Nagaski, Japan On Your Own Diamond Princess – Cruise Vlog April 2025

Nagaski, Japan On Your Own Diamond Princess – Cruise Vlog April 2025

Good morning everybody from Japan. We are on the Diamond Princess. The sun is just rising behind me. Today we are coming into port in Nagasaki. It’s going to be uh from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today. So, a pretty decent time in port. Taylor and I don’t have a port uh adventure schedule. We’re not doing anything with nor uh we’re not doing anything with Princess, but we are uh going to be doing our own little exploration on our own today around Nagasaki. So, it’s breakfast time. I’m going to go get something to eat. So, let’s go. [Music] We’re back in the room and we’re going to before we head out into Nagasaki today, we’re going to fill out one of these laundry bags because for this ceiling, I’m an elite member just for this one though. And uh with that, you’re supposed to get complimentary laundry. So, essentially, it’s just like any other uh cruise if you ever done it before. Basically, you you put your stuff into the bag and then they wash it for you. Have a good dessert. Thank you. That was an easy getting off the ship. Very organized. Not everybody’s rushing to get off. I love that they had that one set of doors shut so you could only get to the staircase from the one side. Thank you. Oh yeah, that’s right. Cuz he said come out and turn left and it’ll take you down to the train station. So, we’re going to want to take number five, which is green to blue. Yeah. So, I think where everybody’s standing right there, that’s where we want to get on at. So, today we are going to be using the tram system in Nagasaki, and it’ll kind of help us get our way around a little easier instead of trying to walk everywhere that we’re going. Uh we actually bought our tickets online, and we’ve got all day passes. You can actually get them here at the cruiseport as well. Um, but we figured instead of waiting in line for those, we’d just get them online, have them a little faster. And even though we had them, we still missed the train by like a couple seconds for the tram. So, we have to wait for the next one to show up. But we have no real agenda. I have some highlight places that we want to stop and uh yeah, just waiting for the tram and then we’ll be on our way. [Music] Thank you. Please wait under the green information sign for the next card. Take care. So today in Nagasaki, we already said we’re using the tram, but we’re also doing kind of a self-guided day. And we used Wonderlog to kind of plan our day. It’s not sponsored or anything. It’s just like the most convenient website and app to do this. Um, I did put everything into like a Google doc as well just to like see everything listed right out, but kind of helps you get from one place to another in like the easiest possible convenient route, if you will. But we’re starting off at Keys [Music] Park. Oh, okay. I see. So across the street right there is where the hypo center [Music] is. Peace park here is like super sombering. Uh it’s really crazy. It’s not crazy. It’s just it’s kind of nice to see that other countries have donated certain things as like a contribution to, you know, kind of like long-term peace. Peace Park here was established in 1955 and it is near the atomic bomb hypoenter which we’re actually going to go see here in a second. Um it’s not here up at Peace Park. It’s actually down below. The park has a 10- m tall peace statue uh by the sculptor uh Sibo Coutamura and with its right hand pointing skyward to signify the threat of nuclear weapons and its left hand extended horizontally representing eternal peace. It is it’s it’s like really kind of sombering to be here. Such devastation and whatnot. It’s so quiet. Like even with so many people here and walking around, like you know, it’s still kind of quiet. It’s It’s kind of peaceful. Yeah, you have like barriers around All right. So, where are we going to next? Fukui. [Music] Can you believe we’re literally just like casually walking around Japan right now? Cuz I can’t get over it. I can’t believe we’re here. This is crazy. [Music] [Music] Do those are open right there. Yeah. [Music] [Music] Lots of steps to climb. Oh yeah, it’s like straight [Music] up stairs like this. [Music] The written oracle. Oh, fabric lock. Our next stop here in Nagasaki was the sewer shrine. This is a Shinto shrine which has had a very very significant history here in western Japan. So it was established back in 1625 during the Edo period and it was constructed at a time when Christianity was being actively suppressed by the Tukugawa shoguns. Uh the shrine played a vital role in the shogun’s effort to reestablish Shintoism and traditional Japanese beliefs here in Nagasaki. And if you don’t know, this was a huge port city which was heavily influenced by foreign traders really from all over the place and missionaries of course as well. But the name refers to the great shrine of western