Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社), Nagasaki

After leaving Siebold Memorial Museum, we went to Suwa Shrine, home to the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival. It is located in the northern part of the city, on the slopes of Mount Tamazono-san, and features a 277-step stone staircase leading up the mountain to the various buildings that comprise the shrine. Suwa shrine was established as a way of stopping and reverting the conversion to Christianity that was taking place in Nagasaki. In modern times it remains an important and successful center of the community.

The shrine complex stands at the top of a long staircase.

A view of the city from the shrine.

Many torii gates line up at Omotesando, a long staircase approaching to the shrine.

 

Siebold Memorial Museum, Nagasaki

After having afternoon tea, we visited to Siebold Memorial Museum. The museum was opened in 1989 in honor of Philipp Franz von Siebold's great contributions to the development of modern science in Japan. The building is modeled on his former house in Leiden and is located next to the site of his original clinic and boarding school known as Narutaki Juku.

We went to the permanent exhibition on 2nd floor. In this floor, it displays 206 items classified into six categories describing Von Siebold's six-year stay in Nagasaki. We saw how he works during his lifetime on Japan. He really loved his girlfriend Taki, and their daughter Ine, who eventually became Japan's first female doctor.

His statue is standing to the Siebold Residence Site at the entrance of museum.

Afternoon tea in Nagasaki

We had a wonderful afternoon tea at Eight Flag tea shop, located in front of the former British Consulate in Nagasaki.

It has a wide variety of English tea, such as Assam, Darjeeling, Earl Grey etc. We had Earl Grey for two. 

The manager bring us in a teapot with a cover. To keep a taste of tea, you must wait until
the hourglass fall down completely.

I love putting a lot of milk in a tea. I learned this way during in my travel and study in Australia in 2000 and traveling the UK three times.

We ordered waffles, chocolate for me and ogura for mam. The chocolate one is topped with ice cream, banana with whipped cream and chocolate sauce on top. The ogura one is a Japanese style with adzuki bean and berry sauce.

The Interior of the shop is decorated with in a flower pattern. It's quite simple and a good atmosphere.

Just finished the Nagasaki Lantern Festival on February 14, they still have colorful lanterns in the street.

Address: 5-45 Ouramachi, Nagasaki, Japan/長崎県長崎市大浦町5－45 (in Japanese)
Google maps: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=32.738095,129.871938&num=1&vpsrc=6&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=32.738244,129.872088&spn=0.001236,0.002642&t=m&z=19

Walking Shitsu Christian sites

First, we visited to Shitsu area in Sotome town (外海町) , now a part of Nagasaki city.

Shitsu Church is a catholic church built by a French priest Marc Marie de Rotz in 1882.

About 200m further down the stairways and road from the church, you'll get to the site of Father Marc Marie de Rotz (ド・ロ神父遺跡). Here is a place where Father de Rotz was established the Shitsu Aid Center in 1883 to help for women who lost their husband and son in marine accidents. He began to teach them the technology to produce macaroni, sardine processing, waving etc. in the factory. There is a memorial museum located in the site.
*Marc Marie de Rotz Memorial Museum (ド・ロ神父記念館) and a statue of Father de Rotz (ド・ロ神父像)

*Former Shitsu Aid Center (旧出津救助院)

 It was restored in April 2013 and is open to the public. However, an admission fee (300 yen per person) is payable. There is a guide will explain you in Japanese.

Daytripping to Nagasaki on 16 February

Yesterday, on 16 February, we decided to take a drive to Nagasaki. Just finished the Nagasaki Lantern Festival on the 14th, it was less crowded Sunday in the street. First, we visited to Christian sites in Shitsu area such as Shitsu Catholic Church (出津カトリック教会), Marc Marie de Rotz Memorial Museum (ド・ロ神父記念館) and Former Shitsu Aid Center (旧出津救助院). After leaving Shitsu, we went into downtown Nagasaki. It takes about 1 hour from there. We enjoyed afternoon tea and had delicious waffles at Eight Flag House tea shop. After that, we visited to Siebold Memorial Museum (シーボルト記念館), Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社) and the Twenty-six Martyrs Museum and Monument (日本二十六聖人). Finally, we went to China Town. As usual, we bought some "Horse" Chinese New year goods at Min-min boutique shop. We had a dinner at Shunkashuto (春夏秋冬; four seasons), a new Chinese restaurant open in China Town in last February.

