Cultural Day

Since November 3rd is is cultural day here in Japan and a day off, what better way to spend it than to go to a shrine and a museum.
The Shinto shrine Alexandra and I went to is up on a slope, 坂 saka, (one of many here in Nagasaki) and is again one of those examples of beauty, tucked away in a garden in between ugly houses. Lots of children dressed up in traditional garb were parading around and the parents all the while taking pictures.
In a little noodleshop next door we had some ramen with tempura on it (a whole prawn indeed!). Delicious....
Had a stroll through the park with a very clear pond full of large carp, Koi as they are called in various colours..even golden ones.

There was also a flower and plant exhibition and it shows how the Japanese love to create shapes with plants rather than letting them develop themselves. The chrysantemum bushes on the right are a prime example.
Then we went to the Nagasaki Historical and Cultural Museum, 長崎歴史文化博物館 and witnessed the opening by the mayor of Nagasaki. It's a beautiful building made like the old office of the representatve of the Shogun here in Nagasaki. It shows the trade between China and Holland with Japan as well as the development of Nagasaki from a small town into a well...slightly larger town.
A play was performed by some actors depicting the settling of a dispute between two daimyo 大名(landlords) before the representative of the Shogun 将軍. They looked quite fierce.
Pictures just had to be taken.
One of the solutions japan has to come up with the limited space they have in the cities is that besides the tiny cars you see everywhere, the gas stations will supply the gas out of the ceiling rather than having it come out of the ground...more space is thus created.