peace reflecting its role in symbolizing order and traditional values in western Japan. Now one of the more complex aspects of this shrine and its history is associated with the fumi ritual which is uh or you know during the prosecution of Christians back in the 17th century. The suspected Christians were ordered to trample on any Christian icons that they had to basically prove their renunciation of the faith. And this ritual was often conducted you know near here or uh under the oversight of some of the shrine authorities. So it did play a very very massive role here in this area. So while it is a spiritual site today for Shintos, its past is deeply tied to Japan’s efforts to just purge foreign religions uh especially Christianity. But today the shrine is known for hosting all different types of festivals. There’s a big one in October. It’s very vi vibrant and kind of celebrates the uh history and culture of Japan, but also of Dutch and Portuguese as well, which is kind of interesting. But it is now a very peaceful site. Um you’ve got these huge long stone staircases. You got these beautiful trees, these scenic views over Nagasaki, and it was really cool. So, we as we were up here and we’re just kind of walking around and exploring, we didn’t really know if there was really much else other than just what we initially saw. Um, because again, since everything is in Japanese and nothing’s really in English, we have to walk around with Google Translate and basically take pictures of all of the signs to see what they say. And as we kind of just kind of like hung out, we started to see more people walking around specifically behind the building. So, we knew that it wasn’t closed. Um, and as we started to translate stuff, we could see that we could walk around. We found these amazing Tory gates at the back. And so we made our way back here. And they are just absolutely so cool. This was one thing that we really wanted to see in Kyoto when we get there here in a few days. Now, the Tory gates do have some representation as well within Shintoism. uh they kind of represent I believe kind of like leaving the real world behind and kind of entering like the spiritual world. You know, obviously we took some photos, we got some video which was they’re just really cool to see and you know speaking from like a photography standpoint um leading lines and and the way that they are set up just makes them for good images which really cool. Another thing is that we actually saw some uh photos being taken professionally for a couple who had just gotten married. So, uh it it does look it does seem like you can actually get married up here at the shrine. So, I don’t know how often that happens. Um if that is actually what happened, but just from some of the signs that we translated with Google, it seemed like you could maybe get married up here. So, that was kind of cool as well. But, nonetheless, this was an awesome place. Super cool. So, I wanted to give you guys a little bit of background, history, information on this place that has played a really, really large role in Western Japan, specifically here in Nagasaki. Well, that was a really good little stop. Yeah, it was. And I thought it was going to be really busy and thank goodness like there was like nobody there. We got some really nice pictures and just got to enjoy the shrine and oh, I loved that. I think what’s been really nice though is that the weather being as nice as it has been with no rain and the sun. It’s not cloudy, but it’s not too hot. And then getting around really simple. Like I didn’t think that it was going to be as easy to take the tram and just kind of maneuver around. So getting that kind of like all day pass has been really really nice. We’re going to head back down and I think the next stop is an ice cream place. Um I think it’s a bridge and then ice cream. Bridge and then the ice cream. Let’s go back to the train. [Music] [Music] Hello. Uh, two, please. [Music] Thank you. We got our little rose shaved ice cream. I’m very excited in Nagasaki. Can I eat it? Yeah. M. It’s like icy. It almost reminds me a little bit of like the steel rolled maybe ice cream. Good though. It’s like a icy sweet vanilla flavor. Mhm. Yeah, it was a really nice walk from the shrine station basically down to here. It was really easy right along the water. Not, you know, there was no like going up and down on the hills or anything like that. And um I mean for the most part the the pathway was pretty well like taken care of. So there weren’t like a bunch of humps or things to trip over. So, it was really nice. I think this is our We have one more stop after this or no, going to Chinatown after this. I think I think Chinatown after this. Yeah. So, we’re going to go check out Chinatown from here because it’s supposed to be one of those places you got to check out while you’re here in Naidasaki. There’s only three of them, I think, in Japan. Yeah, Tokyo was one of them, and it was actually near