[2025 Nagasaki Attraction] Travel Guide for Suwa Shrine (Updated May)

On a whim, I came up with a one-day trip to Nagasaki. I started from Saga and walked the whole way after arriving in Nagasaki. Because I saw the Atomic Bomb Museum in Hiroshima, I didn’t take the time to see it in Nagasaki. 🚞Transportation: 4,100 yen one way 1⃣️ Go to: (section) Saga-Takeo; (Shinkansen) Takeo-Nagasaki 2⃣️Reply: (Shinkansen) Nagasaki-Takeo; (Intersection) Takeo-Saga 🚶🏽‍♀️ Route 1⃣️ おFood Office Jiumeien (This building is the thinnest!) The restaurant is closed on Sundays, so you can only take a photo and check in before leaving. 10 minutes walk from the station 📍 1-36 Nakamachi, Nagasaki 2⃣️ Suwa Shrine A shrine for weddings/celebrations in the Nagasaki area. It happened that September 1st happened to be an event that might be preparing for the October event, and I saw a very traditional Japanese festival. The guardian is very beautiful. I have been to so many shrines, but I only saw the guardian here. Behind the main hall is Inari Shrine and a large tree. It is recommended to go up and have a look. You need to walk up a long flight of stairs to reach the shrine, so remember to save your energy! It takes 10 minutes to walk to the thinnest building 💰 Free 📍 18-15 Kaminishiyama-cho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture 3⃣️ Glasses Bridge + Love Stone The main idea is to refer to the sightseeing map. On the stones on both sides of the bridge, there is a heart. See if you are lucky enough to find it? It takes 20 minutes to walk to the shrine 💰 Free 📍 Uno Town, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture 4⃣️ Nagasaki Chinatown I checked in when passing by and there were a lot of Chinese food. Walking from Spectacle Bridge, you will pass by Hamamachi, where there is Yoshimune Tea Bowl, a long-established shop from the Edo period! You can try it. A set meal (rice + steamed egg) costs 1,500+ yen, which is very filling. 📍 10-13 Shinchicho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture 5⃣️ Holland Street & Sihai Tower & Oura Cathedral The buildings on Holland Street are very European-style, and check out Conan in Sihai Tower. There are some specialty shops along the road, a world heritage site 💰 1,000 yen 📍 5-3 Minami-Yamate-cho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture 6⃣️ Glover Garden It takes 40 minutes to complete the whole tour. After leaving the Catholic Church, you will see the street sign to the left. 💰 680 yen 📍 8-1 Minami-Yamate-cho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture 7⃣️ Observation Deck 💰 Free 📍 Turn right when you come out of the church. After three minutes, you will see an uphill slope with road signs. If you continue going up, you will see the observatory. At this time, keep walking forward and you will see an elevator that can go directly to the ground. 🍰 Eat and drink 1⃣️ The Nagasaki cake is not to be missed. It’s delicious with or without ice cream at any store. 2⃣️ Yoshimune Chawan, very smooth steamed egg + a bowl of unique rice, a set meal for one person will definitely satisfy you 3⃣️ McDonald's... happens to have a Chikawa co-branded product! Download the app decisively and get the discount code to buy children’s meals! I feel very good about Nagasaki, and the walk along the beach is also very comfortable. I will come back next time!

#NagasakiTrip #NagasakiSightseeing #NagasakiSpecialty #SuwaShrine #HalfwayUpTheStairs 　 The day before, I went to visit Suwa Shrine, the shrine where the Nagasaki Kunchi festival is dedicated, which is the purpose of this trip. The box seats for the day were sold out long ago. I also lost the lottery for the staircase seats, so I can't watch the Nagasaki Kunchi festival here at Suwa Shrine, so I take the streetcar with a one-day pass to at least visit the shrine. I got off the streetcar at the Suwa Shrine stop and headed toward Suwa Shrine through the underground passage. The walls of the passage were decorated with a variety of paintings. All of them were painted with pictures of 58 types...I think... of various votive dances and votive floats from the towns that perform the Nagasaki Kunchi festival. This year, my favorite "Whale Spout" and "Shrine Stamp Boat" will be donated, and four other towns will also donate their performances. The 58 towns only get their turn once every seven years, and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first Nagasaki Kunchi in four years, so all the towns seem to be really enthusiastic, and it's exciting for the spectators. Going up the underground passage, there is the first torii gate...a really big and impressive one...and then there are the long, long stairs, with a landing left, all the way to the top...it's gentle, but still tough. I take a break on the wide landing halfway up as I climb. In the square where the performances are being donated, a box seat has already been made next to the stairs leading up to the main shrine, and the stairs are fixed in place by two iron bars that serve as partitions. Only this median strip will be passable on the day of the Kunchi. The stairs are packed tightly on both sides, so the chances of winning are extremely low...I guess it's okay if you lose. Only the center of the square where the performances are dedicated is paved with stones in a very dense manner, which you can see even from a distance. The floats, which weigh more than 2 tons, run around and spin around, so it would be dangerous if the ground was not sturdy, so in fact, floats weighing more than 2 tons go up and down the stairs when descending and ascending...this is apparently the proper way to dedicate them. That's why the stairs are at a gentle angle, and there are several landings along the way...it's a complete preparation just in case. I went up to the square below the main shrine and looked down, and there were an incredible number of stairs. I visited Suwa Shrine, and because the main shrine is so impressive, I made an extra 500 yen for my offering, instead of the usual 100 yen. And, of course, I had to go down the stairs again. Going down is much harder than going up, but I kept going down. If I didn't go down, I wouldn't be able to eat lunch...but I managed to hang in there.

