Glover Garden
A hillside garden of nine Western houses above Nagasaki harbor.
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Glover Garden
SaveA hillside garden of nine Western houses above Nagasaki harbor.
Moving walkways carry you up, and children come down hunting heart-shaped stones in the paving and watching the koi.
MoreWhat kind of place
Nine Western-style houses stand on a hillside above Nagasaki harbor, with the city's landmark, Mount Inasa, rising behind the water.
Three of them have stood on this ground from the start: the former Glover, Alt and Ringer houses, built in the foreign settlement era more than 150 years ago and designated Important Cultural Properties.
The other six went up elsewhere in Nagasaki in the middle Meiji years and were moved here and rebuilt.
That settlement began when the treaty of 1858 opened Nagasaki to trade, and Western houses under Japanese tile roofs filled the slopes above the harbor.
The Scottish trader Thomas Blake Glover built his house here in 1863, and it is now one of the component sites of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution, a World Heritage listing.
Sources and evidence (25)
- The former Glover House is registered as one of the component parts of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution.source
- Of the nine buildings, the former Glover, Alt and Ringer houses date from the foreign settlement era, have stood on this ground for more than 150 years and are nationally designated Important Cultural Properties. The other six are Western-style buildings put up around Nagasaki in the middle Meiji years and later moved here and rebuilt.source
- Nine traditional buildings can be seen inside the garden.source
- The homepage describes the garden as holding the residence of the Scottish trader Thomas Blake Glover, three nationally designated Important Cultural Properties, and valuable traditional buildings once scattered around Nagasaki that were moved here and rebuilt; the about page puts the number moved at six of the nine.source
- Cobblestones and stone steps from the settlement era remain, and the whole of Nagasaki harbor is in view, with the city's landmark, Mount Inasa, behind it.source
- Glover's residence was built in 1863 at 3 Minamiyamate.source
- The treaty of amity and commerce of 1858 opened Nagasaki, a foreign settlement took shape there, and Western-style buildings roofed with Japanese tiles filled the hills overlooking the harbor.source
- Electric wheelchairs for use inside the garden are lent free, and anyone using one is given a safety briefing first.source
- Moving walkways and wheelchair ramps are in place.source
- Because nearly all the walkways are cobblestone and slopes come up throughout, getting around the garden by wheelchair takes someone to help.source
- Glover Garden has no parking lot or bicycle parking of its own, so visitors use nearby lots.source
- The Glover Sky Road, completed in 2002, is a diagonal elevator, the first in Japan classed as a road, and it is free to ride.source
- Its boarding point is about a 3-minute walk from the Ishibashi streetcar stop and about 3 minutes from the Oura Tenshudo-shita bus stop; a round trip takes about 5 minutes, and it runs from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.source
- Getting off the Glover Sky Road, you walk a short way and change to a vertical elevator, which puts you at the highest point of the garden beside the former Mitsubishi No. 2 Dock House, leaving the rest of the visit downhill.source
- The garden recommends this route of elevators and level paths for wheelchair users and older visitors.source
- As of 1 p.m. on August 13, 2026, the Glover Sky Road was out of service, and the notice asked visitors to get off at the Oura Tenshudo streetcar stop and enter through the first gate.source
- On August 14, 2026, safety was confirmed and the Glover Sky Road went back into service.source
- The Glover Sky Road is a Nagasaki city road, Aioimachi-Uedamachi Route 2, and questions go to the city's civil engineering and construction section.source
- The garden has a retro costume hall, where you choose one outfit from a large selection to be photographed in or to walk the garden in.source
- There is a garden tour led by a history tourism guide, offered free.source
- A notice dated June 16, 2026 announces that garden tours are canceled for the summer period; the text of it has not been read.source
- A notice dated June 3, 2026 announces cooling spots and mist fans set up in the garden; the text of it has not been read.source
- Inside the garden is Nagasaki Okunchi Hall, the Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Museum, which displays the floats, umbrella hoko and carried pieces dedicated at the Nagasaki Kunchi festival.source
- Several separate businesses operate in the garden: the Steele Gallery Cafe in a Western building that was once a school, the open-air Glover Cafe surrounded by flowers and greenery, the Garden Shop for souvenirs, a photo service, and the VR experience Glover's Nagasaki VR.source
- Photography for personal enjoyment is allowed, though certain buildings and spots may restrict it.source
With kidsThe part that matters
A free elevator takes the hill out of this hillside garden: ride the Glover Sky Road, a diagonal elevator that officially counts as a city road, change once to a vertical elevator, and you come in at the very top.
From there the whole visit runs downhill, which counts for a lot here: nearly all the paths are cobblestone, and slopes come up at every turn.
One family with an elementary-school child made it down through the whole garden in an hour, stopping to find the heart-shaped stones set into the paving.
At the retro costume hall, kids pick an outfit from a rack of period clothes and wear it around the grounds for photos.
