A great day out

I spent the entire day in town today, leaving the dorm at 10 in the morning and not returning until 8 at night. I met up with some of the other students, and we took a trip to the Nagasaki Aquarium. Tons of great pictures and memories.

This creepy fellow is called a warasubo, and is apparently a popular local snack

The mantis shrimp has some of the most impressive eyes in the animal kingdom

This funny looking guy is called an elephant shrimp

 

 

The main attraction was the penguins

I think this one was molting

A Bering Wolf Fish

According to the aquarium, Nagasaki is the only part of Japan where mudskippers live

The largest freshwater fish in the world, Mekong Catfish are revered as messengers of the gods in Thailand

It didn't really photograph well, but there was a great interactive exhibit with "doctor fish." You put your hand in and they'd nibble on the dead skin cells. Lots of larger fish go to them to get parasites removed.

After the aquarium, we headed off to Temple Street.

On the way was Meganebashi, Japan's first stone bridge.

This pigeon came right up to me

One thing I'd been looking forward to since my arrival was seeing Sofukuji, a Buddhist temple built by Chinese residents in the 17th century.

The main gate, an excellent example of Ming architecture

The inner gate

The main Buddha hall, the oldest building in Nagasaki

The Buddha statues inside are also unlike any others in Japan

After the trip to Sofuku-ji, I split off from the main group. I ended up visiting a maid cafe, which was a wonderful experience, then stopping at a bookstore before returning to the dorm.