Nagasaki

An island packed with concrete apartments for an undersea coal mine, abandoned by everyone when the mine shut in 1974. Every landing tour needs booking, and in high waves the boat only circles the island, so whether you land is known only that morning.

A garden of Western houses on the Minamiyamate hill above the port; the former Glover House is the oldest surviving wooden Western-style building in Japan. The hill is steep: take the inclined lift from the Ishibashi side to the top and tour it heading down.

Built in 1864, and the following year hidden Christians came here to reveal their faith to the priest. A National Treasure and part of the Hidden Christian World Heritage sites. Photography is banned inside the church.

The Dutch trading post's fan-shaped artificial island, now landlocked by reclaimed ground downtown. The chief's residence and warehouses are rebuilt, and crossing the front bridge restored in 2017 takes you in the historical way.

The Peace Statue, raised in 1955, sits with its right hand pointing to the sky and its left held level. A fountain in front honours those who died begging for water, and the hypocentre park is a separate site, down the steps to the south.

From the 333m summit the view takes in the lights of the hillside neighbourhoods ringing the harbour. The observatory is free, and the ropeway beside Fuchi Shrine climbs in 5 minutes. Go up 30 minutes before sunset to claim a spot.

A double-arched stone bridge from 1634 that, with its reflection, looks like a pair of spectacles. A heart-shaped stone is set somewhere in the embankment wall, and many people walk the riverbank under the bridge hunting for it.

A compact Chinatown of restaurants and shops inside four gates, crossed end to end in a few minutes. For Lunar New Year the Lantern Festival runs for about two weeks under yellow lanterns, and weekend nights then are almost too crowded to walk.

Founded in 1629 by people from Fuzhou in China; past the red, sea-palace-shaped gate stand Ming-style halls. The First Gate and the Main Hall are National Treasures, and their timbers are said to have been cut in China and shipped over.

Nagasaki's guardian shrine, overlooking the city from atop a long stone stair. At the October Kunchi each district offers dragon dances and ship floats; stand seats by the steps need advance tickets, and people queue early for the rest.

Opened in 1996 on the rise above Hypocenter Park. Exhibits run from a wall clock frozen at 11:02 and bottles fused by the heat to a full-size model of the bomb. Entry to the national memorial hall next door is free.

A stone-paved incline up the Higashi-Yamate hill, named because locals called every Westerner here after the port opened a Hollander. A few Meiji-era wooden Western houses survive along it, and it is far calmer than the Oura Cathedral side.

A Dutch townscape rebuilt whole on Omura Bay in Sasebo, opened in 1992, with canal boats gliding between windmills. The spring tulip festival and winter illuminations draw the biggest crowds. Rapid trains from Nagasaki take about ninety minutes.

An archipelago off Sasebo whose name means ninety-nine islands, though there are actually 208. Cruise boats from Pearl Sea Resort weave between them, and the Ishidake lookout shows the islands stacked one behind another.

Ground in the heart of Unzen's spa village where sulphur fumes and scalding pools boil up, with a boardwalk past the vents. In the 17th century Christians were martyred in these waters, and a monument marks it. Steam-boiled eggs are sold by the path.

A white five-tier keep rebuilt in 1964, housing relics of the hidden Christians and records of the Shimabara Rebellion. Below it a clear channel runs along the centre of the samurai lane, and koi swim in the town's open waterways.

Nishizaka hill, where 26 Christians were executed on Toyotomi Hideyoshi's order in 1597, a short stroll uphill from Nagasaki Station. A bronze relief of the 26 fills the wall, and the museum towers behind it wear Gaudi-style tile mosaics.

A penguin-only aquarium on the Shukumachi shore east of the city, keeping many species under one roof. Outside, a fenced stretch of real beach lets them waddle over the sand and into the sea. Buses from the centre take about thirty minutes.

A cathedral about 500m from the hypocentre, flattened by the 1945 bomb and rebuilt in 1959. A chunk of the fallen bell tower still lies where it landed in the stream alongside, and the scorched head of a Madonna statue rests in a side chapel.