Just back from a short, but very memorable trip to Nagoya and Ise. Perhaps I'll split into 2 posts, with this one being about Nagoya since there are many pics and things I'd like to cover : )
The capital of Aichi Prefecture and located in the heart of Central Japan, Nagoya is one of the Japan’s key industrial zones, especially for automobile manufacturing. Nagoya is not really a 'superstar' in terms of sightseeing destinations and seems to get passed over in favor of the standards like Kyoto, Tokyo, etc. But since it's on the way to Ise (which was my main destination), I decided to see what Nagoya had to offer and do some exploring. Despite the lukewarm press, it's quite an interesting city with lots of history and some cool things to see. One day should be enough to cover all the best parts, though.
I arrived on the first day via Tokaido Shinkansen's Kodama train which only takes about 2.5 hours from Tokyo. It's always fun for me to ride those trains. Feels like being on a plane, but on the ground. First stop upon arrival was the famous Nagoya Castle.
Built in 16th century (but destroyed in WWII and later rebuilt in 1959),It's one of Japan's most impressive castles and home to many rare artifacts and paintings. Although it was a super hot and muggy day (Nagoya is also famous for hot/humid summers), I wandered the expansive grounds, many floors, and eventually to the top of the castle for a nice view of the city. There are many cool exhibits about how the castle was built, samurai swords and battle equip, rare fusuma-e (paintings on sliding doors), and even a 3D movie (with glasses) about the castle's history and future plans. There are plans to rebuild some of the more important still-missing structures. The twin 88 kg gold 'shachi' adorning the roof have become the symbol of the city. There is also a Noh theatre located in the front court. I would say that is you only had time to see one place in Nagoya, this is probably the place to go.
The city itself has some interesting buildings and plazas. There is Hisaya-oodori Park (a main park-like thoroughfare through the center part of the city) which is full of trees and fountains, as well as the TV Tower offering city views. The Sakae district is the urban hub of the city and home to Oasis21 which is kind of like a huge shopping, park, and entertainment complex. Around there you can find all the big name shopping stores and things like that. Needing a break from the sensory-overload and advertising, I was off to visit more serene surroundings - Atsuta Jinja.
Atsuta Shrine is one of Japan's most sacred, housing one of the three imperial regalia of the emperor (the Kusanagi Sword). It was founded in the 2nd century and rebuilt in 1935 and hosts some 70 festivals ever year. What I liked best about it were the structures seemed to be in perfect harmony with the grounds/forest - as if they were always there. Being in these kinds of very old forests and wandering the trails, discovering ancient structures/shrines - its incredibly peaceful. I really enjoyed visiting this one and it was by far, my favorite place in Nagoya.
Well, what kind of post would this be without any talk of food. As most of you surely know by now, food is one of my raison d'etre for being in Japan. The dishes Nagoya is most famous for seem to be misokatsu (miso sause on pork cutlets), tenmusu (shrimp tempura rolled up in a seaweed and rice package), and kishimen (flat broad noodles) flavored in miso or soy sauce broth.
I went to try misokatsu at the most famous chain of its type in Japan, Yabaton. I like pork cutlet so this is the same but with miso flavor. There was really long line as this is best place in Nagoya to get it. It was really really good and i ate much more than I should have but what the hey, on vacation and all that : /. To note, the poster above where the pig (the mascot) is demonstrating the benefits of eating misokatsu, is heavy with "Nagoya-ben" or the local dialect. For example, in the first panel he says "dera uma" which is that region's way to say 'very delicious' but in Tokyo, they would say "chou oishii" or "chou umai". Just a little linguistic tidbit there.
There are other interesting-looking places like Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Higashiyama Park/Zoo, and the Noritake Porcelain Factory, but i only had a day so I focused on just the one's that seemed most interesting to me. If you are in Japan for a while or stopping on the way somewhere, its really a nice day's excursion.
Coming soon Part 2: Ise and Toba
