Nagasaki

Nagasaki is one of Japan's most historically layered cities. For over two centuries during the Edo period, it was the country's sole window to the outside world — a trading port where Dutch, Chinese, and Portuguese influences blended into a culture found nowhere else in Japan.

The city is built across steep hillsides that tumble down to a sheltered harbour, giving it a dramatically vertical character. Glover Garden, the atmospheric Chinatown (Japan's oldest), Gothic-style churches, and the deeply moving Atomic Bomb Museum create a destination that is as thought-provoking as it is beautiful. Nagasaki's famous champon noodles and castella cake reflect its unique cross-cultural heritage.