Japan Day 10: Nagoya
January 10.
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You know what's the best thing about spending the night at a hot spring is? Waking up at one. Breakfast was served at 7:30am, and it was all together served as one meal, but essentially could be broken down into three separate courses. So much food, so delicious.
Hakone was a big surprise, because I knew the hot springs were legit, but I wasn't expecting all the extras that happened as well, between Lake Ashi, the Skywalk, and all the historic sights in the area, it made for a very pleasant day with the perfect night cap. But as all good things must come to an end, I have a shuttle that will pick me up across the bridge and take me to Odawara station, where my train to Nagoya will be leaving at 10:08am.
Nagoya is the central location for all the JR trains in Japan: it's 1,200km to Sapporo all the way north, and 1,100km to Kagoshima to the southwest. Nagoya Station is also the largest train station in the world by floor space, at 410,000m^2. Grand Central Station in New York is the largest in terms of platforms (44). It only took a little over an hour on the Shinkansen to arrive in Nagoya, at 11:15am, meaning I'd have a bit of a shorter day here, like in Sapporo or Hakodate. I dropped my bags off in a coin locker at Nagoya Station, and hopped on a train heading south.
First thing on my to-do list is go to the SCMAGLEV Museum. It's an acronym for "Superconducting Magnetic Levitation," but I just kept saying "Shhh MagLev" the whole time I was there. Not only is it home to the SCMAGLEV trains that JR is currently operating and testing, but it also acts as a full rail museum, which includes trains, simulations, and exhibits. I'm actually just realizing now that the Museum itself is designed to look like the MLX01, the current world record holder for fastest train.
Inside, this museum is packed. It has it's special exhibit speed record trains available to walk through, as well as stand rail cars as well, including old sleeper trains and dining cars. There's a preserved "Dr. Yellow," which was used to do track and line diagnostics at full rail speed. The simulators are super cool, one of them is just simply what it feels like to ride in a SCMAGLEV train (not available for the public yet), and there's also Shinkansen operation simulators. The cafe is adorable, as it sells box lunches that are shaped like the trains.
Next on my list is to take the train back downtown to Nagoya Castle. Nagoya Castle is one of the largest castles in Japan, the king being Himeji Castle, but like most castles in Japan (all but 12), Nagoya Castle was destroyed at one point in history, specifically WWII, and what we see today is a remodel. Just as I arrive to the castle grounds, something catches my eye, which is a food stand selling spicy spaghetti. Not ramen. Not Soba. Not Udon. Spaghetti. Turns out, Nagoya loves spaghetti, and spicy spaghetti is really good.
Nagoya Castle's Keep, or tower, is closed for restoration, so unfortunately I'm not able to go inside and climb to the top, however, the palace is open for tours, and all I need to do to go inside is pop my shoes off. Honmaru palace was completely reconstructed using original methods, and the period correct artwork was very well done, and made for a nice alternative to missing out on the tower.
After Nagoya Castle, it's a little bit of a walk to make it over to Nagoya TV Tower, which similar to Sapporo, sits along a long sting of parks, called Hisaya Odori Park. There's just one small problem, it too is closed! Google Maps claims that it's open, but it turns out if I visit the Nagoya TV Tower website, it's been closed for a year now for restoration work, and that still has not been updated on Google Maps. The park is nice, and it's cool to look at the tower, but it's a bit of a bummer to find out it's not actually open to go up top.
Luckily my next stop is right next door, an open air shopping and public art area known as Oasis 21. The open air shopping area is capped by what looks like a floating pool, so it's super rad. This place had a pharmacy and I needed new Ibuprofin, because I only brought a little travel 10 capsule bottle and it's already empty. My feet and ankles are killing me, but this is what I get for averaging 10 miles a day walking. I also bought a pack of shoe inserts so that my feet could have just a little extra cushion.
I did my best to try to make it to the top of the Nagoya JR Tower above the station, to try to get the best panorama of the city that I could, but the Mall Directory wasn't necessarily the best at telling me if I could elevator all the way up to the top floors of the tower (offices and a Marriott hotel), so I was left with the view 13 floors up on the restaurant level of the Tower Mall. I did also find a store exclusively selling Ghibli merchandise.
