Nagoya
A couple of days to taste Nagoya, Japan's fourth-largest city and home to an iconic castle.
Nagoya Castle
Nagoya is in Aichi Prefecture and is Japan’s 4th largest city
It’s considered Japan’s automotive capital with makers like Toyota being from there
Aka-miso (red miso) cooking and tebasaki (chicken wings) are some of the foods they’re known for
Despite being one of Japan’s largest cities, Nagoya may not be one of the most popular destinations to visit.
Honestly, it ranked below places like Kobe or seeing more of Kyoto for me as well, but I decided to spend a couple of days there in 2011, just to get a taste of what Japan’s fourth largest city was like.
How to get there
Nagoya is in Aichi Prefecture, which is quite central on the main Honshu Island. It’s between Kyoto and Tokyo, and most people travel there on the Shinkansen Bullet Train. I recommend doing so as well.
Where I went
Nagoya Castle
My first stop was Nagoya Castle (pictured at the top), arguably the main attraction in the city.
The castle was completed in 1615 by the Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. It’s one of the more famous castles in the country and is recognized for the golden shachiko, mythical carp with a head of a lion, at its top.
https://www.nagoyajo.city.nagoya.jp
Atsuta Shrine
Atsuta Shrine
Atsuta Shrine is another top attraction in Nagoya, and is said to be around 1,900 years old. It’s one of the most famous in all of Japan and is visited by about 9 million people each year.
The shrine sits in a park-like area, and is perfect just to take a stroll in, really.
Toyota Museum
Toyota Museum
If you’re in the city where Toyota was founded, you have to see its museum, right?
The Toyota Museum gave a full historical look at the origins and growth of the company, the different businesses that it started, and the technologies that they created.
Being that I only thought of them as the car company that they are today, learning about everything that they did was an eye-opener.
SCMAGLEV and Railway park
JR's SCMaglev and Railway Park is fun for anyone interested in Japan's massive train network.
There's a variety of retired trains and futuristic maglev concepts on display, as well as learning rooms and a simulator.
One exhibit, the Greatest Railway Diorama Room (pictured in the slideshow above), featured an impressive, large scale model train model environment that showcased a day in the life on the Nagoya railways. Very meticulous and well designed.
https://museum.jr-central.co.jp
Osu Shotengai (Shopping street)
The Osu Shopping Street is one of the main shopping areas in Nagoya and attracts a lot of people.
It’s known for selling things at reasonable prices, items such as Japanese dishes and tea to kimonos and used clothes.
Nagoya City Hall
Food-wise, Nagoya is known for a variety of dishes, but are best known for their tebasaki (chicken wings) and aka-miso (red miso) dishes.
Where I ate
YABATON
Misokatsu - tonkatsu covered in aka-miso. One of the most well-known Nagoya misokatsu spots is Yabaton.
The katsu itself is nice, meaty and tender, and the aka-miso adds a light sweetness to it. Definitely worth a try if you're in town.
Keep in touch:
Visiting the Furano area of Hokkaido in the summer, a popular tourist destination for Japanese