Unexpected Resident in Dejima

I’m a history buff, so of course when we were down in Nagasaki we had to stop by Dejima.  For me, it did not disappoint (although I don’t know that I can say the same for my three travel companions that day!). 

Dejima is a reconstructed heritage site modeled after an artificial island created to house foreign traders. Since the Shogun’s policy of sakoku (isolation) prohibited foreigners from entering Japan, they were housed on this island that was designated as out of Japan (hence the name, “Dejima” 出島).

The most prominent residents at Dejima were Dutch, which leads me to the unexpected resident I encountered:

That’s right: MIFFY!  

I guess the Dutch Embassy got into the newly restored Dejima and gifted this giant Miffy display as a means to bridge the old Dutch-Japanese relations with the modern era.  

Okay, so maybe Miffy seemed a little out of place on Dejima, but at least it gave my bored travel companions something to enjoy!