This is my trip to Kyushu, July 11-13. I went with Brian, who is sadly on his way out of Japan. The first thing we did was head to Nagasaki, where we saw the typical tourist sites:

The Peace Park, with its statuary of questionable taste (the silhouettes holding hands is the only piece I like):

The Hypocenter Park:

The Atom Bomb Museum, where unfortunately no pictures were allowed. The atom bomb museum in Nagasaki was definitely better than the one in Hiroshima. It provided much more historical context. Both were similarly gruesome though. Definitely not an uplifting event. The Nagasaki museum also included a lot of information about the proliferation of nuclear weapons since WWII and the associated anti-nuclear movements.

And Urakami, once the largest Christian church in Asia.

We also just wandered the city, taking in the sites, sampling the local cuisine, etc. Nagasaki is a much greener city than most in Japan.

That night we went out looking for some fun, maybe some live music, but were totally disappointed by Lonely Planet's recommendations. It was Friday night, but neither of the jazz bars they recommended had a live band. Luckily we ran into some cool Nagasaki JETs who showed us around. I ended up at a very chill reggae bar called Natty Dreadrock. I'm pretty sure the "r" in there is a misspelling of "dreadlock", but I like that it also makes a little pun.

From Nagasaki we headed to Aso-san, an active volcano and one of Japan's sacred mountains. Unfortunately it was pissing down rain, visibility was zero, and the closest thing to an active volcano we got to see was the mural at the visitors center (this mural exists specifically for the purpose of taking group pictures in front of it, so Japan). We tried again the next day with the same results.

Luckily we managed to hook up with some friends of mine in nearby Kumamoto, Judy and Nicki. A friend of theirs was having a housewarming party, so we had a good time overall. Aso-san will just have to wait. I need an excuse to go back to Kyushu anyway. Here's Judy with Brian.

We also hit up Beppu on the way back to Ehime. It was a hurried run through town that consisted of little more than a quick dip in one of the famous hot springs. No time for pictures.

All in all a good three-day weekend.