(2) Kyushu Trip: 11-Dec-2016 Fukuoka / Saga / Nagasaki

Rise and shine! We dragged ourselves out of the comfy futons, got ready and checked out by 9am.

We took a slow 10-min walk to the Car Rental place, dragging our suitcases through the cool windy streets.

Not many cars in the morning.

We picked up our pre-booked Toyota Wish from Budget Car Rental (Hakata-Gion).

It could accommodate 5 of us comfortably and had decent boot space for 3 big luggage, 2 cabin bags and a camera haversack.

We set off southwards towards Saga and first stop was to get our breakfast at Tosu Premium Outlets.

We arrived at Tosu Premium Outlets a little before the opening hours.

We got our hot beverages when we first got in.

Next, we need get our first hot meal of the day, we came to the food court.

Chow time! Well fed and watered!

We continued our drive to Yoshinogari Historical Park, our first sightseeing place.

The Yoshinogari Historical Park (吉野ヶ里歴史公園, Yoshinogari Rekishi Kōen) is an outstanding archaeological site in Saga Prefecture. The sprawling park covers a large settlement from the Yayoi Period (300 BC to 300 AD) where dozens of pit dwellings, elevated store houses and over 2000 tombs were unearthed. It is the largest and most important Yayoi Period site in Japan, and the best place to learn about this era of Japanese history.

We continued our drive to our next destination, Saga Castle.

Saga Castle (佐賀城 Saga-jō) is a Japanese castle located in Saga City, Saga Prefecture, Japan. It is a hiraijirō, a castle built on a plains rather than a hill or mountain, and is surrounded by a wall rather than being built above a stone base. Saga castle was home to the Nabeshima clan, daimyō of Saga Domain. It was also known as "Submerged Castle" (沈み城 Shizumi-jō)

It was late afternoon and we took a long drive towards Nagasaki, arriving by dusk.

We quickly headed towards the last sightseeing place of the day before they closed admission for the day -> Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum (長崎原爆資料館 Nagasaki Genbaku Shiryōkan) is in the city of Nagasaki, Japan. The museum is a remembrance to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki by the United States of America 9 August 1945 at 11:02:35 am. Next to the museum is the Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, built in 2003, which marks the hypocenter of the event. The bombing marked a new era in war, making Nagasaki a symbolic location for a memorial.The counterpart in Hiroshima is the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. These locations symbolize the nuclear age, remind visitors of the vast destruction and indiscriminate death caused by nuclear weapons, and signify a commitment to peace.

Lots of exhibits on the atrocities and after-effects of the bombing. Here were the remnants of the items found from the devastated ground zero.

Finally we got to check into the Airbnb apartment at Nagasaki. We had two units. The photographs shown was one of the units. Before we turned in for the night. We had to get our dinner and get a night view of Nagasaki; we drove up to Mount Inasa.

A small kitchenette but fully equipped with fridge, gas stove, microwave oven, cooking utensils, and eating cutlery. Dinner was easy, we headed out to a nearby convenience store and bought some noodles and frozen foodstuff. We cooked our meals in the kitchen.

Mount Inasa (稲佐山 Inasa-yama) is a hill to the west of Nagasaki which rises to a height of 333 metres (1,093 ft). The Nagasaki Ropeway allows visitors to travel to the top from Nagasaki. A short walk from the cable car station are several buildings that house transmitters for TV and radio stations that serve Nagasaki and the surrounding area. There is an observation platform that is popular with tourists as it provides spectacular views of Nagasaki's "10 Million Dollar Night View"

It was very cold and windy at Mount Inasa. We drove back to our apartment and called it a day.