Boarding on the plane:EVA Air flight BR2106 on 12 January 2014, Part 2/2014年1月12日エバー航空BR2106便搭乗記（その2）

Flight report on BR2106 from Taipei to Fukuoka.
台北から福岡までのBR2106便搭乗記です。

Flight info/フライト情報

• Flight number/便名：BR2106
• Origin/出発地：Taipei Taoyuan/台北桃園
• Destination/目的地：Fukuoka/福岡
• Flight time/飛行時間：2 hours and 5 minutes/2時間5分
• Aircraft/機種：Airbus 330-300/エアバス330-300
• Registration number/機体番号：B-16332

As always, Hello Kitty welcomes you aboard!
いつものように乗ったときからハローキティがお出迎え。

The plane left at 8:06 am local time. There are only about half passengers. But unlike the outward journey, I could sit in the pre-booked seat without any changes.
飛行機は現地時刻の午前8時06分に出発しました。乗客は半分程度でした。しかし往路と違い急な座席変更がなく事前指定していた席に座れました。

Breakfast. They served stir-fried udon noodles assorted with pork and vegetables, a roll bread, seasoned roe and yogurt. But I really don't like stir-fried noodles and seasoned roe. I ate a little bite and left them.
朝食。焼きうどんの豚肉と野菜添え、パン、からすみとヨーグルトが出されましたが焼きうどんとからすみはおいしくなかったので一口食べて残しました。

Captain announcement on this flight is done before landing. There was one Japanese captain, he made an announcement on weather in Fukuoka and flight route in Japanese after the chief pilot is announced in English.
着陸前の機長アナウンスで一名が日本人だったのでチーフパイロットが福岡の天候や飛行ルートを英語でアナウンス後その方が日本語でアナウンスしていました。

The plane arrived at Fukuoka as scheduled.
飛行機は定刻どおり福岡に到着。

Last time, customs officer took me another room to ask some questions. But this time, I just answered simple questions and ended immediately.
前回の税関申告では別室まで連れて行かれていろいろと聞かれましたが今回は簡単な質問に答えただけですぐに終了しました。

It all been done for my 6 days travel.
The end.
これにて6日間にわたる台湾＋シンガポール旅行が無事終了しました。
終。

Boarding on the plane:EVA Air flight BR2106 on 12 January 2014, Part 1/2014年1月12日エバー航空BR2106便搭乗記（その1）

Flight report on BR2106 from Taipei to Fukuoka.
台北から福岡までのBR2106便搭乗記です。

I woke up at 5 am. I couldn't sleep well the day before. I have to get up early because the flight departure is at 8:10 am.
朝5時に起きました。朝8時10分発のフライトに 乗らなければならないので前日はよく眠れなかったです。

I got a boxed breakfast with sandwich, boiled egg, apple and fruit juice at check out. The taxi was already coming, so I'm going to Taoyuan Airport.
チェックアウトの際にサンドイッチ、ゆで卵、りんごとフルーツジュースが入った箱入りの朝食をもらいタクシーで桃園空港へ。

I arrived at the airport 6:30. After the end of immigration, I bought Oolong tea at Ever Rich Duty-free shop for my souvenir.
6時30分に空港へ。出国審査終了後おみやげにエバーリッチ免税店でウーロン茶を購入。

I ate breakfast sitting in the chair before the Hello Kitty Lounge. Before breakfast, I bought a Coca-cola vending machine because juice cannot bring into plane.
ハローキティラウンジの前の椅子に座ってもらった朝食を。ジュースは機内に持ち込みできないので自動販売機でコカ・コーラを購入。

I was waiting at gate C3 to start boarding. This gate is exclusively used for Kitty Jet.
搭乗開始までC3ゲートで待っていました。ここのゲートはキティジェット専用となっています。

The Kitty Lounge. They have a waiting room, a playground and the official Kitty shop by Sanrio.
キティラウンジには待合室、遊戯施設やサンリオの公式ストアがあります。

They're drawn the Kitties in a wallpaper.
壁紙もキティ一色。

The boarding time on this flight was began at 7:40 am.
当便の搭乗時刻開始は午前7時40分。

An 'Welcome aboard Kitty jet' commemorative stamp onto a piece of paper. It is shown Kitty eats a Hakata-style ramen or Chinese noodle and Fukuoka Dome. Ramen is a famous local dish in Fukuoka.
キティジェット福岡便搭乗記念スタンプ。キティが博多ラーメンを食べているとこと福岡ヤフオクドームが描かれています。

I flew this plane to returning home.
この飛行機に乗って帰国の途へ。

To be continued..
続く..

Taking photos of planes at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, on 12 January 2014/2014年1月12日台北桃園国際空港での飛行機撮影

I was taking photos of some planes at the concourse before flying BR2106 to Fukuoka. At the concourse, EVA Air (BR) and Cathay Pacific (CX) planes making a row.
福岡行きBR2106便に乗る前にコンコース内で数機撮影しました。当コンコースではエバー航空（BR）とキャセイパシフィック航空（CX）の飛行機が並んでいます。

I was so lucky to see BR's Boeing 777-300ER B-16701 Star Alliance livery. I've already seen it at London Heathrow Airport in last July.
ラッキーにもエバー航空のB777-300ER機（B-16701）スターアライアンス塗装機を見ることができました。同機は昨年7月ロンドン・ヒースロー空港で見かけたばかりです。

