Nagasaki

Yesterday, the 7th, we were in Nagasaki.  It is a nice town.  Not stunningly beautiful, but nice.  It's quite hilly and the hills come right down to the water.  This makes a pretty sight at early morning and at dark because the lights sparkle all over the hillsides.  There is a large, dramatically lit bridge that spans the entrance to the harbor.  We sailed under it and cleared it at about 30'.  It felt odd and would have been interesting to watch from shore.  The terminal is new and long with a swooping roof with grass growing on top.  That has created a nice park which seems to be popular and is a good use of limited landspace, a problem for Japan. 

We took a tour to Arita, known for ceramics.  It was about an hour drive through dense forest and big lakes.  Arita is quaint and looks like a movie set.  We visited the Genemon Kilns where all the pottery is made by hand.  It was interesting to watch the craftspeople.  Their products are perfection and really expensive.  The retail store was fun to look at though.  They also had a museum with many pieces they bought back from England.  The early business between 1650-1750 was all for export to England.  We walked down the main street where most shops only sold wholesale, then along a Tonbai wall made from used kiln brick to the back alley where the workshops are located behind the stores.  We couldn't see in the work areas but could hear them and it was a nice walk with interesting architeture.  We visited another shop which also had a museum/showroom with pieces bought back from England.  When we left everyone working in the shop, from clerks to the owner, lined up along the street and waved goodby to us.  I've seen this done before in Japan.   We later stopped for lunch and the workers there did the same.

Back in Nagasaki we visited the Peace Memorial Park where there are many peace sculptures from different countries and a large open area with pleasant gardens.  Many school children visit and they were happy to practice their English on us so we heard lots of "hello, hello".  They made paper cranes to hang in the garden and one group sang a song about peace.  Our guide said that the Japanese aren't angry with the U.S. for dropping the A Bomb but are (or were) angry with their military for their "arrogance" and with their journalists for not printing the truth.  They had won all previous wars and the military were warned not to go to war against the U.S.  We happened upon a survivor who told much the same story.  Interestingly, there was no mention of Pearl Harbor.

At the end of the day, preschoolers came on board and performed some traditional dances. They were adorable.  Then some really talented high school students beat on a variety of drums (forgot the name, Michael) and their brass band played.  Many townspeople were drawn to the pier by the ship and also the loud music.  The Diamond Princess was made my Mitsubishi in Nagasaki so people were interested in welcoming it back to it's "home".  We passed the shipyard but it was dark so their planned water show for us was cancelled.  We were late leaving because each country handles immigration differently and their are so many non-English speakers on board that somebody always get confused even though announcements are made in several languages. 

Today, the 8th, it rained but was still fairly warm.  We just relaxed and went to one lecture.  This morning, we had to walk through a room past a machine that recorded our temperature.  The machine was several feet from us and we walked at a normal pace.  The point was that China won't allow anyone to disembark tomorrow if they have a raised temperature.  (The Captain just announced that he is swerving to avoid Chinese fishing boats that seem to want to sell him some fresh fish.  I hope that is the story and they aren't pirates.  We are weaving all over the place to avoid the boats and their fishing nets.)  Tomorrow, we spend the day in Shanghai.