Holland America Cruise tour of Shimabara's Old Town and the Fugen Volcano damage from the 1991 eruption. The 62 mile coastal drive through intensive agriculture is an education in Japanese land use. An excellent tour that mixes the old and the new includes a genuine Japanese meal.

1. Japan:
Shimabara & Fugen Volcano

2. Shimabara Castle

20. A Bonsai Artist

22. Children at a Nearby School

24. Shimabara’s Old Town:
An Old Samuri Town

25. The Old Water Supply Runs Through
The Center of the Street

29. Rice
Paper
Wall
Dividers

31. Tatami Mats

32. Take Off Your Shoes!

33. The Kitchen

35. Bath Tub

36. Heat the Bath Water

37. Wash Yourself, Rinse, then Soak

39. People Live On This Street Today

43. A Japanese Style
Lunch at a Local Restaurant

44. Soup
Rice
Shrimp
Fish
Mushroom
Pickle
Fruit
Rice Balls
Tofu
Hot Pot
Soup

46. Let the
soup
cook
while
you eat

47. Add the
sticky
rice balls
after the
soup is
boiling.

48. Fugen Volcano
This volcano suddenly erupted in
1991 burying a village and killing 48
people.

51. Remains of the houses that can still be
seen through the mud and lava rock.

56. Trip Nagasaki to Shimabara Peninsula
(62 miles)

57. Intensive Agriculture

62. Shimabara & Fugen Volcano
Pictures taken by
Allan and Lydia Sorflaten
While on a shore excursion with
Holland America Cruise
March 2013
lsorflaten@hotmail.com