Yokohama, and we did end up going there. Um, but we will be going there today. Yeah. So, we’re going to go check it out. [Music] So, while we sit here and wait for the tram, one thing that we haven’t talked about, which is always a major major problem for Taylor, especially in Europe, are bathrooms. It’s not a problem here. No, you don’t have to pay to use them. No, for the most part, they’re mostly clean. There’s public bathrooms. At least here in Nagasaki, there’s been public bathrooms like at the what I would consider the more touristy spots. Um, just near this bridge here where there we got the ice cream. when we were walking on the bridge, there were like three or four bathrooms. I know. I saw that as well. And then when we were up at the atomic bomb like area, uh there were a couple of different bathroom locations there. So, I have not had an issue today. It’s been very nice. [Applause] [Music] white. Hello. Uh the fried dumpling and uh the spring rolls. Sure. Hello. One of those. Well, here we are in Japan being Americans, as you could say. Uh getting way more food than what we need to actually eat. But we had breakfast and we’re in here in Chinatown and uh we wanted to get just some like quick street food. So we got a like steamed uh sandwich pork bun here I think and then a bow bun which is very reminiscent if you guys have been watching us from Disney. This is very reminiscent of uh Animal Kingdom. So Taylor’s going to eat the I’m assuming it’s beef or pork with like a teriyak sauce. It’s good. It’s pork. Yeah. Nice and tender. Yeah. The other stuff that we just ordered just was ready. Mhm. Well, these dumplings are a little bit different looking. They’re like a like a fry. Oh, your life is complete. Yes. Why is that? Cuz I have eaten sushi in Japan and I’ve now had a bow bun, not necessarily in China, but in Chinatown. I’m very satisfied. So, it’s really important to remember, too, like the customs here in Japan are that you don’t walk and eat your food. So, if you do get like street food, you should stand still and eat it. Well, it’s also easier with your trash because there’s not trash cans just everywhere, right? Usually, the vendor has like like a little can that you can throw your trash away into. So, keep that in mind. We just saw somebody that got food and then they walked away with it. Don’t do that. But I love a good steamed bun. It’s really good. I’m so used to it being like a teriyak like beef. Yes. But this is actually like a like what would be inside of like a pork fried dumpling. So it’s pork. It’s really good. Got good flavor. The bun is pretty thick. It’s very soft and pillow like when you travel like food is part of the experience. Absolutely. Like it’s 100% part of the experience. So don’t pass up on it. Yep. You know, and this don’t go for the French fries. Don’t go for hamburger. Don’t wait till you get back on the ship. Yes. Do it. But you know, try try not to. You know, this was relatively like inexpensive. I mean, couple only a couple dollar like US dollars. Yeah. So, we didn’t spend US dollars. We spent Japanese yen. So, please don’t get that confused. But, that’s good. I’m going to be full. It was like just enough. We’ve also got the uh shrimp fried spring roll. This is not like any spring roll that I’ve ever seen that’s been fried. No, but it looks good. It almost looks like it’s been dipped in like a tempora or something. Yeah, it does. Still really hot, but it’s really light. It’s not super heavy. And I think it’s pretty good. And last but not least, uh being the American way where you get way more food than you actually need to eat, uh we’ve got some actual uh dumplings. And these are actually like fully fried, like dropped down into like a deep fryer, it looks like. Oh, good. Some pork. I think some spring onion. Oh, it’s like really stuffed full. And it’s Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it’s it’s pretty good. Yeah, that’s really good. So after we finished our little street food here in Chinatown, we just kind of set out to explore on foot. This was not very large as far as like the shopping area goes here for tourists. So we kind of, you know, explored this in roughly 15 minutes. Um, and then we made our way back to the ship and Chinatown was actually relatively close to where the ship was at. So we walked back on foot. Um, and you can see the ship is right here. Now, this is a little bit different than what you may have experienced before, maybe sailing in Europe and definitely in the US, but leaving Japan and going to Busousan tomorrow, we actually had to do a customs type of thing. You know, on many other cruise lines, you don’t have to do this, especially throughout Europe and in the US. Um, once you’re on the ship, you don’t have to like continuously do these like custom checks each time you reenter the country. you had to have your passport, you needed to have your uh card, basically like a declaration form as well filled out um as we went back through, but