Nagasaki: Local Specialties, Souvenirs, Shrines & Temples, Sightseeing | Japan 47 Prefecture Guide
Nagasaki has more islands than any other prefecture, and a coastline second only to Hokkaido. And during the closed-country years it was Japan's only window for trade.
Local Specialties
Castella comes from a confection the Portuguese brought. The name is said to derive from Castile in Spain.
Champon and sara udon are said to have been devised in Meiji-era Nagasaki as cheap, good meals for Chinese students. A great many of this prefecture's specialities are things that came from outside and were remade here. Not imitation, but something closer to translation.
Goto hand-stretched udon, Tsushima conger, loquats, Nagasaki wagyu, and cultured pearls from Omura Bay.
Souvenirs
Castella, champon, glass biidoro, Sasebo burgers. And Hasami ware tableware.
Hasami ware, from Hasami town, is said to rank near the top nationally for everyday tableware. One of the white bowls in your kitchen is probably from this town.
Sacred Sites | Shrines & Temples
Oura Tenshudo and Kashiragashima Church and Harajo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 29 shrines and temples worth knowing in Nagasaki.
Oura Tenshudo(Nagasaki)church / National Treasure / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / Nagasaki / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
The oldest surviving Christian building in Japan, and a National Treasure. In 1865 hidden Christians declared their faith to a priest here, an event known as the Discovery of the Believers. For two hundred and fifty years the faith had been passed on without a single priest.
Sanno Jinja(Nagasaki)Shinto shrine / Nagasaki / Blessings: warding off misfortune
Half of its second torii was blown away by the atomic bomb, and the remaining half still stands. Called the one-legged torii, it was preserved rather than removed.
Sofukuji(Nagasaki)Buddhist temple / National Treasure / Nagasaki / Blessings: warding off misfortune
A Chinese temple built by resident Chinese, and the birthplace of the Obaku school in Japan. Its Daiyu Hoden and Daiippo gate are National Treasures. The Nagasaki Kunchi is bound up with a food culture that traces back to the fucha cuisine of this temple.
Chinzei Taisha Suwa Jinja(Nagasaki)Shinto shrine / Nagasaki / Blessings: love and relationships, warding off misfortune
The shrine of the Nagasaki Kunchi. It was built to re-establish Shinto in a Nagasaki left in disarray by the spread of Christianity. The Kunchi is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Kashiragashima Church(Shinkamigoto)church / Important Cultural Property / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / Goto Islands / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A stone church. Villages and churches of the hidden Christians are scattered across the Goto Islands, and together they make up a World Cultural Heritage site.
Harajo(Minamishimabara)Utaki (Ryukyuan sacred grove) / Historic Site / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / Shimabara Peninsula / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
The last stage of the Shimabara Rebellion. Thirty-seven thousand people held out here.
Kuroshima Tenshudo(Sasebo)church / Important Cultural Property / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / Sasebo and the north / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
The islanders laid the brick themselves. The floor is tiled with Arita ware.
Egami Tenshudo(Goto)church / Important Cultural Property / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / Goto Islands / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A small wooden church. Hand-painted wood grain survives on its columns.
Kashiragashima Tenshudo(Shinkamigoto)church / Important Cultural Property / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / Goto Islands / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A stone church, unusual in Japan. The congregation quarried the stone from their own island.
26 Martyrs(Nagasaki)church / Historic Site / Nagasaki / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
Twenty-six people were executed on the hill at Nishizaka. Pilgrims come here from all over the world.
Urakami Tenshudo(Nagasaki)church / Nagasaki / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
It collapsed in the atomic bombing. The scorched statues and the bell tower were kept.
Kofukuji (Nagasaki)(Nagasaki)Buddhist temple / Important Cultural Property / Nagasaki / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
The first Obaku temple in Japan. It is called the red temple.
Hirado Xavier(Hirado)church / Sasebo and the north / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A temple roof and a church spire overlap in the same view.
Watazumi Jinja(Tsushima)Shinto shrine / Iki and Tsushima / Blessings: safe voyages, love and relationships
Five torii standing in the sea. At high tide the halls appear to float.
Kaijin Jinja(Tsushima)Shinto shrine / Ichinomiya (first shrine) of Tsushima Province / Important Cultural Property / Iki and Tsushima / Blessings: safe voyages
First shrine of Tsushima Province, tied to Empress Jingu.
Tsukiyomi Jinja (Iki)(Iki)Shinto shrine / Iki and Tsushima / Blessings: good fortune
It carries a tradition of being the birthplace of Shinto. The Tsukiyomi Jinja in Kyoto is said to have divided from here.
Shofukuji (Nagasaki)(Nagasaki)Buddhist temple / Important Cultural Property / Nagasaki / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
One of the four Fukuji temples of Nagasaki. Its Chinese-style precinct survives.
Fukusaiji(Nagasaki)Buddhist temple / Nagasaki / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A Kannon figure standing on the back of a turtle. One of the four Fukuji temples of Nagasaki.
Wakamiya Inari Jinja(Nagasaki)Shinto shrine / Nagasaki / Blessings: business prosperity
Known for take-n-gei, in which young men dressed as foxes dance high on bamboo poles.
