I had finally arrived at Huis Ten Bosch which I had been looking forward to since before I came to Japan. This is a giant Dutch theme park with Dutch architecture, windmills, canals, cobbled streets, and a town square. They even got permission from Queen Beatrice to build a replica of a Royal Palace. After the hassle of getting there, as its at least 90 mins from Nagasaki even on the direct train, the first thing to realize is that Huis Ten Bosch is not cheap. There are two entrance tickets. The cheap one with park admission only is 3200Y ($40). The second one which includes admission and entrance to attractions is 5700Y ($72). I opted for the cheaper park only ticket and was going to pick and choose which attractions to goto. The first thing you will see from the station is a giant european style luxury hotel. This is at the end of the bridge as you walk towards the entrance to the park. I went inside for a quick look and it was a typical grand hotel. Inside they had a nice european style bakery with wholewheat breads, bagels, pretzels and other items. I stocked up on some things to eat on during the day You then enter into the park where you are immediately transported back into Europe. There is an impressive entrance building which houses the Teddy Bear Museum (see next entry). Once you pass thru this building you are now in a vast land of windmills and flower gardens. There are three windmills set on their own island which you can pass thru over small bridges. There was also a Dutch nostaligia shop selling wooden shoes, other souvenir items, as well as a whole section of Dutch cheeses. The park is made of a series of islands seperated by canals and bridges. You have to navigate your map to plan your route to explore all areas. The next area brought me to the adventure games area. Here there were lots of kids amusements housed inside the Dutch style buildings. There was a haunted house, mirror house, and other fairground type attractions. These were included in the $72 all access ticket which I chose not to purchase. As you pass off this island you come to what would be the town square and downtown area. Behind the town hall which housed the Glass Museum (see entry after next) in the town square they were having a European Festival. As it was October part of the theme of this festival was Oktoberfest. They had many stalls set up selling German beers complete with beer pumps. There was also food available and there was a large hall tent setup with long tables just like they have in Munich during the real event Around the corner was a big carousel or merry go round playing fairground type music and amusing children and adults Another island beside had the stunning landmark of the Dom Tower from Utrecht. I had passed this when I was in the Netherlands but never had the chance to visit. I was looking forward to seeing this (see a few entries forward) Many of the buildings were actually hotels. I'm not sure if you have to pay park entrance fees to get to the hotel or how your cab would get inside here. The first was Hotel Amsterdam which had an impressive entrance and innner courtyard Nearby was also Hotel Europa. This again had an impressive exterior with revolving doors and a doorman in uniform. The interior was decked out in lots of posh furniture I'm not sure what there is to do in these hotels as I dont think you can spend a few days in the park unless you come in busy season when there are big line ups and have a family. As you walk further our you come to the marina. Here there was a giant galley style boat in dock but I dont think you are allowed on board. I was heading further out trying to get to the Royal Palace (see further entries) After visiting the Porcelain and Tall Ship Museums I made my way to the Palace (see further entries). Upon returning I grabbed some fish and chips for 500Y ($6.50) from one of the vendors at oktoberfest to eat on the train as I headed to my next destination. There were more indoor shopping arcades which I hadnt noticed earlier as I was just looking at the brick architecture from the outside I made my way back out over the bridges to the garden area with the windmills. I was given three choices for train times to my next destination and I had finished early enough to get the first choice at 1.48pm. It was a nice park with amazing architecture and some interesting museums. However $40 is quite steep just for park admission and it still cost close to $60 including the attractions I did end up visiting. I had only spent 3.5 hours here. It's worth to visit once as a special trip, especially if a trip to Europe isnt possible in the near future. I believe this is the largest such theme park in Japan. There are others including a venetian style one with gondolas near Tokyo. The next few entries are separate entries for - The Teddy Bear Museum - The Glass Museum - The Dom Tower - The Porcelain and Tall Ships Museum - The Royal Palace