that didn’t get started till 2:00. What has been really nice though is that um and you’ll see this later on, but basically every single port has this little shopping area. It’s really more of popup vendors than it is like these uh people who are here all the time, all year long. Um, they have these more like little pop-up shops where local people can set up and you can buy some stuff. Um, most of these things you’ll see in the port itself at different shops. So, is it super unique or, you know, is it all handmade stuff? Not all the time. Sometimes it is kind of knick-knack and whatnot, but they do have some unique items as well. You know, we’ve got some anime figures here. Uh they had chopsticks, they had traditional clothing, uh different things like that. So there are some things that you can buy here. Are they going to be a little bit more expensive? They could be um because it is at the port. And again, remember this is your last chance to buy something. So vendors do tend to take advantage of that. We’ve seen that in many ports of call as we’ve been leaving the ports. So just be aware of that. You might pay a little bit more here than you would maybe at a local shop or a smaller shop somewhere in the city further away from the port. Visit them. We got back in line to do the customs check. Okay. Okay. This was one thing that we were really interested to see how it works. Um I don’t know. I’m guessing it’s because we’re leaving Japan and going to South Korea tomorrow. But we actually have to go through like an immigration customs thing here before we get back on the ship. And every single person who’s on the ship has to go through and do this. So even if you didn’t come out into the port today, they basically told you that you still had to come out here at 2:00. This is when they’re going to start and go through this whole process. We actually have to do it again tomorrow. And we might even have to do it again the next day uh when we come back into Japan. So, it’s kind of interesting. Um, there’s no like real they didn’t really say like what the timeline was, but I mean the line’s kind of moving and is what it is. So, everybody everybody has to do it. So, we’ve made our way uh now that we’re back on the ship to the Good Spirit Cocktail Bar. And this is also where you can get coffee on the ship. So, getting back on the ship was super easy today with the customs uh immigration stuff. It really only took like 15 minutes once they started moving. You know, my best advice to you if you’re doing a cruise like this where they’re going from Japan to another country and back to Japan, whatever. Don’t get there like right when they start the immigration like custom stuff at 2:00. Um, you know, we showed up around I want to say like 2:15ish. And again, it only took like 15 minutes with the line moving. So, they’re very quick. They’re organized. They know what they’re doing. We just failed miserably at general knowledge trivia. We got three out of 20. Diagonally. Good job. Diagonally. Diagonally did such a great job. Our winners are and if we’re all feeling we’ve set the bar quite low. We’re going to be going to the Brazilian steakhouse uh tonight. This is actually part of or what they do is they take over the buffet and make it part of the or make it the Brazilian steakhouse. So, we’re going to be doing that at 5:30 and we’ve got about an hour. So, we’re going to relax with some cocktails, sit here by the window, enjoy the atmosphere, and just relax. Now, one other thing that was super cool throughout this cruise, and you’ll see this again in more videos, is that almost at every port, they had either a band or a high school band or some type of like gathering to do a sendoff of the ship of the Diamond Princess. Um, and that was really cool here. We got to see that as well. All right. So, tonight for dinner, we are doing the Chuck uh we’re doing the Brazilian uh steakhouse. And I can see the the sign back there. So, we’re heading back that way for dinner tonight. So, that’s going to be a whole separate video for you. It’s going to be a dining review, something that we don’t often do, but we’d like to do because uh we do find that it adds some extra value. So, here we go. Next time in our next vlog video coming to you from Japan on the Diamond Princess, we are going to Busousan, South Korea. And unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. But hey, that’s all right because with any big trip like this, things won’t happen the way that you want them to. So, it’s always good to just roll with it and make the most of anything that you are doing. Have fun with it. So, with that, we will see you all in the next one. [Music] She’s calling me.

Today, Josh and Taylor explore Nagasaki, Japan, on their own. This is part of an 11-day cruise around Japan on the Diamond Princess of Princess Cruises. Josh and Taylor explore Peace Park, the Hypocenter, Chinatown, and the Suwa Shrine.

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