Today we moved on from Nagasaki. My initial plan was to visit the Kyushu Ceramics Museum, but like any good museum it’s Closed Mondays. So we zagged and went to the Nagasaki Bio Park out on the Nishisonogi Peninsula. This command decision was made on very thin information, namely a brief video we saw years ago of capybaras sitting in their own onsen. Sometimes you just need to pull on a thread.
But first we needed to rent a car. To get to the car rental with our bags we hailed a taxi using the GO app, which has a user interface like Uber but summons a real taxi. This is perfect for Japan, since the taxis here are great. They are special made vehicles with lots of rear room, they are clean and often decked out in white lace, and the drivers are good.
My apprehension level was high as I got ready to swing out into downtown traffic. They make foreigners watch a bunch of videos foreshadowing various catastrophes before they give you the keys. Driving on the left side of the road, gear shift and rear view mirror on the left, signs in Japanese, low and frequently changing speed limits, it’s a bit to keep track of. At least the car has head room.
One of the things that’s flipped control wise is the turn signal and windshield wipers. So several times I went to signal a turn and the wipers would frantically go back and forth. Or I would try to flash my high beams to signal another driver but instead sprayed the windshield.
Michele was a good navigator. I had three women talking to me as I drove; the Google Maps lady with directions, Michele calling out signals and just being another set of eyes, and the car itself, which the moment I was 2 km/hr over the limit would say “Pay attention to the driving speed”. I had a lot of help.
We got to the Bio Park without incident. Phew.
So for those alive in the 1980’s, remember the bio-sphere fad? People were building glass domes in a “spaceship earth” frame of mind, with some kind of different environment inside the dome than outside. Well, that’s how the Nagasaki Bio Park started. Now it’s more or less a petting zoo, and the buildings are showing their age. But if you like having monkeys leaping onto your shoulder and grabbing food it’s your place.
They really lean into the capybaras, with capybara shaped karaage and plushies. They didn’t have the capy onsen running, I think winter is over and all the giant rodents get to swim in now is a cold pond. Capybaras are about as soft as a pig.
But there’s more! Llamas! My spirit animal.
If we had spent two more hours hanging around these slightly neglected animals I would have had a chance to throw a cabbage into a hippo’s mouth. Which I have to say would have been kinda memorable, but not worth lingering.
A special shout out here to my friend Darin in Minnesota. You are sitting on a gold mine sir. People will happily pay good money to feed raccoons. At least all the Japanese kids in southern Minnesota would visit.
After the Bio Park I started to feel more comfortable driving. We drove north up to the tip of the peninsula where a park overlooks the narrow passage of Ōmura bay to the ocean. The tidal current was impressive, it must be challenging to navigate a boat through. Cherry blossoms were in abundance.
We landed for the evening at the Central Imari Hotel, which has a nice onsen attached. The guests are a mix of business travelers and two tour busses, probably for sakura. We might be the only westerners here. The bathroom is juuuuust tall enough.
Ken Chin-Purcell 