Nagoya

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About Nagoya

Nagoya is the city that builds things. Japan's fourth-largest city sits at the heart of a manufacturing region that gave the world Toyota cars and Noritake china, and its museums of industry and railways are among the best in the country. Locals are proud of a bold food culture too, from miso-coated pork cutlets to grilled eel eaten three ways.

The city was founded around 1610 when Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered a great castle built here and moved the merchants of nearby Kiyosu to its streets. The Owari branch of the Tokugawa family ruled from Nagoya Castle for more than two centuries, and their treasures fill the Tokugawa Art Museum. Bombing in 1945 destroyed much of the centre, which was rebuilt with broad avenues and parks, but Atsuta Jingu, home of one of the sacred imperial regalia, and the old temple district of Osu Kannon keep the older spirit alive.

Shinkansen trains reach Nagoya from Tokyo in well under two hours and from Kyoto in about 35 minutes, and Chubu Centrair International Airport lies on an island in Ise Bay.

Best seasonMarch-May and October-November

Ideal stay2 days

ArrivingShinkansen from Tokyo and Kyoto; Chubu Centrair Airport

Why People Love Nagoya: 12 Things to Discover

Landmarks 1

Nagoya Castle

Built from 1610 on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Nagoya Castle was famous for the golden shachihoko, mythical tiger-fish, on its...

Temples and Shrines 2

Atsuta Jingu

One of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan, Atsuta Jingu is said to house Kusanagi no Tsurugi, the legendary sword that for...

Osu Kannon Temple

Moved to Nagoya in the early 17th century, this bright red Buddhist temple is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of mercy, and i...

Shopping 1

Osu Shopping District

Next to Osu Kannon, a grid of covered shopping arcades holds more than a thousand shops, from secondhand clothes and electronics t...

Museums 3

Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology

Set in the red-brick buildings of the Toyoda family's original loom factory, this museum tells how a company that made automatic w...

SCMAGLEV and Railway Park

Run by JR Central at the Kinjo Futo waterfront, this museum displays dozens of real trains, from steam locomotives to generations...

Tokugawa Art Museum

Opened in 1935, this museum displays the heirlooms of the Owari Tokugawa family: samurai armour, swords, Noh costumes, lacquerware...

Viewpoints 1

Mirai Tower

Completed in 1954 as Japan's first television tower, the steel tower in Hisaya Odori Park is now called the Chubu Electric Power M...

Family 1

Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium

On the Garden Pier at the port, this large aquarium has two buildings: one devoted to the journey of life in the oceans, with orca...

Parks 1

Shirotori Garden

A short walk from Atsuta Jingu, Shirotori Garden is one of the largest Japanese gardens in the city, designed so that its streams...

Arts 1

Noritake Garden

Noritake, the fine china company, opened this park in 2001 on the site of its original 1904 factory, keeping the old red-brick bui...

Food and Drink 1

Nagoya Hitsumabushi

Nagoya's signature dish is hitsumabushi: grilled eel glazed with sweet soy sauce and chopped over rice in a round wooden tub. The...

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