Whatever your thoughts on the bombing of Nagaskai (hopefully the thought of nuclear weapons enrages you), a visit to Urakami is a must. This is the suburb north of Nagasaki that housed the Mitsubishi Arms Works that became the target for "Fat Man" on August 9th 1945. There are wide spaces within the Peace Park, as well as an A-bomb museum, an epicentre column as well as a replacement for the Urakami Cathedral, which was levelled with the bomb and at the time was the largest church in Asia. Harrowing, but worth the reflection.

On the tram system around Nagaskai, Ekimae (literally - above the station) stop, which is numbered T27 and reachable on both route 1 and 3 tram services, is the stop to get off for the JR (Japan Rail) Station. From here you can get local trains to Fukuoka/Hakata above 2.5 to 3 hours away, from where you can get Shinkansen (very fast trains) to the rest of Japan, including Tokyo (8 hours). It is expensive and even more so if you wish to get there quicker by express train.

This lovely garden is located by getting off at the second last stop on tram route 5 then heading up the hill. The site has a nice walk and jazz bands during the summer that can make for a relaxing time. Far from what you imagine getting in Japan, but Nagasaki has a diversity of arts and things to do. The original European house is available for you to walk through and provides excellent views of the harbour. The history of the Scotsman (Thomas Glover) who the garden is named after makes interesting reading.

Nagasaki has a variety of unique foods, mainly due to its early trading ties with China and the Portugese Black ships. One is Okinomiyaki (literally everything fried) which has a Hiroshima variation done with noddles rather than a dough. It is delicious and you an make it yourself as in many Okinomiyaki restaurants around town the table doubles as a hot plate. You get tutored and then control the destiny of your meal.