• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Internet Resources

Nagoya Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.ncvb.or.jp) Good general website for visitors.

Nagoya International Centre (www.nic-nagoya.or.jp) Up-to-date event listings, plus practical info for residents.

Medical Services

Nagoya’s prefecture, Aichi-ken (249-9799; www.qq.pref.aichi.jp), has a list of medical institutions with English-speaking staff, including specialities and hours of operation.

Tachino Clinic (Map; 541-9130; Dai-Nagoya Bldg, 3-28-12 Meieki; Nagoya) Opposite the east exit of Nagoya Station, with English-speaking staff.

Money & Post

Citibank has 24-hour Cirrus ATMs on the 1st floor of the Sugi building (Sakae, exit 7) and in the arrival lobby at Central Japan International Airport.

Eki-mae post office (Map; Nagoya) North of the station’s east exit.

Nagoya Station post office (Map) Off the main concourse.

Tourist Information

English-language street and subway maps are widely available at information centres and hotels – the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s free Live Map Nagoya covers the basics. English-language listings publications include Japanzine, Avenues and Nagoya Calendar.

Nagoya International Centre (Map; 581-0100; 1-47-1 Nagono; 9am-7pm Tue-Sun; Kokusai Centre) Has helpful English-speaking staff and information on both Nagoya and regional destinations. There’s a library, overseas-TV newscasts and a bulletin board for postings.

Nagoya Tourist Information Nagoya Station (Map; 541-4301; 9am-7pm; Nagoya, in the central concourse); Kanayama Station (Map;323-0161; 9am-8pm; Kanayama); Sakae (Map; 963-5252; Oasis 21 Bldg; 10am-8pm; Sakae) All locations have plenty of info and at least one English speaker on hand.

* * *

HIKING THE JAPAN ALPS

Central Honshū is blessed, in the Shintō sense and every other way, with half of the nation’s 100 famous mountains across many national parks, making it a key destination for hiking. This chapter presents some of the more popular destinations; enthusiastic hikers should pick up Lonely Planet’s Hiking in Japan (2009) by David Joll, Craig McLachlan and Richard Ryall.

* * *

For info on onward transportation, there is English-speaking staff at JR Nagoya Station’s ticket windows, or try the travel agency KNT Tourist (Map; 541-8686; 1-2-2 Meieki; 10am-8pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat & Sun; Nagoya).

Return to beginning of chapter

SIGHTS

Nagoya Station Area

MIDLAND SQUARE

In 2007 Toyota Motor Corporation moved its headquarters to this skyscraper (247m), Nagoya’s tallest and the fifth-tallest in Japan, just across from Nagoya Station. If you’ve seen Tokyo Midtown, you get the idea. There is a chichi shopping centre on the lower floors, offices occupy the middle floors, and the top floors comprise the Sky Promenade (Map; 527-8877; www.noritake-elec.com/garden; 4-7-1 Meieki; garden adult/child/senior ¥700/300/500; 10am-10pm; Nagoya), home of Japan’s tallest outdoor observation deck (closed in bad weather), reached via passageways with some adventurously designed light murals.

Architecture fans should check out the exterior of the new Spiral Towers (Map), a couple of blocks south. It’s an amazing structure, as if someone has tried to peel London’s landmark ‘Gherkin’ (Swiss Re Tower).

NORITAKE GARDEN

Take a stroll around Noritake Garden (Map; 561-7290; www.noritake-elec.com/garden; 3-1-36 Noritake-shinmachi; garden admission free; Kamejima), the tree-planted grounds of the original 1904 factory of one of Japan’s best-known porcelain makers. The craft centre (561-7114; adult/child & senior/high-school student ¥500/free/300; 10am-5pm) offers a peek at the production process and a museum of old Noritake pieces, plus a chance to glaze your own dish (¥1500). The Noritake Gallery (562-9811; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun) has changing exhibitions of paintings, sculpture and ceramic works. Signage is in English throughout, and look for an early kiln and some atmospheric old chimneys, the remains of a 1933 tunnel kiln.

Naturally there are shopping opportunities,