If yesterday was all about Eastern, today was all about Western. It started off at Glover Garden, a park on a hill overlooking the harbour and based around the house of Thomas Blake Glover, a Scot who lived in Nagsasaki and was instrumental in several key advancements in fishing, medicine and other technologies introduced from the West. To get to the garden meant taking a tram, the best transport network in the city. They actually re-claimed old trams from other cities who were ditching their tram network, so most of them are restored originals:
Annoyingly, they (and many of the other pictures I’ve posted recently) do tend to highlight the fact that I need to get another lens that will enable me to take better photos of close-up things so that they fit in the frame. The 50mm len is good for portraits and so on, but less so when you want to take a photo of a large building directly in front of you. (Got any recommendations of Canon lenses, then please post a comment!).
This wall and roof is from the Confucian Shrine, which is the only such shrine built outside China by Chinese hands. Sadly the entrance fee was rather high, and given I had already paid to enter Glover Garden, and was on my way to do the same somewhere else, I decided to give it a miss. I do like the reds and oranges of the exterior, though.
Because the Dutch East India Company had a base in Nagasaki, on the island of Dejima (more on this soon…), you occasionally see some things from our friends across the North Sea (really I should say “family”, given that I’m half Dutch!). Above is a sign for a cafe called Lekker, which means “delicious”.
A bit further along from the cafe is Oranda-zaka – Holland Hill, or Dutch Slope. There are a few more Western-style houses here, a couple of which have been turned into a photography museum.
This is a model of the original Dejima. Only about a third has been completed so far.
The shots are telling the story, and you got some good night pictures too, even without the lens that you want.
Hi! Gai-ninja.
Apparently I could find you on your blog!
I am from Romania and I want to make a link with your blog with my site so that many Romanians can see the real Japanese life.
Guess who am I?
Oh hi! I’m going to guess… Ummm… Nukina Sensei? Octavian? Luca?!! ;) Have you seen a picture of you here: http://gaininja.blogspot.com/2010/08/wado-world-cup-2010.html ?
Yes, sure.
You got ice pictures!!
But you haven’t got a picture of me…
Ahhhh what about here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/_phin/4903582101/in/set-72157624751279408/
Or here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/_phin/4904171046/in/set-72157624751279408/
OK. Thanks!!
The second one is more interesting for me.
Can I make a link for my site and facebook??
分かった!日本語を書きませんか！長い時間に日本語を話しませんでした:(
ブログでリンクをしても良いですよ！
ＯＫ．いいですよ。
私のFacebookには日本語が分かる人間もいますから日本語で書いて下さい。
MOAR PLEZ