The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
Getting to Nagasaki From Fukuoka to Nagasaki “Two bus tickets to Nagasaki, please. Via Hakata.” The ticketing officer at Fukuoka Airport looked at us in bewilderment. Then, he tried his best to explain in English that it was a bad idea. Upon his advice, we …
About Mount Inasa The night view of Mount Inasa (稲佐山, Inasayama) is said to be one of Japan’s three best night views. The other two belong to night views from Mount Hakodate, and of Mount Rokko and Mount Maya. The former has a panoramic view …
Glover Garden (グラバー園, Glover-en) is located on the hill where Western merchants settled down after the end of Japanese government’s Seclusion Policy in 1853. It is a large sprawling garden which houses the Former Glover Residence and other relocated properties.
These other historical buildings formerly dotted around Nagasaki City and were then relocated to this garden. Some of these include residences of famous Westerners such as the Ringer, Walker and Alt.
Next to Glover Garden (Gate One), you will find the supposedly oldest church in Japan, Oura Church (大浦天主堂, Ōura Tenshudō). The church was also the first Western type building in Japan declared as a national treasure.
This Catholic church was built in 1864 to serve the growing community of foreign merchants in Nagasaki city then. It is also dedicated to the 26 Catholics executed in the city in 1597. You can visit the ‘Site of the Martyrdom of the 26 Saints of Japan‘ in Nagasaki.
Oura church was under construction when we were, hence we didn’t get a chance to visit. Do note that admission fee also includes entry into the museum about the history of Christianity in Japan.
Admission Details
Glover Garden and Oura Church are next to each other, and it’s about 5 minutes walk from Ouratenshudo-shita Station. However, it seems like eternity before we found Glover Garden. The directional signage was not clear and the whole place seemed like a maze to us.
We walked through slopes of shops and weren’t sure if we were heading the right way! The climb up was real tiring for me. Good thing we wore good walking shoes, otherwise my feet would ache even faster.
It was a pity we arrived late in the day, about 3:45PM. The streets were already relatively quiet and a few shops seem to be closing for the day. By the time we were done with Glover Garden, the sky was dark and all the shops closed.
The shops look really interesting! I wished we had more time to explore. Along our way to the Glover Garden vicinity, we passed by this retro shop. I took a photo of it and the fierce uncle owner barked at me. Spot him in the photo below!
I would suggest half a day for Glover Garden and Oura Church. Buffer in some time for you to find your way. We were quite lost and didn’t even know we have arrived at Glover Garden. The ticketing office is not visible. We simply came across a tablet of stone with Japanese engraving and guessed it to be Glover Garden. However, I didn’t want to risk climbing another slope only to find out it’s not. Hence, I sent hubby ahead to recce first.
And…we finally reached! Good thing we ended up at the more common entrance, Gate No. 1 (near to Oura Church). The other gate is found at the other side of Glover Garden. Before I could pop the champagne, there were more steep slopes and steps to conquer after the ticketing office.
Oh and start the day early! In this way, you will have more time to shop around the area and avoid the cold evening weather. Being at high altitude, the strong wind made us tremble more in the winter night. Even my hubby who has a high threshold of cold, found it cold. See the frozen baby below.
The main attraction of Glover Garden is the Former Glover Residence. It is a UNESCO World Heritage under ‘Sites of Japan’s Meiji Restoration: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining’.
This residence used to belong to Thomas Blake Glover and is now the oldest wooden Western-style residence in Japan. Mr Glover was a Scottish merchant and is considered to be one of the founding fathers of modern Japan, contributing to the industrialisation of Japan in shipbuilding, coal mining, and other areas.
*Former Glover Residence will undergo maintenance during most of 2020 and visitors will not be able to enter the Residence. A temporary observation deck will be constructed. Preservation was not done since the 1968, so it’s a chance to see this important work first hand.
We headed straight up to the top of Glover Garden, where the Glover residence is located before making our way down. Thank goodness that there is a travelator for us to go all the way up.
Glover Residence is situated at the peak, overlooking Nagasaki Harbour. Climb up to level two of the house to have a good view. Otherwise, head to the lookout area to enjoy the stunning view of Nagasaki City.
The warmly lit residence and its surroundings gives off a romantic atmosphere in the cooling weather. Did Mr Glover always had the time to take a peaceful walk around the garden? To enjoy the night ambience after dinner in the residence?
This beautiful part of Glover Garden resembles the set in Puccini’s opera, and thus known as the “Madame Butterfly” house. Walk around and spot the statues of Puccini (the composer) and Miura Tamaki (actress) of the opera.
After enjoying the extraordinary view, walk along cobbled walking trails and head down to explore mansions owned by other Western merchants. Have a look at the well-preserved rooms, and witness the lifestyle of the wealthy inhabitants.
There are also other buildings to look at, such as former Mitsubishi No.2 Dock House and Gatehouse of a former school. Many of these mansions and buildings were relocated from other parts of Nagasaki.
In addition to the historic buildings, you can also rest at a cafe or shop in a souvenir shop located within the garden grounds. You will also notice that Glover garden is lush with flowers and greenery, with beautiful wall fountains of trickling water.