#JapanTravel #NagasakiTravel #SuwaShrine #Nagasaki 📍Japan Nagasaki, Suwa Shrine I visited Suwa Shrine, where red torii gates are lined up in a row. You can get to Suwa Shrine in 5 minutes by walking from Suwajinja Station on the Nagasaki Tram. I heard that Suwa Shrine, a tangible cultural property of Nagasaki, was rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire. On the side, Japanese people were writing their wishes and hanging them on a tree. I heard that the people of Nagasaki are very proud of the appearance and meaning of this Suwa Shrine! The thick rope is called Shimenawa, which is a rope that separates the realm of gods and humans. It was a place where I could learn a lot about the culture of the people of Nagasaki.

#newyearnewtrip In Nagasaki Japan, Suwa shrine sits on the very top of nagasaki's city centre. People from far and wide would visit this shrine as it is not only beautiful but it also showcases the cultural aspect of nagasaki and their shinto religion, which is one of the biggest religion in Japan. A long and tall stairways leads up to this shrine and there is a total of 277 of concrete steps to climb up to. The suwa shrine is small but once you reach the top, look down below and you can see the nice city views. A series of stone tori gates also lined the entrance towards the shrine, giving it a grand touch to it. Beautiful architecture here with lots of Japanese zen vibes. Offer your prayers and feel at peace. Suwa shrine is just a short walk from the suwa shrine JR Station and it is open 24/7, with free admission.

Nagasaki Kunchi is the autumn festival of Suwa Shrine, the guardian deity of Nagasaki, held annually for three days starting from October 7. It is said to have begun in 1634 when two courtesans dedicated a Noh dance called 'Komai' to the shrine. The festival features many performances with exotic themes and was designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property by the Japanese government in 1979. The Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Promotion Association was established to promote the smooth operation and development of Nagasaki Kunchi, contributing to the economic development and tourism industry of Nagasaki City, and to preserve and nurture the festival's performances.

#100 Ways to Travel is a shrine located in Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. During the Japanese Warring States Period, Nagasaki was the territory of the Jesuit Church. In 1625 (the second year of Kanei), the first chief priest Aoki Kensei rebuilt the three shrines of Suwa, Morisaki, and Sumiyoshi that were previously enshrined in Nagasaki City in Maruyama, Nishiyama-go (the site of the current Matsumori Shrine), and became the land god of Nagasaki. #Suwa Shrine

Hopping off the tram, the experience of finding the male and female stones at Suwa Shrine⛩️ was quite intriguing, making the long path suddenly less boring! Right behind the main shrine, there's a special spot for money-washing prayers. I immediately took out 1000 TWD to wash, hoping it will double when I return to Taiwan! Hehe😁 The Spectacles Bridge was surprisingly cute too. I thought I would just take one photo of this ancient stone bridge...