The garden has accessible restrooms fitted for ostomates, a nursing room, and rooms where you can sit down and rest when someone has had enough of the slope.
Sources and evidence (4)
- By tram with a schoolchild: ride the moving walkway to the top and walk down. An hour here, 30 minutes at Oura Church.source
- A stroller is hard going, and a carrier tires you out. What holds children: feeding the carp, three hidden heart stones.source
- Summer, ages 4 and 3 on foot: stairs at the gate, more past the desk, and only then the escalator. Ice cream saved them.source
- In by the second gate: park at Oura Daini, then a slanted escalator and elevator, 14 min to the top, against the flow.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1The moving walkway, and the free Glover Sky Road, a lift that climbs the hillside on a slant, connect to a vertical elevator that puts you out beside the Former Mitsubishi No. 2 Dock House, the highest point in the garden. From there the route runs downhill the whole way, so you can carry a baby through it, walking the stone-paved slope with Nagasaki harbor and Mount Inasa in view.The garden has a multipurpose restroom with an ostomate fitting, a rest room, and a nursing room. Almost all the paths are stone paving with slopes throughout, and the garden itself says a wheelchair needs someone to push it. The Glover Sky Road stopped running on 13 August 2026 and restarted on the 14th; while it is out, the notice asks you to get off at the Oura Cathedral tram stop and enter through Gate 1.
- Ages 2-3Inside the garden, the Nagasaki Okunchi Hall (Nagasaki Traditional Performing Arts Museum) displays the floats, the kasaboko parasol standards and the carried pieces offered at the Nagasaki Kunchi festival. Partway down the slope there is a rest room, the Steele Gallery Cafe in a Western house that was once a school, and the open-air Glover Cafe, so you can sit down wherever you like while working through the nine Western houses.Stone paving and stone steps left from the foreign settlement days run through the garden, with slopes here and there. It opens at 8:00, and the last admission is 20 minutes before closing. It has no parking lot or bicycle parking of its own, so you use one nearby.
- Ages 4-6At the Retro Costume Hall a child picks one outfit from a large rack of period costumes and wears it around the garden for photographs. There is also a VR experience, Glover's Nagasaki VR, and a free guided tour of the garden led by a history guide.For the guided tour, a notice dated 16 June 2026 is posted under the heading 'Guided tours suspended (summer period)'. Admission has two brackets: 1,300 yen general, meaning age 15 and over, and 650 yen for children, meaning elementary, junior high and high school students. Gate 2 does not take cards, so carry cash as well.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayNine buildings stand on the hillside, and nearly all the walkways between them are stone paving with slopes throughout (a moving walkway and wheelchair ramps handle the climb). The garden also has a multipurpose restroom with ostomate fittings, a rest room and a nursing room.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed1 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
- ElevatorElevator：with conditionsconditions
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：not checked
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：not checked
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
* Other not checked (9)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool, Indoor / outdoor, Child switch (rider swap), Official family-friendly certification, Best-fit ages (guide), Crowding (guide), Quietness (guide), Lost-child support
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
By tram with a schoolchild: ride the moving walkway to the top and walk down. An hour here, 30 minutes at Oura Church.
Half a day is too little: Nagasaki with a train-mad child
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A stroller is hard going, and a carrier tires you out. What holds children: feeding the carp, three hidden heart stones.
Glover Garden, Nagasaki: what it is like with children
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Summer, ages 4 and 3 on foot: stairs at the gate, more past the desk, and only then the escalator. Ice cream saved them.
Kyushu with small children: Glover Garden with a 3- and 4-year-old
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
In by the second gate: park at Oura Daini, then a slanted escalator and elevator, 14 min to the top, against the flow.