The original design of B777-300ERs (B-16713) .
同社のB777-300ERオリジナルデザイン機です。機体番号はB-16713です。

A Boeing 747-400 (B-16408) on BR271 to Manila before departure.
出発前のマニラ行きBR271便のB747-400機（B-16408）です。

An overnight staying Cathay Pacific Airbus 330-300s at the tarmac. And the same model of Trans Asia Airways had stopped next to the plane.
駐機場にはキャセイのA330-300機が夜間駐機していました。この飛行機の隣にはトランスアジア航空の同型機が止まっていました。

Boarding on the plane:Singapore Airlines flight SQ878 on 11 January 2014/2014年1月11日シンガポール航空SQ878便搭乗記

Flight report on SQ878 from Singapore to Taipei. This is a return flight from Singapore.
シンガポールから台北までのSQ878便搭乗記です。当便はシンガポールからの復路便です。

I arrived at Changi Airport at 10:30 am. At the time of check-in, a friendly ground staff asked me about a check through baggage to Fukuoka. But I want to pick up my luggage at Taipei because I have a one night stopover.
朝10時30分ごろチャンギ空港に到着。チェックインの際親切な地上職員が福岡までチェック荷物スルーするかどうか聞いてきましたがフライトの都合上台北で1泊ストップオーバーしなければならなかったので台北止めでお願いしました。

Flight info/フライト情報

• Flight number/フライト番号：SQ878
• Origin/出発地：Singapore Changi/シンガポール・チャンギ
• Destination/目的地：Taipei Taoyuan/台北桃園
• Flight time/飛行時間：4 hours and 35 minutes/4時間35分
• Aircraft/機種：Airbus 330-300/エアバス330-300
• Registration number/機体番号：9V-STZ

I saw SQ's A380s stopping at gate B2. Look at the tail carefully. It was peeling off in some parts.
B2ゲートに停まっているSQのA380機を見かけました。よく見ると尾翼の一部分が剥がれていました。

I also saw Scoot, a Singaporean based budget airline. The airline is mainly operated on long-haul flights to Tokyo, Sydney etc.
スクートも見ました。シンガポール拠点のLCCである同社は東京、シドニーなど長距離路線をメインに運航しています。

I was waiting at gate B5 of terminal 3 to start boarding.
搭乗開始までターミナル3のB5ゲートで待っていました。

At 11:49 am, the plane starts a pushback. 15 minutes later, it was takeoff on Rwy 02C. Unlike the outward, there are only about half passengers.
午前11時49分に飛行機はプッシュバックを開始し15分後に滑走路02Cから離陸。往路と違って半分ほどの乗客でした。

Meal. As well as an outward journey, I chose a Chinese food. The main dish is chicken with rice. The taste is delicious.
機内食。 往路と同じく中華を選択。メインはチキンのご飯和えでしたがおいしかったです。

They offer an ice cream for dessert. But it seen to be a local manufacture, not Haagen-Dazs as an outward. 
デザートにアイスクリームが出されましたが往路と違いハーゲンダッツではなく地元のメーカーだったようです。

I made a playlist of my favorite classical music Rigoletto La Donna è Mobile in flight.
飛行中お気に入りのクラシック曲リゴレット「女心の歌」を再生リストに入れて聞きました。

The plane arrived at Taipei 4:21 pm local time.
飛行機は現地時刻の午後4時21分台北に到着。

After arriving, I call a taxi to City Suites Gateway Hotel near the airport.
到着後タクシーを呼んでもらって空港近くのシティスーツゲートウェイホテル（City Suites Gateway Hotel;城市商旅航空館）へ向かいました。

Clarke Quay and Marlion/クラーク・キーとマーライオン像

In the evening, I went to Clarke Quay and Marlion, Singapore's premier waterfront area. Clarke Quay has many restaurants, cafes, boutiques etc.
夕方にはシンガポール有数のウオーターフロントエリアとして知られるクラーク・キーとマーライオン像に行ってきました。クラーク・キーには数多くのレストラン、カフェや小物店などがあって賑わっています。

In the opposite site of Singapore River, there are two places of interest: The Asian Civilization Museum and Statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore (now the Republic of Singapore)./シンガポール川の反対側にはアジア文明博物館とシンガポール共和国の創設者トマス・スタンフォード・ラッフルズの銅像があります。

• The Asian Civilization Museum/アジア文明博物館

•  Statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles with skyscrapers in background./トマス・スタンフォード・ラッフルズの銅像、後方には高層ビル群が立ち並ぶ。

•  Hotel Marina Bay Sands/ホテルマリーナベイサンズ

• Marlion both day and night/昼と夜のマーライオン像

I bought ice cream sandwich (S$1.00) from a vendor in front of the museum. They can be seen around here.
博物館の前でアイスクリームサンドイッチ（1シンガポールドル）を買いました。この辺りではアイスクリームを売っているおじさんをよく見かけます。