#JulyTravelSupportEvent ⛩️✨ A devout exploration at **Suwa Shrine**! 🏯 Located in Nagano Prefecture, this shrine is a quiet place where you can feel Japanese history and tradition. 🌳 Enjoy a peaceful walk through the grounds, which are surrounded by beautiful nature, and admire the shrine's elaborate architecture and cultural assets. Be sure to visit when traveling to Nagano! #SuwaShrine #NaganoPrefecture #TraditionAndHistory #JapanTravel #RecommendedPlaces

Take the train bound for Hotaru-chaya from Nagasaki Station and you'll arrive at the nearest station in about 10 minutes! It's very convenient because it's only a short walk from there! Be careful as there are many stairs⚠️ Suwa Shrine in Nagasaki Prefecture is a wonderful shrine that breathes history and culture. The place has a quiet and sacred atmosphere, giving visitors peace of mind. The grounds have a magnificent torii gate and a prestigious shrine building, and you can enjoy a magnificent view especially during the autumn foliage season. In addition, historical buildings and traditional townscapes are spread around the shrine, allowing you to feel the good old culture of Japan. Suwa Shrine, which is valuable not only as a place of faith but also as a tourist destination, is a must-see spot when visiting Nagasaki‼ ️ 📍Address: 18-15 Kaminishiyama-cho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture 850-0006 🏖️Atmosphere/Facilities: The view from the shrine gate is outstanding✨ #NagasakiTourism #BreathtakingSights

✅Must experience: Nagasaki Night Tour: Take a stroll along the trail in the seaside forest park, the park is not crowded at night, very peaceful and the art museum is right next to it, with a beautiful exterior. The park is not crowded at night, very tranquil, and the night view is stunning. Picture 1 is the exterior of the art museum, and picture 2 is the seascape taken on the trail in the seaside forest park. World Heritage Oura Catholic Church: The entrance fee is 1000 yen, but it's worth it, including the church and museum, where the museum displays artifacts reflecting the church's history. Pictures 7-8 are the World Heritage monument and the exterior of Oura Catholic Church. Atomic Bomb Park: Visiting the park is free, the memorial hall charges an additional fee, I just walked around the park at the time, there are memorial statues, and a monument stands at the center of the atomic bomb explosion as shown in pictures 9-10. 🌟Highlights: Nagasaki Suwa Shrine: The shrine is right next to the guesthouse we stayed in, a 2-minute walk away, open 24 hours, and admission is free. On the first night, I went to see it on a whim after returning from the seaside forest park, but I just took a glance at the entrance and left The next morning I went inside for a walk. The shrine at night is quite different from the shrine during the day. Pictures 3-6 show the comparison between the shrine at night and during the day. 🚉Transportation tips: City transportation: Getting to several main attractions is convenient, Nagasaki has no subway, the main means of transportation in the city are trams and buses. You can buy a 24-hour pass for the tram, which covers all the main attractions, priced at 700 yen, I bought the electronic ticket on the Japan Transit Planner app, just show it to the driver when getting off. Intercity transportation: My itinerary was Fukuoka-Yufuin-Nagasaki-Fukuoka, from Yufuin to Nagasaki you need to transfer 3 times, so it's much more convenient to go directly from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, with one less transfer. Just follow the transfer guide app or Google map for the transfer plan, the transfers are all within the station, the platforms are very close to each other, use the Kitakyushu JR Pass for the entire journey on the Shinkansen, find the non-reserved seat car and sit down, show the JR Pass to the conductor when they check tickets, no need to buy an additional ticket.

Get off the tram at Suwajinja Station, and take the underground passage to the shrine, where you will be greeted by a large torii gate. The thought of climbing these stairs makes you feel a little sad, but Suwajinja Shrine enshrines the three shrines of Suwa, Morisaki, and Sumiyoshi. It is said to have the power to ward off evil, find love, and protect the sea. Halfway up the stone steps, you will find Haraedojinja Shrine, which has a rare standing lion-dog statue. The official way to worship here is to purify yourself before heading to Suwajinja Shrine. The stone steps might be a good place to take a break. The 73 stone steps were a bit too tough to climb in the summer, but... The view from the top of the shrine is amazing, and the breeze through the torii gate is cool. It feels like you are being welcomed by the gods, and I felt glad that I climbed up. In October, Suwajinja Shrine holds a big festival for the whole city called "Nagasaki Kunchi." This festival livens up this quiet area, and I'd love to come back again. Address: 18-15 Kaminishiyama-cho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture It's a 10-15 minute walk (uphill?) from the tram station to the main shrine 🥵 Phone: 095-824-0045 #NagasakiTourism #SuwaShrine

It's strange, isn't it? Even though I pass by Suwa Shrine in Nagano Prefecture, I never have time to stop by. This was my first time at Suwa Shrine. As I climbed the stairs, I saw wonderful pebbles, both in front and behind me. I've never heard of them before. There are so many things I don't know. I wrote down my wishes. I'm grateful that I was able to visit. Thank you very much. #Breathtaking views #Gourmet trip #Luxury hotel #Couple trip #Gourmet