Nagoya, Japan

[Horneius_Maximus]

I am going to be in Toyota City for about a week in September (September 22-27th) on work. I fly out of Nagoya back to the states on the 30th. That gives me the 28th and 29th to explore.

Any recommendations on stuff to do in the Aichi prefecture and/or Nagoya?

Thanks

 

[Hayden_Horn]

hell yeah, i have some recommendations.

what are your interests? will you be alone? do you want to party or do the cultural thing? how about food? do you want to try all sorts of interesting stuff? how much money will you have to spend? etc.

 

[Horneius_Maximus]

In reply to:

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[Hayden_Horn]

well, ****. nagoya's great. since aichi prefecture had the world expo, pretty much everything in nagoya has bilingual signage everywhere, including its subway. so its really easy to get around.

first thing you need to do is get to nagoya station. since you'll be coming in from toyotashi, you'll probably ride the tsurumai (blue) line in. you'll have to make a quick stop at the fushimi stop to the higashiyama line (yellow) to nagoya.

then get to the tourist center. its right smack dab in the middle of the station, so its not hard to find.

will your company be picking up your accomodations for all the days? if so, try a ryokan. these are japanese style inns. of course, since i lived in nagoya, i never really had a need to stay in one in nagoya. however, some quick googling resulted in this webiste:The Link

give it a shot. anything next to nagoya station will be the best for you.

if you choose to stay elsewhere - there are hundreds of smaller hotels in the area around nagoya's main station for ~$100 a night. just go to the tourist center in nagoya station and they will make reservations for you. they speak english there. they can probably help you find a japanese style inn as well. i highly recommend a ryokan. i can't recommend it enough. you haven't slept until you've slept on a proper futon on tatami mats. and the japanese style breakfast most ryokans serve is also a treat.

as for sights,

there's nagoya castle - located at the shiyakusho (city hall) stop on the purple line. its a replica, since we somehow managed to bomb the other one during the war. its alright - there are far better castles in japan (one of which is in aichi - i'll highlight below). But it might be worth a stroll through. basically the entire inside is a museum - you can learn a lot about the nagoya area inside. a famous battle was fought on the grounds, and they have some amazing artifacts inside there including original swords and armor. its worth the 500 yen to get into the grounds.

if you're not artifacted out - go to the tokugawa art museum. its chock full of cool old **** from the tokugawa period (feudal japan). its not as easy to get to from a subway. i'd just take a cab there if you choose.

there's also osu kannon temple. this place is pretty damn cool - its not just a big temple, there's a huge covered shopping area just full of whatever you could imagine. its worth a short stroll through there if you dig that kind of thing. the temple was always the highlight for me, though. well, that and the brazilian rotisserie chicken place. if you're japanese-fooded out - eat there. you'll get a half a chicken for 1000 yen ($10). its the best chicken you'll ever eat. be sure to use the hot sauce. its on the osu kannon subway stop on the tsurumai (blue) line.

there's also one of the three most sacred shinto shrines in nagoya. atsuta jingu. apparently it houses the "grass cutting sword" that's thousands of years old and is one of the three sacred relics of japan given to the first emperor from the sun goddess. but you don't really get to go inside the shrine due to its great importance. but the grounds are beautiful, and its pretty culturally significant. its at the jingu nishi stop one the meijo line (purple).

honestly, though, some of the best stuff to do is outside of nagoya.

the city of inuyama has an intact castle. i forget exactly which train line you need to take, but the tourist folks can help you with that. its a great smallish old samurai town. its only a thirty minute train ride, so its an easy half-day trip, if you want to make it out there. the castle area is amazing with innumerable shrines out front on the way in. the castle is on the top of a hill and has a great view of the kiso river valley. and, like i said, its intact - you'd be walking on the same wooden floors as samurai did years ago. you can also take a gander at some gigantonormous floats that they pull out once a year for a festival. the small museum is on the way to the castle. in addition there's a samurai house museum that's usually open on weekends at least and its free. there's a tourist center in the train station with english maps.

if you want a taste of hiking - hike the tsumago-magome trail. its an old post trail that is amazing. we happened to walk it during cherry blossom season, but a late summer jaunt through there might get a bit warm. its amazing, though. you get to see some very quaint villages, and the beer in magome - well, they have their own and its some of the best brewed in japan. both towns are pretty well preserved, though magome is a bit more glitzy and touristy. i'd start your hike in tsumago. the guide books say that its a two or three hour hike. plan for 4-5. bring a camera. its beautiful. if hiking is your thing, i highly recommend this.

i'll post more sights and some food ideas a little later. hope this helps.

 

[Hayden_Horn]

oh yeah, do you speak any japanese?

 

[Horneius_Maximus]

wow, thats a pretty packed itinerary I will have. Good stuff.

Nope, Don't know any Japanese.

Thanks!

 

[Hayden_Horn]

don't think you're done, dude. i got plenty of nightlife ideas. primarily in the fushimi and sakae areas on the higashiyama lines.

it really depends on how local you want to get. i will tell you there is a ******* awesome vinyl rock/blues bar owned by a japanese guy in the sakae area called "heavens door." the owner is a badass and his selection in music is ridiculous. unfortunately, his drink prices also border ridiculous.

but its a cool place to chill. he knows enough english to make it entertaining. he says he doesn't honor requests, but if you flatter his collection enough, he will.

there are tons of other places like that in nagoya - so tell me if you're interested in a bit of nightlife as well. unfortunately, most of my nightlife BS has a bit of a western flair, because all of the truly native stuff i experienced had a japanese friend as a guide/point person.

i have a shitload more things though. i lived there, so i know a lot about the place. let me know what you're interested in.

again, i'll post more ideas in when i get a bit more time.

i will note: the best thing to do (as counter-intuitive as it is) is to go to a gai-jin bar and meet some japanese folks. its not hard. after that, its all izakaya, snakku and local. its fun.

any questions, please ask. nagoya's my second hometown.