32.7° N
Nagasaki, Japan
A port town that was open to trade with Portuguese and Dutch ships for centuries. Castella and glass-blowing shops, sweets and coffee by the stone bridges of the Nakashima River, and the slope below Glover Garden: Rin's picks.
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Where Rin would go
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Made in Nagasaki
Castella is said to come from the sweets that arrived with the Nanban trade. In Nagasaki small shops still bake it. Iwanaga Baijuken, open since 1830, bakes its castella and then rests it overnight.
Meganebashi
A wagashi shop open since 1830, home of the sweets Kankiku and Moshiogusa. Its castella is baked and then rested overnight. Open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm, with changes by season.
RinSome days there is no castella at the counter. Check the opening notice before you go.
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Made in Nagasaki
Records of the Nagasaki magistrate show vidro blowers in the town by 1670, and Nagasaki glass became a local speciality. The line stopped after the war. Today studios such as Rurian blow vidro by hand again.
Oura
A studio for Nagasaki vidro near Oura Cathedral. They mix the glass, design and blow it themselves, and also make stained glass. Open 9:30 am to 5 pm, closed on Tuesdays.
RinThree minutes on foot from Oura Cathedral tram stop. Closed on Tuesdays.
Dejima
A shop on Edo-machi, where the Nagasaki magistrate’s western office once stood. It makes and sells tenugui hand towels printed with the seasons, views and history of Nagasaki. Open 10 am to 6:30 pm, closed on Tuesdays.
RinRead the story behind a tenugui design before you choose.
Meganebashi
A confectioner open since 1937, with this one shop only. Its speciality is Nagasaki castella ice cream, ice cream between slices of castella. Open 11 am to 4 pm, with the closing days posted monthly on the official site.
RinThe closing days change every month. Check the official site for your day.
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Shianbashi
A restaurant open since 1866, known for chawanmushi and steamed sushi. Its speciality, Meoto-mushi, is a bowl-sized chawanmushi served with steamed sushi. The main shop is in a building put up in 1927. Closed on Tuesdays.
RinThe chawanmushi comes in a bowl. Order lightly for the rest.
Shianbashi
A bistro in Hamamachi. The chef carries on the Toruko rice of his father, who devised its original form, and serves it alongside French and creative dishes. Open 11 am to 11 pm.
RinToruko rice is on at lunch and at dinner. Lunch runs until 5 pm.
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Meganebashi
A coffee shop on Shishitoki River street in Higashifurukawa-machi. It also holds morning coffee classes. Open 11 am to 6 pm, closed on Mondays.
RinThe dates of the morning coffee classes are in the news. Closed on Mondays.
Oura
A cafe in the brick building in front of the Glover Garden entrance, attached to the Nagasaki Minamiyamate Museum. House-roasted coffee and castella ice cream. Open 10 am to 4 pm, closed on Thursdays and on the 1st and 16th of each month.
RinThere is a cup called Bakumatsu Coffee. Start with that.
By area
Rin is a fictional traveller. Every place here was checked by the editors to exist and be open (checked 2026-11-11). Please confirm hours on the official site before you go. Paid listings are always marked.
To see — art and sights (landmarks)
Sights · Dejima
Dejima
The island completed in 1636, in the time of the Nanban trade, and later the site of the Dutch trading post. A restoration aimed at the early nineteenth century has rebuilt 16 buildings, including the Capitan’s room.
The old Dejima seminary is closed to entry for safety reasons. Open 8 am to 9 pm (last entry 8:40 pm), every day of the year.
Sights · Oura
Glover Garden
A garden of Meiji-era Western-style buildings moved and rebuilt around the former Glover House, a World Heritage component. Three of the buildings are national Important Cultural Properties.
The former Alt House is closed for repair works (reopening planned for March 2027). Open until 8 pm in November and December.
Sights · Meganebashi
Meganebashi Bridge
The first arched stone bridge in Japan, built in 1634 by Mokushi Nyojo, a Chinese monk of Kofukuji temple. A national Important Cultural Property over the Nakashima River. It was half destroyed in the 1982 flood and rebuilt in 1983.
Art · Tateyama
Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture
A museum of the history and culture of Nagasaki. Its permanent exhibition has a history and culture zone, a machiya townhouse and a zone on the Nagasaki magistrate’s office.
Closed on the first and third Mondays of each month (the next weekday if a holiday). In November it is closed on the 16th, and open until 7 pm (last entry 6:30 pm).
These are landmarks, not Rin's picks. Each was checked to be open on its official site (checked 2026-11-11). Please confirm hours before you go.