Even though we had to brave the cold as the sky turned dark, we got to see the lighted up Glover Garden. Beautifully illuminated. We even caught a light illumination show where lights wrapping around the trees danced to the music. Watched a snippet of it in the video below. :)
An elderly man sat diagonally opposite of me. Two girls in uniform stood near the door of the tram. They were talking in low voices in their beautiful Japanese language, without any cares in the world. I looked at my hubby opposite of me and …
Other than the numerous facial care and makeup products, there are many other hair and body products to buy in Japan’s Drugstores. With so many choices, it’s useful to research the popular items people are getting. It will help you to refine your to-buy list. …
There’s a vast collection of beauty products, including makeup products, in Japan’s drugstores. With so many choices, and me being a noob, I needed to research and find the gems that everyone’s grabbing. I also armed myself with local prices to compare when in Japan, just in case it’s cheaper locally. You never know!
Read on to get an idea of what you can get at the drugstores in Japan. Also, find out if the beauty products I’ve bought are really good and as raved about. Before you read on, you might want to know that www.cosme.net is Japan’s largest and highly influential beauty community site. The website has many reviews and holds a grand ranking annually. And if beauty products are ranked #1 on Cosme, the products will usually state it on their packaging to show how recommended they are.
*Prices stated in this post are the prices (including tax) at the time I bought from the respective drugstore in Japan. The prices might have changed since then, or vary from drugstore to drugstore.
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I am not into make-up because a dermatologist once told me that my breakout was due to layers of sunblock and make-up blocking my pores. So, I try not to put on makeup (except eyeliner and eye concealer). Why am I telling you this? I’m not a fan of makeup and prefer breathable mineral makeup, but I totally fell in love with Canmake Cream Cheek! I was still contemplating whether to get it. Turns out there’s a good reason it’s highly raved, in Cosme’s top ranks for a few years and paraben-free. Most importantly, it’s affordable (¥580, S$7.30).
I didn’t know how to use it for the first time. It’s a cake in gel form. I tried using a brush, but it didn’t work. So I swiped some of the gel and dabbed it on my cheek. I was shocked by the chunk of red. I hurriedly used my finger to rub and spread the redness around my cheek. Then there it was, a beautiful glow! The gel became silky-soft and powdery when I applied it to my cheeks. It was like magic! I love it because it’s really compact to bring out in my carry-on. Also, when I’m outside, I can do a quick touch-up without the hassle of a brush. It’s like whipping out a lipstick, swiping and being out of the toilet in no time.
Correct Technique: Simply dot and press the colour onto your cheeks a few times, and subsequently stroke the colour to blend it, as though joining up the dots.
www.canmake.com/en/item/detail/69
I find it troublesome to use an eyelash curler, and hence it was definitely not under my shopping radar. However, I came across this Shiseido Eyelash Curler as one of Japan’s Must-Buys. It has good reviews everywhere I looked online. It’s purported to achieve long-lasting results and is a great fit to curl every single strand of lashes perfectly. Most importantly, you can get it for ¥580 (S$7.30) in a Japanese drugstore as compared to S$16-18 in Singapore. With such a good deal, I decided I must buy and give it to my mum! :)
If you use concealer, you might want to consider Shiseido Spotscover Foundation. I bought it for my mother after a 30% discount at ¥840 (S$10.55). It’s a highly raved concealer, but it might be too thick for the undereye. I usually only put concealer for undereye, so I didn’t get this for myself.
For makeup remover, I bought Softymo Super Point Make Up Remover and Bifesta BRIGHTUP Cleansing Lotion. I started using Softymo first because prior to this, I was using an oil-based makeup remover and didn’t really like the texture. Hence, I decided to switch to a more milky, gel-based product (Softymo) before using the oil type (Bifesta).
Softymo Super Point Make Up Remover is an eye and lip makeup remover that claims not to irritate or dry delicate skin and is moisturising and gentle to the eye area. Since I only use eye and lip makeup regularly, this is good enough for me. Also, it removes my eyeliner, eye concealer and lipstick relatively well. However, I read reviews that it has trouble removing makeup with waterproof mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow.
I bought this at ¥495 (S$6.20), and Qoo10 is selling it at S$14. Unlike Bifesta, this is not commonly seen in Watsons and Guardian. I guess it’s not as popular. I tried to research every product I bought from the drugstore at www.ratzillacosme.com to ensure the ingredient list doesn’t contain parabens. Sadly, I missed out on this product– it contains parabens. :(
Bifesta BRIGHTUP Cleansing Lotion is a Japanese micellar cleanser that’s water-based but with the cleansing power of an oil. This paraben-free product is popular and purported to be a must-buy at Japan’s drugstores. I bought it at ¥695 (S$8.80), and Watson’s is selling it at S$19.
Simply soak the cotton pad with about 3 pumps and wipe the makeup away. You wouldn’t need to rinse off after that. I haven’t used it yet, but it claims to remove heavy makeup easily and also dead skin cells and blackheads at the same time. But if you have heavy eye makeup, you may want to consider their eye makeup remover instead. There are four types:
What other makeup products in Japan’s Drugstore would you recommend? :) Let me know in the comment box below. For more tips for your Japan trip, bookmark this page: Overview Itinerary – Hokkaido and Tokyo (Winter/Spring 2016).
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Updated on 15 July 2018 There’s a vast collection of beauty products in Japan’s Drugstores, be it for body, hair or face. With so many choices, and me being a noob to Japanese beauty products, I needed to research and find the gems that everyone’s …
You can find many types of over-the-counter (“OTC”) medicines in Japan’s drugstores. I’m surprised by the variety, and quite a few of them have highly raved reviews online. However, with everything written in Japanese, you wouldn’t know what medicine to buy unless you did prior …