Japan’s Eco-Capital Future: Nagoya

Japan is one of the countries who have grown with technology and still has preserved its culture, traditional and the architecture. Cities in Japan like Kyoto and Tokyo is famous for its heritages, even though Nagoya has very limited heritage, it have succeeded in attracting tourists. The port of Nagoya is the largest port in Japan and it has the Asia’s biggest zoo.

The history of Nagoya goes four hundred years back. And now it’s the third largest incorporated city and fourth largest populated urban area in Japan. With 2.2 million of population, Nagoya is one of the major transportation hub and also the leading port for international trade.

For centuries, Nagoya has been famous for its porcelain, ceramics and lacquer-ware production and now it’s among Japan’s important manufacturing and industrial cities. As Japan is well known for its nature love and it has many beautiful examples as gardens built around palace and shrines. In this modern and technological world, it still has preserved its cities with forests and has also taken initiative to combat global warming by taking green projects.

Nagoya has many beautiful places to visit which is mixture of technology and tradition. It also offers treat to photographers and nature lovers. The city is also a stop-over for the migratory birds and has thriving vibrant night-life.

The most famous places in Nagoya are Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Shrine.

Nagoya Castle

It was built in 1612. In World War two a major part of the castle got burned. In 1959, the castle was refurbished and given the touch of modernity such as building elevators in the castle. On the roof of the castle is Golden Orca which is beautiful and stunning and it is also used as the symbol of Nagoya.

Atsuta Shrine

This shrine is the second most respected and honored shrine, after Ise Shrine, in Japan. The shrine has over four thousand and four hundred national treasures, which have two thousand year old history. The shrine is said to protect the Kusanagi sword. The shrine holds around seventy festivals and devotees come here all year around.

Except for the shrines, Nagoya has largest zoo in the Asia, Higashiyama Zoo. It is a home of about 570 species of animals and has botanical gardens which are famous for its tropical plants. One can view the whole Nagoya cityscape from the Higashiyama Sky Tower.

The port of Nagoya also features aquarium which showcases the Antarctica marine life such as penguins and large sea mammals; killer whales, beluga and dolphins.

Nagoya city museum is one of the places you can’t miss out to see. It has over 200,000 pieces, collection from the Stone Age to the modern era. It is the leading historical museum in Japan. The museum has also adopted modern technology in order to make the presentation of historical facts more interesting. It has gallery, video museum and beautiful garden around it.

Yamazaki River

The cherry trees along the Yamazaki River are very famous and beautiful to watch one the flowers blossoms. It is one of the best places to view cherry blossoms in Japan. The line of the trees extends around 2.8 km from the Ishikawa Bridge to Aratama Bridge.

There are many other places to visit in Nagoya city such as Hirokoji-dori, which is Japan’s second street trolley, having many stores, departments and restaurants. It is the oldest business street in Nagoya, Nagoya Higashiyama Forest; it is tagged as city’s asset and symbolizes the city’s greenery, Shirotori Garden; the garden is stunningly beautiful which has peaceful atmosphere and to give a sense of heaven, it has tea house and swans, flying into the water to increase the beautification of the pond which is situated in centre of the garden. The city has many more places to visit, these are few to name.

Nagoya Festival

The festival is celebrated in autumn which is colorful and exhibits huge exquisitely embroidered dolls with dance, music and parade. The march is the main attraction in the parade which is participated by the Procession of the Three Feudal Lords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, all of whom have strong connections to Nagoya.

The night life in Nagoya won’t let down the party goers. The biggest club in Nagoya is iD, which has excellent music to shake on. The Dj, loud music, pubs, and much more attracts large crowd here.

Transportation

The central Japan international airport is the nearest airport from the city, built on man-made island to the south of Nagoya city.

You will get JR Tokai buses from the airport to the Nagoya station, which takes 45 minutes. You will also get taxis which are available at airport 24 hours.

The fastest way to the city is by train. It will only take 30 minutes to reach the city by train. Departures are frequent from the Nagoya central railway station, Nozomi train takes 100 minutes and Hikari train take 10-20 minutes more to reach city.

Note

The Japan rail pass is not valid for the Nozomi trains.

Roadways

From Tokyo westwards, highways like Tomei expressway and Chuo expressway are connected to Nagoya.