After grabbing my bags back at the station, I made my way over to the hotel and went to the place across the street for dinner, which apparently is a Nagoya Staple: Sekaino Yamachan. Fried Chicken specialists, I wasn't about to say no to some wings. The original recipe wings were fantastic, their teriyaki wings were delicious, and the croquettes made me the happiest little boy. I love croquettes, the easiest way to my heart.
Looking back on Nagoya, if I had to pick a day on this trip that had to take last place, I'd have to give it to Nagoya, solely based on the fact the two main draws, Nagoya Castle Keep and Nagoya TV Tower, were both closed. I learned later that there's an observation deck called "Sky Promenade," but I didn't know about it while I was there, and this is the number one reason Nagoya comes in last, because they lacked tourism advertisements. Every city I visited in Japan had advertisements everywhere for the cool things to see in the city, except Nagoya. It's the center of Japan Rail, there's factories for Toyota and Mitsubishi, aviation companies, and most well known for their printers: Brother is headquartered in Nagoya. I get the vibe that it's more of a working man's city than a tourist city, but two things: 1) I don't regret going to Nagoya, and 2) I would 100% go back to Nagoya again. Just because it scored the lowest grade on the trip doesn't mean it was was awful, 8/10 ain't bad.
You know what's the best thing about spending the night at a hot spring is? Waking up at one. Breakfast was served at 7:30am, and it was all together served as one meal, but essentially could be broken down into three separate courses. So much food, so delicious.
Hakone was a big surprise, because I knew the hot springs were legit, but I wasn't expecting all the extras that happened as well, between Lake Ashi, the Skywalk, and all the historic sights in the area, it made for a very pleasant day with the perfect night cap. But as all good things must come to an end, I have a shuttle that will pick me up across the bridge and take me to Odawara station, where my train to Nagoya will be leaving at 10:08am.
Nagoya is the central location for all the JR trains in Japan: it's 1,200km to Sapporo all the way north, and 1,100km to Kagoshima to the southwest. Nagoya Station is also the largest train station in the world by floor space, at 410,000m^2. Grand Central Station in New York is the largest in terms of platforms (44). It only took a little over an hour on the Shinkansen to arrive in Nagoya, at 11:15am, meaning I'd have a bit of a shorter day here, like in Sapporo or Hakodate. I dropped my bags off in a coin locker at Nagoya Station, and hopped on a train heading south.
First thing on my to-do list is go to the SCMAGLEV Museum. It's an acronym for "Superconducting Magnetic Levitation," but I just kept saying "Shhh MagLev" the whole time I was there. Not only is it home to the SCMAGLEV trains that JR is currently operating and testing, but it also acts as a full rail museum, which includes trains, simulations, and exhibits. I'm actually just realizing now that the Museum itself is designed to look like the MLX01, the current world record holder for fastest train.
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| SCMAGLEV and Railway Park (looks like MLX01), Nagoya. |
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| MLX01 world record fastest train, SCMAGLEV and Railway Park, Nagoya. |
Inside, this museum is packed. It has it's special exhibit speed record trains available to walk through, as well as stand rail cars as well, including old sleeper trains and dining cars. There's a preserved "Dr. Yellow," which was used to do track and line diagnostics at full rail speed. The simulators are super cool, one of them is just simply what it feels like to ride in a SCMAGLEV train (not available for the public yet), and there's also Shinkansen operation simulators. The cafe is adorable, as it sells box lunches that are shaped like the trains.
 |
| Dr Yellow, SCMAGLEV and Railway Park, Nagoya. |
Next on my list is to take the train back downtown to Nagoya Castle. Nagoya Castle is one of the largest castles in Japan, the king being Himeji Castle, but like most castles in Japan (all but 12), Nagoya Castle was destroyed at one point in history, specifically WWII, and what we see today is a remodel. Just as I arrive to the castle grounds, something catches my eye, which is a food stand selling spicy spaghetti. Not ramen. Not Soba. Not Udon. Spaghetti. Turns out, Nagoya loves spaghetti, and spicy spaghetti is really good.
