Nagoya

Introduction

Nagoya Castle

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Nagoya is the 4th largest urban area in Japan (called the Chukyo Metropolitan Area) and even the 3rd largest if counting the city proper only. The latter has about 2.3 million inhabitants, the total urban area is more than 4 times as big with nearly 10 million inhabitants. Still, the city maintains a relatively quiet character and is often overlooked by travellers. It is located in the Chubu region in southern central Honshu, the main island of the country.

Neighbourhoods

Nagoya is divided into 16 so-called wards:

• Atsuta-ku
• Chikusa-ku
• Higashi-ku
• Kita-ku
• Meito-ku
• Midori-ku
• Minami-ku
• Minato-ku
• Mizuho-ku
• Moriyama-ku
• Naka-ku
• Nakagawa-ku
• Nakamura-ku
• Nishi-ku
• Showa-ku
• Tempaku-ku

Sights and Activities

• Nagoya Castle
• Atsuta Shrine
• Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens
• Nagoya TV Tower
• The Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Events and Festivals

Weather

Nagoya's summers are hot and humid with average daytime temperatures around 30 °C from June to September and balmy nights of 20 °C or more. Winters last from December to February when it is mostly around 10 °C to 12 °C during the day and just above zero at night. Snow is possible and mainly falls during January and February. Nagoya receives over 1,500 mm of rain a year, mainly during the summermonths though other months see a fair amount as well. Probably the best months for a visit are April and October with some rain, but comfortable temperatures and a chance to see spring flowers or beautiful autumn colours like elsewhere in Japan.

Getting There

By Plane

Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO) serves Nagoya. The smaller Nagoya Airfield is only served by J-Air and has flights to several Japanse cities like Tokyo, Nagasaki and Niigata.
The international airport has many more flights. Japan Airlines (JAL) has international flights to/from Guangzhou, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Taipei and Tianjin (City). All Nippon Airways (ANA) serves Seoul and Shanghai as well. They both serve a few dozen of domestic destinations as well, including Sapporo, Fukuoka, Tokyo and Nagasaki.
Several other international airlines have flights to/from Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, Detroit, Guam, Hanoi, Saipan, Frankfurt, Busan, Honolulu, Bali, Helsinki, Shenyang, Taipei, Beijing, Qingdao, X'ian and Hong Kong.

To/from the airport

• Rail: Central Japan International Airport Station is located on the Meitetsu Airport Line operated by Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu). The fastest service connects the airport to Meitetsu-Nagoya Station in 28 minutes. Meitetsu Nagoya is adjacent to JR Nagoya Station, allowing transfers to Shinkansen high-speed trains bound for Kyoto and Shizuoka, as well as JR, Meitetsu, and Kintetsu local trains, and the Nagoya Municipal Subway.
• Ferry: Three high-speed ferry services link Centrair to the west side of Ise Bay. One ferry connects to the passenger terminal in Tsu. It is about a 40-minute trip. Another ferry links Matsusaka to Tokoname, taking 45 minutes.
• Buses, taxis and rental cars are other modes of transport for service to Nagoya and other cities.

By Train

Japan Railways offers regular connections throughout Honshu and further north towards Hokkaido and east towards Fukuoka. Tokyo is two hours away, Osaka 1 hour and Kyoto only 45 minutes. Nara and Hiroshima are two and three hours by train respectively. To the Japanese Alps, you can take trains to Matsumoto (2 hours) and Nagano (almost 3 hours). A line also goes to Takayama (2 hours).

By Car

By Bus

JR and Meitetsu Highway buses operate services between Nagoya and Kyoto (2½ hours, hourly), Osaka (three hours, hourly), Kanazawa (four hours, 10 daily) and Tokyo (six hours, 14 daily). Overnight buses run to Hiroshima (nine hours).

By Boat

FESCO runs a service from Vostochny Port/Nakhodka in Far Eastern Russia to the port of Nagoya and several other Japanse cities. Taiheiyo ferry runs between Nagoya and Tomakomai on Hokkaido. It takes around 38 hours and goes via Sendai (21 hours) every second evening at 8:00pm.

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

Nagoya Municipal Subway has services throughout the city and direct surroundings.

By Foot

By Bike

You can rent bikes through Raku-Chin Ketta. Two types of bikes with electric power assistance are available. 1-4-11 Nishiki Naka-ku, ph +81-52-201-6023. Open from 9:30am-6:00pm. ¥400 for 2 hours, ¥800 for 4 hours, ¥1,200 for 1 day.

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• Nagoya University

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

The Japanese postal service is excellent! Domestic and international mail service is very quick and reliable. The prices for sending letters, postcards and parcels vary depending on where you send if from and to which country you send it too, and of course depends on weight as well, so check this calculation page of Japan Post for more details. Post offices generally are open from 9:00am to 5:00pm on weekdays, closing at weekends and also on national holidays, though a few open on Saturdays from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Central post offices are sometimes open until 7:00pm, open on Saturdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm and on Sundays and holidays from 9:00am to 12:30pm. Another thing to remember is that the post office is one of the few places in Japan that is guaranteed to have ATMs that take international cards.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website