Japan Trip - Nagoya

After the fulfillment journey throughout the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, I continued my trip along the West side of Chubu area and then to Shizuoka and Lake Kawaguchi to view the magnificent Mt. Fuji 🗻 

On that day after the Alpine route trip I directly took the Shinkansen to Takayama station（高山）and spent the night there. I stayed at Relax Hostel Takayama Station which is just opposite of the station. I booked a "Single Bed in Wide Mixed Dormitory Room" which only cost ¥ 3,200 for a night. I had a pleasant stay there as the staff there was very friendly, and in the morning there was a complimentary coffee and light breakfast as well. Even though it's a hostel, you have your own personal room with just a bed inside, perfectly fit for a solo traveler like me. 

Complimentary coffee and light breakfast

Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida（飛騨） region of Gifu Prefecture（岐阜県）. I chose here as the middle stop before I proceed to Nagoya because there are a few spots to go nearby. In the next morning (21st May) I went to their famous Miyagawa morning market（宮川朝市）to see what does an outdoor market looks like in Japan. The morning market open everyday from 7am till noon time and there were a lot of stalls selling local crafts, vegetables, foods and so on. Walking along the market I also bought a few snacks as my breakfast😋. Beside the market is a crystal clear "river" and I can even see some Koi fishes from top. I can't even imagine in Malaysia, pasar operate next to a longkang. Imagine that horrible smell. But there, it was such a refreshing morning walk.

a more modern stall among the others

     

Can clearly see the fishes swimming around

Nearby that morning market there is an old town which has been beautifully preserved with buildings and streets of houses dating from the Edo period. Along the street there was a famous shop selling Hida beef sushi（飛騨牛握り寿司）. You can hardly miss that shop as there's a long queue for it. 

 

15 minutes away from Takayama by train is a small town called Furukawa（古川）. Like Takayama, Furukawa also has a nicely preserved old town but what makes me wanna go there is the small canal named Seto River(瀬戸川) which was inhabited by many carps. I've spent around 30 minutes there before going back to Takayama, it was a good morning walk.

Around 1pm I continue my trip down to Nagoya, but before that I stopped by Gero（下呂）to enjoy the Onsen there. I bought the Yumeguri Tegata （湯めぐり手形）for ¥1,300 and I can go for 3 visits to any bath there.

The Onsen temple

there's even an outdoor public onsen

After having 3 refreshing baths I took the train down to Nagoya and stayed 2 nights there. In Nagoya I booked the accommodation via Airbnb and it was in a neighborhood area which cost around $91 for 2 nights. The place is spacious enough for a solo traveler with a washing machine, shower room in it but no TV. It was a cozy stay.

During the 2 days stay in Nagoya city I went to a few sightseeing spots and to travel around there it is recommended to purchased the Meguru One Day Pass (¥500). With this pass I can take unlimited bus ride to Nagoya's sightseeing spots and another privilege of this pass was I got to have discounted price for some sightseeing facilities, like the Toyota Commemorative Museum, Nagoya Castle, etc. Worth to buy.

Atsuta Shrine (熱田神宮)

This is one of Shinto's most important shrines as it enshrines the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and stores the sacred sword Kusanagi (草薙), which is one of the three imperial regalia (三種の神器). However this sword is never displayed to the public. I went there in my first day of morning in Nagoya by taking the train to Atsuta station.

Osu Kannon Temple (大須観音)

After the Atsuta Shrine, I went to the Osu Kannon Temple which is a few train stations away. This is a popular Buddhist temple in central Nagoya with a wooden statue of Kannon in it. Underneath the main hall is the Shinpukuji Library which contains over 15k classic Japanese and Chinese texts. Just beside the temple is the entrance to the Osu Shopping Arcade which is a network of aging but charming covered shopping streets with over 400 shops and restaurants. I also settled my lunch there.

The entrance of the shopping district

Still a lot of shops haven't started business yet (this was around 11am)

Settled my lunch at a yakisoba shop

Bought some snacks along the shopping arcade

Nagoya Castle (名古屋城)

The next day morning I went to the Nagoya Castle by taking the meguru loop bus. However on that day it was raining heavily, couldn't really enjoy that day. The day I went there, the castle's palace - Honmaru Goten (本丸御殿) was still under constructions and was scheduled to open in June that year. Even though I can't visit there, I was still able to visit other places in the castle.

Got a discounted price at ¥400

The Honmaru Goten was scheduled to open on 8th June. I was 16 days early.

One of the samurai actor

Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology

Japan's leading car manufacturer - Toyota, has its headquarters and many of its domestic production plants in the region around Nagoya. So on that day after Nagoya Castle, I went to Toyota Techno Museum (aka Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology). The museum introduces the history of Toyota and also features many exhibits on automotive technologies and car production process. From the museum I only knew that actually Toyota started out as a textile machinery manufacturer, then later on only switched to a car manufacturer. 

Before I left Nagoya that day, I also made a quick stop at the Pokémon Center Nagoya.

Throughout my 2 days trip at Nagoya city, I also had some of their specialty there. For breakfast, I went to Komeda's Coffee nearby where I stayed to have the Ogura Toast (小倉トースト). This set only cost ¥400.

Then for dinner I went to Shirakawa (うなぎ和食 しら河) to try out the famous Hitsumabushi (ひつまぶし). It's one of the my most expensive meal there in Japan which was around ¥2,450 but definitely worth to try. I even follow the steps here to enjoy it like a local. Hehe

After visiting Nagoya Castle, I went to Yabaton (矢場とん) just outside the castle to have lunch. I ordered the Miso Katsu (みそかつ) which cost around ¥1,900 (another expensive meal). For that portion alone I was very full.

Before I took the bus to my next destination, I bought a box of Tenmusu Senju (天むす千寿) inside a station stall to have them as my dinner in the bus. That box cost around ¥720 and there were 5 onigiri. Tenmusu is a type of onigiri that originates from Nagoya. It's made using rice and shrimp tempura and then wrapped in nori.

Next stop - Shizuoka station!