Last weekend, some friends and I took a trip out to the Shimabara peninsula in southern Nagasaki. Our plan was to hike up Mt. Unzen, a volcano that was very active between 1990 and 1995. However, it rained very heavily, so we couldn't hike, but decided to check out the remains. Pyroclastic flow destroyed over 2000 homes but only 44 people (mostly media), since 12,000 were evacuated at the beginning of 1990. The cool thing about this are the homes and one school that have been saved in their destroyed state. The houses are buried almost up to the roof and you can see all the debris inside. They seemed so old, but then I saw the solar panels and tvs and remembered that it happened only in the 90s. It was really cool to see.
I also drove through the city of Obama, which gained some fame during the 2008 election. They have a bunch of President Obama paraphernalia and even a statue somewhere. Obama is also known for it's sulfur onsen, so my friends and I went to one which was right on the bay. It was very relaxing!