 |
| Spicy Spaghetti, Ankake Taro, Nagoya. |
Nagoya Castle's Keep, or tower, is closed for restoration, so unfortunately I'm not able to go inside and climb to the top, however, the palace is open for tours, and all I need to do to go inside is pop my shoes off. Honmaru palace was completely reconstructed using original methods, and the period correct artwork was very well done, and made for a nice alternative to missing out on the tower.
 |
| Honmaru Palace forefront, Nagoya Castle Keep background, Nagoya |
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| Honmaru Palace, Nagoya. |
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| Nagoya Castle Keep, Nagoya. |
After Nagoya Castle, it's a little bit of a walk to make it over to Nagoya TV Tower, which similar to Sapporo, sits along a long sting of parks, called Hisaya Odori Park. There's just one small problem, it too is closed! Google Maps claims that it's open, but it turns out if I visit the Nagoya TV Tower website, it's been closed for a year now for restoration work, and that still has not been updated on Google Maps. The park is nice, and it's cool to look at the tower, but it's a bit of a bummer to find out it's not actually open to go up top.
 |
| Nagoya TV Tower, Nagoya. |
Luckily my next stop is right next door, an open air shopping and public art area known as Oasis 21. The open air shopping area is capped by what looks like a floating pool, so it's super rad. This place had a pharmacy and I needed new Ibuprofin, because I only brought a little travel 10 capsule bottle and it's already empty. My feet and ankles are killing me, but this is what I get for averaging 10 miles a day walking. I also bought a pack of shoe inserts so that my feet could have just a little extra cushion.
 |
| Oasis 21 Underside, Nagoya. |
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| Oasis 21, Topside, Nagoya. |
I did my best to try to make it to the top of the Nagoya JR Tower above the station, to try to get the best panorama of the city that I could, but the Mall Directory wasn't necessarily the best at telling me if I could elevator all the way up to the top floors of the tower (offices and a Marriott hotel), so I was left with the view 13 floors up on the restaurant level of the Tower Mall. I did also find a store exclusively selling Ghibli merchandise.
 |
| Panorama from JR Tower Shops 13F, Nagoya. |
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| Catbus, JR Tower, Nagoya. |
After grabbing my bags back at the station, I made my way over to the hotel and went to the place across the street for dinner, which apparently is a Nagoya Staple: Sekaino Yamachan. Fried Chicken specialists, I wasn't about to say no to some wings. The original recipe wings were fantastic, their teriyaki wings were delicious, and the croquettes made me the happiest little boy. I love croquettes, the easiest way to my heart.
 |
| Sekaino Yamachan, Nagoya. |
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| Standard wings and teriyaki wings, Sekaino Yamachan. |
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| Croquettes. Sekaino Yamachan, Nagoya. |
Looking back on Nagoya, if I had to pick a day on this trip that had to take last place, I'd have to give it to Nagoya, solely based on the fact the two main draws, Nagoya Castle Keep and Nagoya TV Tower, were both closed. I learned later that there's an observation deck called "Sky Promenade," but I didn't know about it while I was there, and this is the number one reason Nagoya comes in last, because they lacked tourism advertisements. Every city I visited in Japan had advertisements everywhere for the cool things to see in the city, except Nagoya. It's the center of Japan Rail, there's factories for Toyota and Mitsubishi, aviation companies, and most well known for their printers: Brother is headquartered in Nagoya. I get the vibe that it's more of a working man's city than a tourist city, but two things: 1) I don't regret going to Nagoya, and 2) I would 100% go back to Nagoya again. Just because it scored the lowest grade on the trip doesn't mean it was was awful, 8/10 ain't bad.
January 10 by numbers:
- Photos: 223
- Miles walked: 10.1
- Steps: 20528
- Total Calories Burned: 4164
- Bowls of Ramen: 0
-Joe
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