8 days Christian Pilgrimage tour in Nagasaki and Amakusa rejions

 

The tour visits Christian Pilgrimage sites in Hirado, Nagasaki, Sotome,

Unzen, Shimabara, Amakusa and Fukuoka while introducing the following :

How did Japan, whose main religion is Shinto, accept Christianity?

Why did Christianity spread in and around Nagasaki?

Why did Japan ban Christianity even though once accepted it?

How did Christians continue their faith during the ban period?

What kind of oppression and martyrdom took place during the ban on Christianity?

 

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Itinerary

 

Day 1   Hirado 

 

Welcome to Fukuoka ! You will be greeted tour guide.

Drive to Hitado

Lunch at Hirado, local cusine

Tabira Church

  The church was designed by Tetsukawa Yosuke, a famous

  architect of various churches in Nagasaki-prefecture, and

  built between 1915

Exploring Hirado

St Francis Xavier Memorial Church

  This church is a catholic church in Hirado, Nagasaki. Hirado

  is a place where Francis Xavier visited 3 times in Japan to spread Christianity

Dutch Trading Post

  Set up in Hirado in 1609 as the base of operations of the

  Dutch East India Company in Japan

 

Dinner at the Hotel

Stay in Hirado 

 

 

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Day 2   Hirado 

 

After breakfast, check out of the Hotel in Hirado 

Exploring Hirado

Hoki Church 

  The Church built in 1898, at the place overlooking the sea

Yamada Church 

  The Church dedicated to Satint Tomas Nishi, built in 1912 

Kurose-no Tsuji Martyrdom site

Lunch in Hirado

Nakae no Shima Island Martyrdom site observatory place 

  Located two kilometers off the coast of Hirado Island, Nakae no

  Shima is a small, uninhabited island where religious leaders

  were executed during the persecution of Christians

Drive to Nagasaki

 

Dinner at the restaurant in Nagasaki

Stay in Nagasaki

 

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Day 3  Nagasaki

 

Breakfast at the Hotel

Martyrdom of 26 Saint of Japan

  Nishizaka hill is the most significant Christian Pilgrimage site in Japan.

  The 26 Martyrs of Japan were a group of Catholics who were executed

  by crucifixion on February 5, 1597.

the 26 Martyrs Museum

Oura Cathedral

  The Cathedral is one of the significant Christian Pilgrimage site in Japan.

  Established 1865, this church is officially known as “Oura Cathedral, the

  Church of 26 Martyrs.”

Glover Garden

  nine Western style buildings. The Glover’s Residence built in 1863

  and is Japan’s oldest wooden Western–style building

Lunch in Nagasaki

Nakamachi Church 

 

Dinner at the restaurant in Nagasaki

Stay in Nagasaki

 

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Day 4  Nagasaki

 

Breakfast at the Hotel

Exploring Peace Park where the Atomic Bomb dropped in 1945

 Atomic Bomb Museum

  The museum exhibits a number of photograph that depict the devastation

  caused by atomic bomb showing the lead-up to this tragic day

Ground Zero

  The plutonium atomic bomb exploded about 500m over the central monument

  at 11:02 a.m. on August 9, 1945.   The most part of Nagasaki was destroyed,

  and a tremendous number of lives were lost

Peace Statue

  Completed in 1955, ten years after the Atomic bombing. The 9.7 meter high

  statue sitting on a 4 meter tall pedestal. The raised arm points to the threat of

  nuclear weapons and the out-stretched arm symbolizes peace

Drive to Sotome

Lunch at Sotome

Shitsu Church

  On an elevation commanding a view over the Sea of Goto, Father

  Marc Marie de Rotz established a church at his own expense 1882

Endo Shusaku Literary Museum

  The setting of Endo Shusaku’s novel Silence. Sotome is blessed with a

  unique history and culture of Christianity

Drive to Nagasaki 

 

Dinner at the restaurant in Nagasaki

Stay in Nagasaki

 

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Day 6  Amakusa

 

After breakfast, check out of the Hotel in Unzen

Drive to Minami-shimabara

Harajo Castle ruins

  The Christian pilgrimage site, registered on UNESCO’s World

  Heritage Site. The battle field of Shimabara Rebellion which was

  a peasant uprising agaist bakufu’s persecution of Christians

  under the leadership of Amakusa Shiro in 1637

Transfer to Amakusa from Kuchinotsu by a ferry

Lunch in Amakusa

Visit Amakusa Shiro Memorial Museum 

 

Dinner at the Hotel

Stay in Amakusa

 

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Day 7  Amakusa & Kumamoto                                    

 

After breakfast, check out of the Hotel in Amakusa  Visiting Christian sites in Amakusa Oe Cathedral   The oldest Catholic Church in Amakusa and was one of the first   churches built right after the ban on Christianity was lifte Sakitsu Village / UNESCO World Heritage   A Gothic-looking church is located on a cove of a fishing village.   In 1934, a Freh priest Augustin Halbout MEP purchased the   premises of the former village headman and built a wooden and   concrete finished church Lunch in Amakusa Drive to Kumamoto using Amakusa Gokyo / Pearl line Sakurano-baba Josaien   Josaien is located in Sakurano-baba, at the foot of Kumamoto   Castle Kumamoto Castle   The Castle is one of the three great castles and one of the 100   best places in Japan to view cherry blossoms.   Dinner at the restaurant in Kumamoto Stay in Kumamoto

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Day 8  Fukuoka 

 

After breakfast, check out of the Hotel in Kumamoto 

Drive to Fukuoka 

Arrive  at Fukuoka 

Free and Easy

 

Dinner at the restaurant in Fukuoka

Stay in Fukuoka

 

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Traveling Map

 

 

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