A tour of some of the beautiful hidden treasures of Nagasaki, Japan

Nagasaki is world famous because that city was the target of an atomic bomb on August 9, 1945.

A route with breathtaking views of majestic Fuji, Japan's sacred mountain
A pleasant walk along the beautiful waterfall trail of Akameshijuhatsu, Japan

That city is the capital of Nagasaki Prefecture, located in the southwest of Kyūshū Island, in southern Japan. The prefecture covers an area of ​​405.86 square kilometers and has over 400,000 inhabitants. This area is one of the cradles of Japanese Catholicism, which began to flourish here in the 16th century as a result of the evangelizing work of a Spanish Jesuit, Saint Francis Xavier. Today, 4.4% of Nagasaki's population is Catholic, a considerable percentage considering that in all of Japan only 0.3% of the population belongs to this religious denomination.

Nagasaki Prefecture is a heavily forested area: 59% of its surface is covered by forests. Furthermore, its entire western region is mountainous and conceals beautiful waterfalls and shrines nestled in nature (there are 1,260 shrines in total in this prefecture alone). This Friday, the Japanese YouTube channel Watatabi released an interesting video showcasing some of these waterfalls and shrines, as well as an ancient fortress —places of truly breathtaking beauty (the video is in Japanese but has English subtitles, which you can activate in the player):

Here are some screenshots that show just a small part of what you can see in this long and beautiful video. We begin with Tsuganeotoshi Waterfall, located in the municipality of Saikai. You can reach it via the bridge and tunnel that you can see at the top of this article.

The Ishiharadake Fortress, located in Ishiharadake Forest Park in Saikai, was built in 1899 as a coastal artillery position to protect the Sasebo naval base. The powder magazines where ammunition was stored can be seen on the right.

The beautiful Senryugataki, whose name means "Hidden Dragon Waterfall". It is located in Sasebo and the water falls from a height of 20 meters.

The Iwado Shinto shrine, located in the Unzen Mountains, is protected by a large rock, and a small waterfall forms next to it during the rainy season.

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Images: Watatabi.