Going Dutch in Japan

Nagasaki was the first porting city in Japan and has history with the Dutch and Portuguese. In the city, there are Catholic churches and European architecture. Among all this is also a bizarre little resort town honoring this history called Huis Ten Bosch. It’s in the town of Sasebo (a bigger city in the area) and is named after a palace from the Dutch Royal Family in the Netherlands.



We decided to take the train out there and it was a lovely ride. It travels along the ocean so the view along the way was fantastic. The water is so clean and clear and the mountains reflecting on the water is so picturesque.



Once we arrived, we were transported to the Netherlands. Windmills and clock towers surrounded us as we entered the park. It was another blazingly hot day so we took it easy and had some lunch first. We decided to try the pizza and a panini sandwich, and melon sodas of course. We couldn’t resist the bright green sweetness of the melon soda though the waitress giggled a bit when we both wanted melon soda. Maybe it’s meant for kids? Everything was pretty tasty and it was nice to have some cheese.


We walked around the park a bit more and then got so hot that we headed to the hotel to cool down and check in. We stayed at Hotel Denhaag, one of a few hotels on the premises. It was pretty swanky and the service was fantastic of course. The bellboy showed us to our room and then explained everything in the room to us in his best English. Scott said I should have spoken to him in Japanese but I felt like it was our duty to force him to practice his English. Right?



We ended up taking a nap in the nice, cool hotel room and then in the evening we went out for a boat ride. The boats go along the canal simulating the canal rides in Amsterdam. It was pleasant and made for nice photo ops. We also saw a rainbow and rain inevitably followed. The rain was strong but fleeting and we happened to be in a shop when it started. The shop then got flooded with people fleeing from the rain but we ended up getting choice seats for the fireworks because of it!



The plaza had festival food set up in booths like fried chicken, sausage rolls, takoyaki (fried octopus balls), beer, and ice cream. We got a few things and waited for the fireworks show. The show consisted of fireworks perfectly synced with “world” music. It was pretty dramatic but a bit shorter than expected. I wanted more!



Like any amusement park, the main purpose seemed to be to buy food and souvenirs . There weren’t any rides beyond the boats and ships but they did have an art museum with some reproduced European paintings and an exhibit of children’s art from around the world which we enjoyed.



The tourists were a mix of Japanese families, teens, and older folks, many Korean families and couples, some Chinese families, and one Australian couple that we saw. Most announcements were translated into Korean, Cantonese, and English so I assume that represents the bulk of their visitors. Oh and we heard their claim to fame is that Michael Jackson once stayed in one of the hotels on the resort. Well, I’ll let you judge whether that’s a positive or a negative.



According to their posters, the park is celebrating their 15th anniversary so it is fairly new. Who knows what the future holds for Huis Ten Bosch! The peach cheesecake was pretty fantastic and the hotel was quite luxurious. I haven’t missed it too much but it was nice to sleep in a fluffy bed. Huis Ten Bosch is definitely worth at least one try. If you’re in Japan but want to feel like you’re in Europe, it’s the place to be.