The efficient way round Glover Garden
Glover Garden · Links & reads ▾
Where to go next
Where it is
8-1 Minamiyamate-machi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki 850-0931source2
Before you go
- Filming or live streaming that disturbs other visitors is banned, as is shooting with a drone, and commercial work needs permission in advance.source
- School trips generally need no paperwork or advance contact, though documents are required in cases such as paying in one lump sum and entering in separate groups.source
Basics
- Fee：Admission for individuals is ¥1,300 general and ¥650 for children, where 'general' means age 15 and over excluding elementary, junior-high and high-school students, and 'child' means those students. The price changed on 1 April 2026 with a Nagasaki City by-law revision, so older figures are out of date. How preschool children are counted is not stated. An annual pass is ¥3,250, or ¥1,620 for children. Showing a physical, therapeutic or mental-health disability certificate reduces the price for the holder and one carer: free for Nagasaki city residents, ¥650 / ¥320 for people from outside the city. The second gate does not take cards. (Checked 15 August 2026)source
- Hours：Open 8:00-18:00, with last entry 20 minutes before closing. Evening opening runs at certain times of year and the 2026 schedule varies month by month: 17 July to 11 October until 21:30, 12 to 31 October until 20:00 (but until 21:30 on 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31 October, and back to the normal 18:00 on 21 October because the garden is booked out), 1 November to 31 December until 20:00, and 1 January to 31 March until 18:00. The schedule can change for private bookings or weather.source
- Time to allow：1 hsource
- Booking：Tickets are bought at the gate; web tickets are also sold. There are two gates, and the second gate does not take cards. School trips need no paperwork or advance contact in the normal case. Groups of 15 or more where over half hold a disability certificate can send a form in advance instead of showing every certificate.source
Basics in detail (18)
- The garden is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last entry taken 20 minutes before closing.source
- For fiscal 2026, evening opening runs July 17 through October 11, 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., with last entry at 9:10 p.m.source
- From October 12 to 31 the garden is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with last entry at 7:40 p.m., except on October 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31, when it runs 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.source
- October 21 is taken by a private booking, so there is no evening opening and the garden keeps its usual 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last entry at 5:40 p.m.source
- From November 1 to December 31 it is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with last entry at 7:40 p.m., and from January 1 to March 31, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with last entry at 5:40 p.m.source
- The evening opening schedule can change for private bookings, weather and similar reasons.source
- Admission was revised on April 1, 2026, following a change to the Nagasaki city ordinance.source
- Individual admission is 1,300 yen general and 650 yen for children, meaning elementary, middle and high school students.source
- General means anyone 15 or older, not counting elementary school children or middle and high school students.source
- The second gate does not take card payment.source
- An annual passport is 3,250 yen general and 1,620 yen for elementary, middle and high school students.source
- Showing a physical disability certificate, a rehabilitation certificate or a mental health welfare certificate brings a reduced admission for the holder and one helper.source
- That reduced admission is free for people living in Nagasaki, and for people from outside the city it is 650 yen general and 320 yen for elementary, middle and high school students.source
- From April 1, 2026 the reduction for Nagasaki residents aged 60 and over was dropped, and the half-price reduction for people 60 and over from outside the city had already ended on April 1, 2012.source
- An event notice dated August 7, 2026 announces a free admission day for Nagasaki residents on August 16, the third Sunday of the month.source
- The address is 8-1 Minamiyamate-machi, Nagasaki 850-0931, and the phone number is 095-822-8223.
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (5)
- Official: Nursing space, Family restroom, Steps & slope caution
- Official: Elevator, Steps & slope caution, Stroller access notes
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: main site
Nine Western houses stand on a hillside looking down on Nagasaki harbor. Three of them, including the Former Glover House of 1863, have stood here since the foreign settlement days and are national important cultural properties. The other six were moved from elsewhere in the city and rebuilt. The Glover House is also a World Heritage component of the Meiji Industrial Revolution. Stone paving and steps run through the garden, with Mount Inasa behind the harbor view. You can borrow a period costume and wear it around the grounds.
| Stroller friendly | Not checked yet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller rental | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper changing table | Not checked yet | ||||
| Nursing space | Yes | Nursing rooms are provided in the garden. The number and where they are is not stated. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | glover-garden.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes | Multi-purpose toilets with ostomate fittings, plus rest rooms to sit down in. Whether they have a baby seat or changing table is not stated. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | glover-garden.jp |
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Yes | Not inside the garden itself: the Glover Sky Road, a free inclined elevator that Nagasaki City runs as a public road, climbs the hill from near the Ishibashi tram stop in about two minutes, and a vertical elevator after it brings you out at the highest point of the garden, beside the former Mitsubishi No.2 Dock House, so the walk through the garden is all downhill. Inside the garden there are moving walkways and wheelchair ramps. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | glover-garden.jp |
| Indoor / outdoor | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet | ||||
| Steps & slope caution | Many steps | The garden provides ostomate-fitted multi-purpose toilets, rest rooms, nursing rooms, free loan of an electric wheelchair for use inside the garden, moving walkways and wheelchair ramps. Even so, most of the paths are stone paving with slopes throughout, so getting round the garden in a wheelchair needs someone helping. Coming in from the top via the Glover Sky Road and walking down is the route suggested for wheelchair users and older visitors. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | glover-garden.jpglover-garden.jp |
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | The garden has no parking lot or bicycle park of its own - nearby parking lots are used. There are two gates, and the second gate does not take cards. The free Glover Sky Road inclined elevator runs 6:00-23:30 from about three minutes' walk from the Ishibashi tram stop or the Oura Tenshudo-shita bus stop, and takes you to the top of the garden so you walk down. It was stopped on 13 August 2026 and running again on 14 August; when it stops, get off at the Oura Tenshudo tram stop and use the first gate. Photography for your own enjoyment is fine, but live streaming and drones are not allowed, and commercial shoots need permission in advance. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | glover-garden.jpglover-garden.jpglover-garden.jp |
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Crowding (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Lost-child supportExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet |