This City Survived the Unthinkable

This City Survived the Unthinkable

How do you even begin to talk about one of the 
darkest days in human history? You look for the light. We’re in Nagasaki, Japan—once 
the site of unimaginable devastation, now a city full of quiet strength and 
hope. What happened here nearly 80 years ago will never be forgotten, 
but it’s not the whole story. Today, we’ll visit places that 
carry the weight of the past, but by the end of the day, we’ll see Nagasaki 
from a whole new perspective by watching the sunset over this amazing city from one 
of the best night views in the world. But first, we had to figure out how to 
get around. There’s no better way than to grab a day pass for the tram. You can 
pick them up at the Nagasaki Bus Terminal Hotel for just 800 yen each. That gives 
you unlimited access to the whole tram system for the day. And honestly, it’s just 
such a fun and easy way to explore the city. Walking up the stairs to Peace Park. 
And it’s a beautiful day for peace. So, this is really sad. When the atomic bomb went 
off in 1945, thousands of people suffered terrible burns, and they died begging for water. 
I can’t imagine what that must have been like. And nobody alive today knows what those 
people went through and how bad they suffered. It’s kind of cool. It says “Friendship Blossoms,” 
and in 2013, the USA gave a gift of 3,000 dogwood trees to the country of Japan as a symbol 
of friendship to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Japan giving cherry blossoms to 
the United States back in 1912. Out of those 3,000 trees that the whole country received, 100 
of those dogwood trees were given to Nagasaki. I’m standing in front of the Urakami branch of 
the Nagasaki prison, which was located 100 to 350 meters away from the hypocenter of the atomic 
bomb. And this is the site where 134 people lost their lives in 1945. What you see behind me is the 
ruin of the prison. It basically was flattened. The only thing that was remaining was a chimney, 
which I don’t believe is still here to this day. So this map shows where “Bockscar,” which 
was the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, did the most damage. These purple 
areas show where it was completely burned and destroyed. It’s a lot of 
destruction. All right, let’s stop in. The statue behind me was inaugurated in 
1955 with a vault containing the names of the victims. The right hand points to the sky, 
reminding us of the dangers of nuclear war, while the left hand symbolizes eternal peace. 
The right leg is bent in a meditative stance, and the left leg is poised—ready for 
action to protect all of humanity. The statue holds a lot of important symbolism, 
and it’s a really great reminder for us all. This is a beautiful memorial area. 
The surrounding areas—the mountains, all the flora and the fauna that it attracts—there 
are tons of birds and bees. It’s really nice that near the site of one of the most atrocious 
things that’s ever happened in history has been converted into a place of peace, 
where people can come, pay their respects, come together, and realize that we’re all 
just people. It’s really, really beautiful. And I know that in a way it might not be the 
obvious starting point, but I feel like this is the best way to start—to remember that in 
the end of all of this, it’s really just about us coming together, and people being people, and 
that violence and war just don’t need to happen. This tiny house belonged to Dr. Takashi 
Nagai, a survivor of the atomic bomb and a doctor who treated victims after the blast. He 
and his family lived here in a simple hut while battling leukemia and writing about peace 
and forgiveness until the day he passed. Just down the path is a small museum run 
by his family. It’s only 100 yen to enter, and it’s filled with his writings, 
drawings, and personal belongings. We feel like it’s definitely worth 
checking out if you have the time. So, I’m standing right outside of the 
Urakami Cathedral, which was at one point the largest Catholic cathedral in all 
of Asia. I don’t think it’s that anymore, but absolutely massive cathedral. Out front, 
there are remnants of statues that were here when the bomb went off. You can see some of 
the effects on the statues, but most notably, if you go inside the cathedral, there’s 
actually a small bust of Mother Mary and you can really see the effects there. You’re not 
able to take photos or video inside. However, I will try to find a picture from the internet 
to show you so you can kind of see it. It’s definitely the most notable there. And 
it was just around the corner from the Dr. Takashi Nagai Museum. Now, we’re going 
to make our way to the Atomic Bomb Museum. Hey boogies, what’s up? Make a wish. A thank you. It’s so cool. This is why most people come to Nagasaki—to 
visit the Atomic Bomb Museum. Entrance is only 200 yen per person, and you can purchase 
your tickets here at the museum or online. The museum walks you through the events that 
took place at 11:02 a.m. on August 9th, 1945, when the United States dropped the second 
atomic bomb in history. This unimaginable act of war left the small port city of Nagasaki 
in ruins, and the world forever changed. Seeing the photos, personal items, and artifacts left over from the destruction 
was sobering in a way that’s hard to put into words. This is something you just 
kind of have to see for yourself. Next door is the National Peace Memorial 
Hall for the atomic bomb victims, where you can walk through these massive 
glass pillars. They were built to honor the memories of the victims from that day. 
They have a table set up where you can try your hand at folding a paper crane, which 
is a symbol of peace, healing, and hope. You did it. It’s not the prettiest 
crane. Just outside the museum is a beautiful viewpoint—a moment to breathe 
and reflect on everything we just saw. But it’s nothing compared to the view we’ll get later. So, as we were making our way from the 
Atomic Bomb Museum and the Memorial Hall, we were walking down the stairs to head 
to the hypocenter, which is just right in the center where the bomb actually exploded. 
And we met this guy walking down the stairs. He asked where we were from, and we told him. 
He’s from Nagasaki. Apparently, he translated this sign that’s right here to my left because 
it’s all in Japanese characters. He asked me, “Hey, can you read Japanese?” I was like, 
“No.” He’s like, “Oh, well, I translated this because it only says ‘Devastation in 
the Hypocenter Area.’” So now we can read it and just gain a better understanding 
of the devastation that happened here. I just think that’s such a beautiful thing—someone 
takes such pride in their city and the history of it to make sure that visitors can 
get the full experience. I don’t know, it’s just really amazing. I didn’t get his 
name. He was just very kind, very quiet, and that interaction was fleeting, but it’s 
something that I think I’ll always remember. So, thank you, whoever you are, and thank you for 
doing this to help the visitors of Nagasaki. It’s hard to say that nuclear weapons 
are ever justified. Seeing the photos and hearing the stories from the victims and 
the survivors—it’s hard to understand how it can still even be a threat. How governments 
can even joke or taunt or be so callous in their rhetoric with each other. I mean, to 
this day, I don’t know that we’ve learned. I don’t know that we’ve learned from our 
past. I hope so. I really, really hope so. Now it’s time to head back to the tram and 
make our way to the next spot. But first, we needed to grab a quick snack for the 
road from one of Japan’s famous convenience— All right, I’m going to hop back on 
the tram to our next destination. Number 24. That was so cool. To get to where we’re 
going, we’ve got to head up through this torii gate and up to the Nagasaki Ropeway 
to take a cable car. Not this cable car. The tickets cost 1,250 yen per person 
for round trip, and we had just enough time before the next cable car to have our 
lunch—if the wild boars don’t get us first. Please refrain from putting your head. This thing was packed, but that didn’t take 
away from the views. We were so excited, but we had no idea what was waiting 
for us at the top of Mount Inasa. And when it’s an exceptionally clear 
day, you can see also far away. Thank you. Oh, wow. No words. We’re at the place that I took 
clips of last night with those three TV towers. That’s cool. We’re all the way 
up there. I was looking at it from way down there. Now we’re looking at down 
there from up here. That’s awesome. This place is incredible. This was the perfect 
place to catch the sunset. And we weren’t the only ones who thought so. When we decided to 
visit Nagasaki, we had no idea it was home to one of the top three night viewing 
sites in Japan—and some say the world. After the heavy day of history, this was just 
the thing to give us perspective and gratitude. Seeing all the people up here enjoying 
the amazing views of the city, surrounded by mountains and the harbor below, reminds us that Nagasaki isn’t shackled by its 
past. It rises from it with resilience and grace. We decided to take a cue from everyone else, 
grab a seat, and just live in the moment. As the sun faded behind the mountains, 
Nagasaki’s lights came alive, showing us the magic of this beautiful 
city once again. And oddly enough, it seemed like there were more people here 
after the sun went down than for sunset. Now that the TV towers have turned green, that’s our sign to go back down the 
mountain so we can find some dinner. We hope to see you again. 
Please be sure to not leave any— Thank you so much for using the ropeway to the— Number 28.
Okay, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is Unry and it was recommended to 
us by one of the volunteers at our hotel, and it was exactly what we needed. Now you okay, people? Nagasaki is known for its hitokuchi, or bite-sized gyoza, and these are 
the best in town. This place is quite— You don’t want to talk too loud. That was a life-changing gyoza experience. 
Yeah. More than just the food, too. The shop owner and her partner—yeah, her 
husband—were just heartwarmingly kind. We were learning very small amounts of 
Japanese. She could speak a decent amount of English. When we were leaving, we just 
told her that the food is very delicious, which we said, “Oishii deshita,” which is “That 
was delicious.” And they were so happy that we even just tried to speak a little bit of 
Japanese, and it goes such a long way. In respect, she said in English, 
“Thank you very much.” Yeah, it was just such a cool cultural 
exchange. That moment right there is the reason that we travel. It’s 
moments like those that we live for. But yeah, if you guys are in Nagasaki, 
check this place out. It is so good. It is literally top three gyoza 
I have ever had in my life. Yeah, and that’s saying a lot because 
Ashley is very picky about her gyoza. It was quick. It was a very 
fast dining experience, but one of the top dining experiences 
I think I’ve ever had. Really. Like, yeah, I’ll remember this forever. 
And plus the gyoza—it was so good. We put all the links to every place we visit, 
all the places we eat, and the places we stay in the description of the video, so you 
can definitely check them out there. We’ve only been here less than a week, but 
Japan is very quickly becoming—I mean, I can only speak for myself—but very quickly becoming 
my favorite country. It’s pretty amazing. Yeah, I don’t know if it’s my favorite just 
yet, but I think it could be by the time we leave. If we keep having experiences 
like this, it absolutely will be for sure. So, all right. Well, it’s 
getting a little bit late, and we’ve had a long day, so I think 
we’re going to go ahead and call it. Nagasaki changed us. It’s a place 
we didn’t originally plan on going, but quickly became one of our 
favorite stops of this entire trip. We wish we had more time, but we’ve got other 
places to be on this adventure through Japan. So, subscribe to follow along, because next week 
we’re hopping back on the bus to Hiroshima, where we’ll learn more about this era in history, as well as try some of the best food 
we’ve had during our whole trip in Japan. See you in the next one. Bye!

