Sylvia's Journal

Nagasaki was sunny and relatively warm compared to yesterday. We had a day of tourism in front of us. We are way outside tourist season and did not see any other foreigner until we arrived at the airport. Most of the time we are the only white folks around.

First Axel guided me through the reconstructed Dutch enclave of Dejima (Decima) where the Dutch had a trade monopoly with Japan in the late 18th and early 19th century. Thanks to the 1000 Autumns of Jacob de Zoet we knew a bit about daily life on Dejima at the turn of that century.

Now the fan-shaped enclave is no longer on the ocean and has gotten a bit lost in urban sprawl, hemmed in by parking garages and office buildings. Still, it is a breath-taking experience to walk in the footsteps of those Nederlanders who ventured so far from home.

Next stop was an architectural marvel, the prefectural museum of art, which needs a bit more of a collection to put in its enormous spaces. From the roof you have a wonderful view over the harbor and to the many volcanic eruptions turned islands as far as the eye can see.

After a sushi and tempura lunch, accompanied by a small bottle of sake, we headed inland toward the museum of Professor Siebold, a German scientist who further drove in the wedge already created by trade, into this society that had been so introverted for so long. His enormous knowledge and curiosity earned him respect and students from all over Japan. His Japanese daughter was the first female OB/GYN in Japan.

And then it was time to head for the airport and board our plane to Tokyo with hundreds of salarymen going home or going on a business trip. We got lost in a sea of black suits until we alighted from the airport monorail and found all the salarymen relaxing in subway noodle and sushi shops – they weren’t running home quite yet.

A nice lady from the Canadian embassy helped us find our way back to the surface through a maze of underground tunnels. And now we are settled in our (much less fancy) hotel – more of an international youth hostel – here in Tokyo. Or rather, I am settled as Axel went out for a late meal somewhere back in that maze.