Meeting Point

The arrival place in Nagasaki City

Shitsu Catholic Church

The church was consecrated in 1882 and was commemorated as a World Heritage Site in 2018. The people of the Shitsu Village of Sotome were discovered as hidden Christians on the mid 1800s. The French priest Marc Marie De Rotz came there, convinced them of the nature of their faith, encouraged them to regain their Catholic faith, and continued taking care of them until his death and burial there in 1914. He helped design the structure of the church and used much of his own money to build it.

Ono Church

Father De Rotz noticed the converted Christians in the Ono neighborhood and realized that they lived too far from Shitsu to visit the main church, so he helped them design and build their own simple church in Ono. Because De Rotz was instrumental in building the church, it was included as a World Heritage Site.

Simple local lunch

The Roadside Station of Yuhigaoka Sotome. Besides selling locally grown vegetables, there is a small restaurant with a spectacular view of the neighborhood and sea.

Endo Shusaku Literary Museum

The famous novelist Endo Shusaku stayed in Shitsu and eventually wrote the world famous novel Silence. It tells the story of two Portuguese Jesuit priests who smuggled themselves into Japan to continue taking care of the hidden Christians of the area after Christianity had been outlawed in Japan. Endo's story is set in Shitsu. His novel has been remade into a film by Martin Scorsese in 2016 by the same name. It is an epic historical drama. It stars Andrew Garfield and Liam Leesom.

Time spent for various sites preferred for by the guests

Return to the meeting place

Ending Point

Return to the meeting place