Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [174]
Busy Nagoya, Japan’s fourth-largest city, is the nation’s industrial heart, with a can-do spirit and unique foods. Hokuriku’s hub is Kanazawa, a historic yet thriving city where handsomely preserved streets once housed samurai and geisha. Lovely Takayama is admired for its traditional riverside houses, wood crafts, delicious cuisine and verdant countryside. Matsumoto is another favourite with visitors for its striking 16th-century black-and-white castle and many galleries.
The mountainous Unesco World Heritage Sites of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama showcase Japan’s rich architectural tradition, and Central Honshū is traversed by the Nakasendō, the Edo-period trunk road through the mountains.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Stroll the streets of Takayama, with its traditional architecture and skilled woodworkers
Hike amid the stunning mountain scenery of Kamikōchi
Step back in time at the National Treasure castles Inuyama-jō and Matsumoto-jō
Discover the rugged beauty of Noto-hantō, a windswept peninsula of fishing hamlets and seafood feasts
Ski, ski, ski at the Olympic resorts of Shiga Kōgen, Nozawa Onsen and Hakuba
Take in arts in Kanazawa, from the ancient garden Kenroku-en to the daring 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
Train with Zen Buddhist monks in the 13th-century Eihei-ji or be awed by Nagano’s Zenkō-ji
Sleep in a thatch-roofed house in Shirakawa-gō
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Climate
Central Honshū’s climate varies with its landscape. In the lowlands the best times to visit are April and May or late September to early November; temperatures are mild and clear sunny skies are the norm. Expect heavy rains in the tsuyu (monsoon) season (typically a few weeks beginning in mid-June), followed by sticky summers (through mid-September) capped with a typhoon season. In the Japan Alps, November to March are cold and snowy. Many roads are impassable then, and the highest peaks might remain snow-covered until June. July and August tend to be most agreeable for mountain hikers; snows are generally melted and temperatures warmest.
Getting There & Away
Central Japan International Airport (NGO), near Nagoya, provides easy access from abroad, and there are limited international flights into Komatsu (near Kanazawa; Click here) and Toyama. Nagoya is a hub for rail travel nationwide, and a shinkansen (bullet train) line links Tokyo with Nagano.
For travellers coming from Russia by sea, FKK Air Service (0766-22-2212; http://fkk-air.toyama-net.com, in Japanese) operates ferries between Fushiki in Toyama-ken and Vladivostok (one way adult/child from ¥44,000/33,000). Ferries depart Vladivostok on Monday at 9pm and arrive at 9am on Wednesday in Fushiki. Ferries depart Japan on Friday at 6pm, arriving in Russia at 9.30am on Sunday.
Getting Around
Nagoya is Chūbu’s transport hub. The mountainous inland is best served by the JR Takayama and Chūō lines, which run north to south with hubs in Takayama (Takayama line) and Matsumoto and Nagano (Chūō line), respectively. The JR Hokuriku line follows the coast along the Sea of Japan, linking Fukui, Kanazawa and Toyama, and connecting to Kyoto and Osaka.
Chūbu’s mountainous middle is served by bus, but plan carefully as schedules can be inconvenient or stop entirely in bad weather. For some destinations, particularly Noto-hantō, hiring a car makes sense.
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NAGOYA
052 / pop 2.24 million
If Kyoto is a gracious geisha and Tokyo is a preening teen forever seeking the newest and coolest, then Nagoya is their stalwart brother. He may not be the flashiest in the family, but through smarts, perseverance and duty, he provides the fortune that enables the others to live the lives they choose.
Japan’s fourth-largest city, Nagoya is an industrial powerhouse; if measured on its own,