Nagoya is a major urban centre between Tokyo and Kyoto and a gateway for accessing Kanazawa, Takayama and other destinations in the Hokuriku region. It is the birthplace of Japan’s greatest samurai warriors including Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu—the three most famous samurai in Japanese history.
Group Attractions
Railway Museum
Opened in 2011, SCMAGLEV and Railway Park is a railway museum owned by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) in Nagoya. It features 39 full-size railway vehicles and one bus exhibit, train cab simulators, and railway model dioramas. Sections are specializing in the history of the railways in Japan, the development of the shinkansen and a relics room including historic station clocks, station signs, tickets and railway staff uniforms. Other exhibits include a superconducting Maglev room, where visitors can learn about the science behind a maglev train. Visitors can also enjoy a kids' playroom, restaurant, theatre and shop. (Image via Travel Caffeine) Activities: Museum visit Fee: JPY 1000 Time required: 1 hour
Tokugawa Art Museum
This art museum has a collection of more than 10,000 feudal lord implements, starting with items that once belonged to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and items treasured by the first head of the Owari Tokugawa family, Yoshinao (Ieyasu's ninth son), and his descendants. The museum is proud to hold nine National Treasures, including the Illustrated Scroll of The Tale of Genji, 59 important cultural properties, and many other high-quality treasures that have been preserved in good condition. The main hall is registered as a national tangible cultural property.
Activities: Museum visit Fee: JPY 1400 (museum only) Time required: 1 hour
LEGOLAND® JAPAN RESORT
Opened in April 2017, Legoland Japan aimed at young children and some attractions of interest to accompanying adults. This outdoor amusement park is separated into seven themed areas, matching the different universes in the Lego world. Right in the middle of the park is "Miniland Japan" which highlights the iconic attractions across the entire country and is constructed out of millions of Lego bricks. The park is also home to SEA LIFE Nagoya, an aquarium where you can see, touch, and learn about the many surprises of the ocean world. (Image via Nagoya-info)
Activities: Amusement park Fee: Depends on season Time required: Minimum 1 hour
Osu Kannon Temple
Osu Kannon Temple is a popular Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect in central Nagoya. The main object of worship at the temple is a wooden statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. The temple also contains a library of over 15,000 ancient Japanese and Chinese books and texts, many of them designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. A flea market is held on the temple grounds on the 18th and 28th of every month. The modestly sized market includes around 60 stalls selling everything from souvenirs and antiques to clothes and second-hand goods. (Image via Kawaii Aichi)
Activities: Temple visit Fee: None Time required: 30 minutes
Osu Shopping Arcade
Just beside the Osu Kannon Temple is the entrance to the Osu Shopping Arcade, a huge and popular shopping area containing over 1,200 shops and restaurants. All kinds of shops, including electrical appliance shops, secondhand clothing stores, restaurants and cafes are open. The types of shops range from more underground, "sub-culture" kind of stores to more major, mainstream ones. The area is sometimes compared to Tokyo's Akihabara district as there are a lot of stores that specialize in electronics, cosplay, anime, J-pop and idol goods.
Activities: Shopping Fee: None Time required: 1 hour
Toyota Kaikan Museum
Toyota Kaikan Museum is located next to Toyota’s headquarters one hour east of central Nagoya. It is where Toyota displays its new models and technologies to the public and periodically holds robot shows. The Kaikan Museum also serves as the meeting point for plant tours. Tours are held once daily from Monday to Friday in English and Japanese, and reservations are required. If you are lucky, you may witness first-hand demonstrations of Toyota's latest artificial intelligence technology.
Activities: Museum visit Fee: None Time required: 30 minutes-1 hour (Tours 2.5 hours)
Toyota Techno Museum
Also known as the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, this museum introduces the history of Toyota from its humble beginnings as a textiles manufacturer to its evolution into an international automobile producer and more. It also features many exhibits on automotive technologies and the car production process. The educational, informative and fun museum is complete with a restaurant, café, gardens and a museum shop.
Activities: Museum visit Fee: JPY 500 Time required: 45 minutes
Toyota Automobile Museum
Over 120 cars from all eras of the motoring age are on stunning display in the Automobile Gallery of Toyota Automobile Museum. Not just Toyota, but American and European automobiles, too. Many different and famous brands are represented: Mercedes Benz, Ford, Mazda, Porsche, Subaru, Rolls Royce, De Soto, Volkswagen, even little Isuzu to name just a few. Vehicles produced from the beginning of the automobile age up to the 1950s are displayed on the second floor, while vehicles from the 1950s to the present fill the third floor.
Activities: Museum visit Fee: JPY 1200 Time required: 45 minutes
Nagoya Castle
Nagoya Castle was built by order of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1615 and operated as a military facility. It was Japan’s first castle to be designated a National Treasure. The castle is known for the pair of golden shachihoko (imaginary sea creatures with tiger-like heads) that grace the top of the tower and becomes a famous symbol of the city of Nagoya. Nagoya Castle is particularly enchanting during cherry blossom season and in the evening when the trees are lit up.
Activities: Temple visit, photo stop Fee: JPY 500 Time required: 45 minutes
Sakae
Sakae is the main shopping and entertainment district of Nagoya, dealing predominately with the young and young at heart, as well as students and salarymen in search of after-hours fun. Sakae's main landmarks are the space-ship-like Oasis 21 building and the soaring Nagoya TV Tower adjacent to each other around Sakae subway station. Nagoya TV Tower offers great views over Sakae from its two observation decks. Oasis 21 itself is home to several boutiques and high-end eateries as well as a bus station.
Activities: Shopping Fee: None Time required: 1 hour
Nearby Areas
Midland Square is Nagoya’s tallest building, located just opposite Nagoya Station. The first four stories and the basement of the building house many shops, chic boutiques, restaurants and cafes. There is also a cinema on the fifth level. Of interest to tourists is the Sky Promenade, located on the top three floors of the 46 story building. This is an open-air observation deck with panoramic views over Nagoya.
Nagashima Resort is a major vacation destination just outside Nagoya comprising of five main leisure facilities: the Nagashima Spaland amusement park, a water park, a hot spring complex, an outlet shopping mall and a flower park named Nabana no Sato.
South of Nagoya’s city centre is Nagoya Port, one of Japan’s largest ports. It is a popular leisure district and offers an aquarium, shopping mall, museums and green space. There is also an amusement park named Nagoya Port Sea Train Land which has the biggest Ferris wheel in the Chubu Region.