Nagoya Information

Nagoya is the principal city of the Tokai area. A first time visitor to Nagoya may be appalled by the number of skyscrapers, the traffic congestion, and the number of people walking on the street. He or she will also be amazed at the vastness of the underground shopping centers around Nagoya Station--including Unimall, Terumina, Meichika, and Sun Road. The size of this underground complex with its restaurants, boutiques, and gift shops, ranks as the biggest in Japan. Another pride of the Nagoyaites is the broad streets. The 100-meter wide Hisaya and the Wakamiya Boulevards intersecting at city center, offers some relief of sunshine and green from the looming skyscrapers and also a relief of trees, benches, fountains, and sculptures. This is one manifestation of the city's self determined policy to become known as the "City of Design." This policy has made Nagoya into one of the most beautiful cities in Japan.

Nagoya Attractions: What to See?

Nagoya Castle

Nagoya's symbol is the "Golden Grampus" and grampuses adorn the two rooftop corners of Nagoya Castle. They were destroyed along with the castle tower during World War II, but the tower was reconstructed in 1959. Now it is used as a museum. Valuable paintings and artifacts include the drawing on the sliding doors. The three donjons, gate, stone fortress, tea house, and the garden were not destroyed by bombs during the war and you can see these artifacts.

Tokugawa Art Museum (Artifacts Sanctuary)

In this museum you can see valuable items that Tokugawa Ieyasu used, such as the world-famous "Picture Scroll of the Tales of Genji," the royal treasures of the Tokugawa family, the armors of the Owari clan, paintings, tea ceremony items, old books, and crafts--over 11,000 items. This museum has the largest sword collection in Japan.

It is said that the sacred sword, one of the three divine symbols of the imperial throne, is offered in this shrine. There are 28 shrines within the compounds and a stone wall and a 7.4-meter stone lantern donated by Oda Nobunaga is in this shrine. The Treasure Museum contains over 4000 historic items.

Officially it is called the Kitanosan Shinpuku-ji Houshou-in Temple. Within the compounds is a main temple painted in beautiful red, a copy of the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Times) considered a national treasure, and an archive of more than 10,000 historical documents called the Ohsu Library. An antique market is held every month on the 18th and 28th. This market is always crowded. There are various shops in front of the temple. This area has a downtown atmosphere.