Audio walking guides in Nagasaki
Photo: Jakub Hałun · CC BY 4.0
These are self-guided audio walks around Nagasaki. You pick a route, put one earbud in, and the guide talks you through it stop by stop — what you are looking at, and why it is there. There is no group to keep up with and no meeting time. 10 walks covering The Second City, Dejima, Chinatown & the Bridges, Gunkanjima, Sotome, Suwa Shrine & the Kunchi Festival, Shimabara & Unzen, Hirado, The Chinese City and more, 290 minutes of narration in total.
Start your free guideA free account is needed before a guide plays. Hear a minute first if you would rather try it than sign up for it.
Every walk in Nagasaki
The Second City: Peace Park & Hypocenter
This is the most solemn walk in the city, and it is worth slowing right down for. In a single moment on a summer morning in 1945, tens…
Glover Garden & the Foreign Quarter
These slopes are where Nagasaki became modern. When the country was forced open in the late 1850s and Nagasaki became a treaty port, foreigners were allowed to settle…
Dejima, Chinatown & the Bridges
The first thing to know about Dejima is that it was an island, a small fan-shaped one, built on purpose. In 1636 the shogunate had it constructed in…
Gunkanjima: The Battleship Island
The crossing takes about forty minutes, and you should use them, because the thing you are going to see is easier to understand before you are standing on…
Sotome: The Coast of the Hidden Christians
About an hour north-west of Nagasaki the road runs out along a coast of steep terraced slopes dropping into the East China Sea, with islands offshore and very…
Suwa Shrine & the Kunchi Festival
A note on the name before we climb, because it is charming and slightly mysterious. Kunchi is thought to come from the old word for the ninth day,…
Mount Inasa & the Harbour of Cranes
Start with the shape of the place, because it explains both the view and the name. Nagasaki grew up around a long, narrow inlet of the sea, and…
Shimabara & Unzen: Rebellion and Fire
Across the bay from Nagasaki, on a peninsula reached by ferry or a long drive around, is the town of Shimabara, and its white castle is where one…
Hirado: The First Trading Port
Out at the far western edge of Kyushu, about as far west as Japan goes, is the small island port of Hirado, and it has a serious claim:…
The Chinese City: Ming Temples & Lanterns
Here is the correction that reframes this whole side of the city. Most people picture the Dutch when they think of old Nagasaki, but the larger foreign presence…
Questions about walking Nagasaki
What is the best self-guided walking tour in Nagasaki?
It depends how long you have. The Second City: Peace Park & Hypocenter (33 minutes, 6 stops) starts at The Hypocenter monument and is the one most people begin with. Glover Garden & the Foreign Quarter covers a different part of the city in about 30 minutes. All 10 walks in Nagasaki are listed on this page with their length and starting point.
Do I need to book a walking tour in Nagasaki?
No. Every wanderaudio walk is self-guided, so there is nothing to book and no departure time. You start whenever you arrive, and you can stop halfway and pick it up the next day.
How much do the Nagasaki audio guides cost?
Your first guide is free. You make a free account before it plays, with an email address or a Google login, and no card. After that a single guide is $4.99, a 30-guide pass, spendable on any guides in any cities, is $29.99, and every guide in Japan is $59.99. It is a one-off payment, not a subscription.
Are these tours in English?
Yes, all 10 Nagasaki walks are narrated in English. Other languages are not available yet.
Can I do these walks alone?
Yes — that is what they are built for. There is no group and no guide waiting for you, so walking alone works exactly the same as walking with someone. You choose the pace and the order.
What can I do in Nagasaki if it rains?
1 of the Nagasaki walks are indoor walkthroughs rather than street walks, so they work in rain and in the August heat. They are marked "indoors" in the list on this page. Check opening hours and admission separately — wanderaudio does not sell tickets.