Nagasaki : Profile

Location

Nagasaki is sadly famous for one terrible moment in August 1945, and a visit to the site of the atomic bomb blast is on most visitors' itinerary. It is also the first port, which in the nineteenth century, was opened to foreigners after a thousand years of isolation.

Clearance

As is normal in major Japanese ports, a few minutes after arriving, you are likely to be besieged by a bewildering variety of officials from varying government departments, all impeccably polite but demanding that we fill in a multitude of forms: Customs, Immigration, Coastguard and Police.

On departure, it is necessary to submit to the Transport Department a list of desired stops for the next leg. This will take some time as each port has to be carefully transliterated from Kanji into European writing, then back again. A further 24 hours is required for it to be processed and approved, after which it will be delivered back to you (with only the opening and closing dates noted).

Last updated August 2011.

Docking

Nagasaki is approached along a steadily narrowing channel lined by the huge Mitsubishi dockyards. An elegant grey-silver suspension bridge crosses the inlet and about a mile further on, to starboard, is the small, artificially-indented rectangle of water called Dejima Wharf.

Two T-shaped floating pontoons, each with three 15m fingers on each side, are reserved for passing yachts and, provided you approach slowly enough, the marina manager will hurry down from his office and direct you to a space. The pontoons are new and well-maintained, and access from the land is controlled by gates that require pass-keys (500 Yen/ USD $6). For foreign yachts, mooring is free for the first week, but 2100 Yen per day (USD $26) thereafter.

Dejima Wharf is in the heart of Nagasaki.

An alternative berth may be found at Sunset Marina, some five miles away.

Last updated August 2011.

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