stops · 08:30 to 20:00¥8,600 · ≈ $54 per personWalking between stops: 51 min · Transport: ¥450HistorySlopes and stairsFood

The day on a map

8 stops, in order

Stops: 8
Walking minutes: 19

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: You start at the Atomic Bomb Museum. From Nagasaki Station, take the tram toward Akasako, 10 minutes, ¥150, to the Genbaku Shiryokan stop, or one stop farther, to Heiwa-koen, near the Peace Statue. From Fukuoka: the Kamome Shinkansen (since 2022) with a change, 80 minutes, ¥6,000.

08:3010:30
Stop 1Memorial and museumMust
Peace Park, the hypocenter and the Atomic Bomb Museum
You start on 9 August 1945, 11:02. The giant Peace Statue, one hand to the sky and one to the side, a black pillar at the hypocenter, and the remains of the cathedral. The museum (¥200) is small and hard, like Hiroshima's, with a clock that stopped at 11:02. From 24 November 2026 until March 2027 Section C is closed for renovation, and most of Section B, with the objects from the blast, stays open. Two hours, and some fresh air afterwards.
¥200 · ≈ $1Open in Maps
Ride to the Spectacles Bridge
- Train · 32 min · ¥150From the Genbaku Shiryokan stop, about 3 minutes from the museum, tram Line 1 toward Sofukuji, 12 stops and 18 minutes, to Nishi-Hamanomachi. From there about 8 minutes on foot through the Hamanomachi arcade to the bridge.
11:0011:45
Stop 2BridgeRecommended
Meganebashi Bridge: the Spectacles Bridge and the heart stone
A stone bridge from 1634, the first in Japan, with two arches that reflect in the water like a pair of spectacles. Look for the heart stone in the river wall: it brings luck in love, and there is a line of tourists for it. Free. The parallel street has castella shops, the Portuguese cake that became Nagasaki's souvenir (Fukusaya, since 1624).
¥500 · ≈ $3Open in Maps
Ride to lunch by the harbor
- Train · 17 min · ¥150From the Meganebashi stop, tram Line 5 toward Ishibashi, 6 stops and 11 minutes, to Oura Tenshudo. Shikairou is a minute from the stop.
- or: Walk · 22 minSouth through Hamanomachi and Chinatown, and along the bay to Oura. About 1.7 km.
12:0013:00
Stop 3LunchMust
Lunch break in Oura
Eat champon, noodles in a milky broth with seafood and vegetables, invented by a Chinese immigrant in 1899 for hungry students. After lunch you walk up from here to the cathedral. The options:
- ShikairouAbout ¥1,400
  The place where champon was born, a large building next to Glover Garden with a view of the harbor, a minute from the Oura Tenshudo tram stop. Lunch 11:30 to 15:00, irregular closing days.
- Chinatown, Shinchi
  One of Japan's three Chinatowns, about 11 minutes on foot, on the way from the Spectacles Bridge. Every restaurant has sara-udon, crispy noodles with sauce.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,300 · ≈ $8Open in Maps
Up to the cathedral
- Walk · 5 minUp the boutique-lined slope to the white church. About 400 meters.
13:1514:00
Stop 4ChurchRecommended
Oura Cathedral: the oldest church in Japan and the hidden Christians
A white Gothic church from 1864. Here farmers who had been secret Christians for 250 years revealed themselves to a French priest, and since 2018 it has been a World Heritage site. ¥1,000 including the museum. On the slope up to it, buy castella and pudding.
¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in Maps
On to Glover Garden
- Walk · 3 minContinue up the slope, beside the church, to the garden gate. About 200 meters.
14:0015:30
Stop 5Historic gardenMust
Glover Garden: the Scottish merchants' houses on the hill
The villa of Thomas Glover, the Scot who sold weapons and ships to the samurai who toppled the shogun, and who built the Kirin brewery. A hillside garden with moving walkways, 9 colonial houses and a view of the harbor and the Mitsubishi shipyard. Since 1 April 2026 entry is ¥1,300. Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly' is set in Nagasaki, and there is a statue in the garden.
¥1,300 · ≈ $8Open in Maps
Down to Dejima