Nakamachi Church(Nagasaki)church / Nagasaki / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
Its outer walls survived the bombing, and it was rebuilt.
Magome Church(Nagasaki)church / Nagasaki / Blessings: safe voyages, rebirth and renewal
A white spire on the rise above the island.
Myosoji(Nagasaki)Buddhist temple / Nagasaki / Blessings: warding off misfortune
An Obaku temple on the hillside of Nagasaki.
Manmyoji(Unzen)Buddhist temple / Shimabara Peninsula / Blessings: mountain worship
Said to have opened Unzen. It once held more than a thousand lodgings.
Gokokuji(Shimabara)Buddhist temple / Shimabara Peninsula / Blessings: warding off misfortune
It stands in the temple quarter of the Shimabara castle town.
Saikyoji(Hirado)Buddhist temple / Sasebo and the north / Blessings: warding off misfortune
Said to be where Kukai performed the goma rite. One of the largest three-storey pagodas in western Japan stands here.
Tabira Church(Hirado)church / Important Cultural Property / Sasebo and the north / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
The congregation laid the brick themselves. An Important Cultural Property.
Himosashi Church(Hirado)church / Sasebo and the north / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A great white church on Hirado Island.
Dozaki Church(Goto)church / Goto Islands / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
The first church built in the Goto Islands. It exhibits material on the hidden Christians.
Mizunoura Church(Goto)church / Goto Islands / Blessings: rebirth and renewal
A white wooden church, looking down on the sea from a hill.
Sightseeing
Gunkanjima and Goto Churches is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Breakdown: historic townscape 3, hot spring 2, nature / scenery 3, industrial heritage 3. 18 places to see in Nagasaki.
Dejima(Nagasaki)industrial heritage / Nagasaki / Historic Site / 1636
The only window open to the West during the closed-country years. A fan-shaped artificial island.
Gunkanjima(Nagasaki)industrial heritage / Nagasaki / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / UNESCO World Heritage
An island that flourished on coal and then emptied. Part of the World Cultural Heritage Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution.
Heiwa Kinenzo(Nagasaki)garden / park / Nagasaki / 1955
The right hand stands for the threat of the bomb, the left for peace, and the closed eyes for the repose of the dead.
Meganebashi(Nagasaki)industrial heritage / Nagasaki / Important Cultural Property / 1634
One of the oldest stone arch bridges in Japan, crossing the Nakashima river.
Sakitsu()historic townscape
Abalone shells were used in place of sacred vessels: the ingenuity of faith in the years of hiding survives here.
Shimabara Yusui(Shimabara)hot spring / Shimabara Peninsula
Groundwater from Unzen rises all over the town. Carp swim in the channels.
Nagasaki Kunchi(Nagasaki)festival / event / Nagasaki / Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property / 1634
Dragon dances and Dutch ships are dedicated here. The memory of overseas trade became a festival.
Unzen Jigoku(Unzen)other / Shimabara Peninsula
Also a place of Christian martyrdom. Steam rises from the ground.
Glover Garden(Nagasaki)garden / park / Nagasaki / Important Cultural Property / 1863
The former Glover House is the oldest Western-style wooden building in Japan. A component of the World Cultural Heritage site.
Nagasaki Peace Park(Nagasaki)museum / theatre / Nagasaki / 1955
The right hand of the Peace Statue stands for the threat of the bomb, the left for peace.
Mt. Inasa(Nagasaki)nature / scenery / Nagasaki
The ten-million-dollar night view. The basin shape of the land stacks the lights.
Huis Ten Bosch(Sasebo)museum / theatre / Sasebo and the north / 1992
A Dutch town recreated at full size. One of the largest theme parks in Japan.
Kujukushima(Sasebo)nature / scenery / Sasebo and the north
In fact there are 208 islands. Part of the Saikai National Park.
Unzen Jigoku(Unzen)hot spring / Shimabara Peninsula
The first national park in Japan. Also a place of Christian martyrdom.
Lantern Festival(Nagasaki)festival / event / Nagasaki / 1994
Fifteen thousand Chinese lanterns. A Lunar New Year observance of the Chinese community became a festival for the whole city.
Hirado(Hirado)historic townscape / Sasebo and the north / 1609
The first Dutch trading post in Japan. On the slope, temple and church come into the same view.
Goto Churches(Goto and nearby)historic townscape / Goto Islands / UNESCO World Heritage (Cultural) / UNESCO World Heritage
The islands to which the hidden Christians moved. Each village has its church.
Shimabara Springs(Shimabara)nature / scenery / Shimabara Peninsula
Groundwater from Unzen rises all over the town. Carp swim in the channels.
Traditional Crafts
Three crafts hold national designation: Hasami ware, Mikawachi ware, and Nagasaki tortoiseshell work.
Both are porcelain, but Mikawachi was the fine ware a domain had made for presentation, and Hasami the everyday ware for ordinary people. Both are here, and both hold national designation. Holding the top and the bottom at once was this district's strength.
More: VILLAGE Journal vol.4 — The presentation piece and the everyday bowl
More from This Prefecture
See all Nagasaki articles ← All 47 prefectures
Sources: Nagasaki Prefecture, City of Nagasaki, City of Sasebo, Hasami Town, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries — Value Village editorial team