Nagasaki

This port city was the second city destroyed by an atomic bomb in World War II. Today, the city on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's major islands, is a thriving industrial port and a pleasant mixture of East and West. The main attractions are the Atomic Bomb Museum, the ruins of Urakami Cathedral, the number of sites, Peace Park and a black stone obelisk that marks ground zero. Other sites in the city include the Glover Mansion the setting of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, which has a lovely garden providing some of the best views of the area, and Oranda Hill. Twenty eight man teams aboard sleek canoes paddle measured strokes in races, chanting to the beat of drums and gongs.