Nagasaki Changed Us | A Day of Remembrance and Resilience in Japan 🇯🇵

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Reflecting on a dark chapter, this video explores Nagasaki, Japan, a city that has emerged as a place of peace and hope. We see landmarks symbolizing resilience, a testament to the city’s quiet strength after the mass destruction of ww2. Join us as we remember history and explore this incredible city.

This was one of the most moving days of our entire trip through Japan, and we’re honored to share it with you.

*Best Places to Stay in Nagasaki*
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hilton Nagasaki: https://booking.tpx.li/CbjXuqNz
⭐⭐⭐ hotel H2 TRIP&BUSINESS NAGASAKI: https://booking.tpx.li/42WUcCjM
⭐ Almas Guest House: https://booking.tpx.li/SRFZ3RKa

*Where We Stayed*
Casa Blanca Guesthouse: https://agoda.tpx.li/mJkrThYv

*How to Get to Nagasaki*
Hakata – Nagasaki Highway Bus: https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=93720&aff_adid=1091102&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F152910-express-bus-kyushu-go-one-way-ticket%2F
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*Best Things to do in Nagasaki*
Nagasaki 1 day tour Atomic bomb museum, Glover Garden, Dejima etc: https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=93720&aff_adid=1091107&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F150651-nagasaki-1-day-tour-atomic-bomb-museum-glover-garden-dejima-etc%2F
Battleship Island Cruise Experience in Nagasaki: https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=93720&aff_adid=1091103&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F127726-battleship-island-cruise-experience-in-nagasaki%2F
Huis Ten Bosch 1 Day Bus Tour From HAKATA: https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=93720&aff_adid=1091106&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F82394-huis-ten-bosch-bus-tour-from-hakata%2F

*Featured Locations*
Peace Park: https://share.google/RiWaWN5DHPl6xpszs
Atomic Bomb Museum: https://share.google/zFAESZON7QnRiLu6e
Urakami Cathedral: https://share.google/kE62MiEtRq1MHeEwJ
Dr. Takashi Nagai Museum: https://share.google/ldGGnaVw42lJHHJrp
Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Monument: https://share.google/v92hI21u161hNiOrH
Fuchi Shrine Station (Nagasaki Ropeway): https://share.google/bM4ssiiByW8hXnwlQ
Mt. Inasa Overlook: https://share.google/u6lyIsObSNNu6bSY7
Unryutei Gyoza: https://share.google/pxK3hf19oyI5d0qHx

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*Chapters*
00:00 Intro to Nagasaki
01:00 Peace Park
04:36 Nyoko-do Hermitage
05:07 Urakami Cathedral
06:27 Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
08:17 Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Monument
10:11 Exploring Nagasaki by Tram
10:53 Nagasaki Ropeway Cable Car
12:08 Mt. Inasa Overlook
13:44 Nagasaki at Night
15:00 Best Gyoza in Nagasaki

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