- Train · 18 min · ¥150Walk down to the Oura Tenshudo stop, and tram Line 5 toward Hotarujaya, 2 stops and 3 minutes, to Medical Center. From there about 6 minutes on foot to Dejima's entrance bridge.
- or: Walk · 18 minNorth along the bay, on Oura Kaigan-dori, to Dejima. About 1.5 km.
15:4516:45
Stop 6Historic siteRecommended
Dejima: the Dutch artificial island
The fan-shaped island where the Dutch were confined for 200 years, the only Westerners in closed Japan. It was reconstructed with houses, warehouses and a kitchen, and a new bridge restores the original entrance. Since 1 April 2026 entry is ¥1,100. The story here is how Japan learned medicine, astronomy and beer from a few bored merchants.
¥1,100 · ≈ $7Open in Maps
16:4518:00
Break
A rest at the hotel, if you are staying near Dejima, in Hamanomachi or near Nagasaki Station
This day starts at 08:30 and ends at 20:00 on the mountain, and after Dejima there is an early dinner marked 'If there is time'. Go back to the hotel instead. If you are staying near Dejima, in Hamanomachi or in Shianbashi, it is a walk of up to 10 minutes. If you are staying near Nagasaki Station, ride Line 1 from the Dejima stop, 5 minutes, ¥150, and at 18:00 head straight from the station to the ropeway. You eat dinner at the station after the ropeway, at Soshurin, which is open until 22:00. If you are staying farther away, do not go back: eat an early dinner in Shianbashi as planned.
Walk to Shianbashi
- Walk · 11 minEast, past Chinatown, to the Shianbashi junction. About 850 meters.
17:0018:00
Stop 7Early dinnerIf there is time
Early dinner in Shianbashi or at the station
Eat early, because the ropeway is waiting. Nagasaki's third dish, after champon and castella, is toruko rice: the plate for big kids, spaghetti Napolitan, tonkatsu and pilaf rice on one plate. The options:
- Tsuru-chan¥1,580 for toruko rice
  A cafe from 1925, considered the oldest in Kyushu, a minute from the Shianbashi tram stop, and a place for toruko rice. Open 09:00 to 21:00.
- Soshurin, at Nagasaki Station
  Champon and sara-udon on the 1st floor of Kamome Ichiba, in the station, on the way to the bus to the ropeway. 11:00 to 22:00, last order 21:15, so you can also come after the ropeway.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,300 · ≈ $8Open in Maps
Ride to the ropeway
- Bus · 33 minFrom the Shianbashi stop, tram Line 1 to Nagasaki Station, 7 stops and 12 minutes, ¥150. From there Nagasaki Bus route 3 or 4, toward Shimo-Ohashi, Koebaru or Aikawa, about 7 minutes to Ropeway-mae, plus 2 minutes on foot to the lower station.
18:3020:00
Stop 8ViewpointMust
Mount Inasa Ropeway: the $10 million night view
From 333 meters the harbor is an amphitheater of lights, one of Japan's top three night views. Since 1 April 2026 the ropeway costs ¥1,900 round trip, runs every 15 to 20 minutes, and the last ride up is at 21:00. The free shuttle leaves the major hotels and JR Nagasaki Station only at 19:00 and 19:30, and you sign up for it in advance online. The line in season is 40 minutes, so arrive at sunset. Go back to the city by bus to the station, or on the shuttle, which goes down at 20:30, 21:00, 21:30 and 22:10, and eat castella at the hotel.
¥1,900 · ≈ $12Open in Maps

Nagasaki: Peace Park, Glover Garden, Dejima, champon in Chinatown and the night view from Inasa

8 stops, in order

Peace Park, the hypocenter and the Atomic Bomb Museum

Meganebashi Bridge: the Spectacles Bridge and the heart stone

Lunch break in Oura

Oura Cathedral: the oldest church in Japan and the hidden Christians

Glover Garden: the Scottish merchants' houses on the hill

Dejima: the Dutch artificial island

A rest at the hotel, if you are staying near Dejima, in Hamanomachi or near Nagasaki Station

Early dinner in Shianbashi or at the station

Mount Inasa Ropeway: the $10 million night view

Beppu: the seven hells, a sand bath, food steamed in volcanic vapor and onsen on every corner

Naha: Shuri Castle, Kokusai Street, Makishi Market, the potters' district and a beach in the city

Fukuoka: Dazaifu Shrine, the National Museum, tonkotsu ramen and the yatai stalls at night