Nagoya, Japan

Nagoya is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan. Located on the Pacific coast in the Chubu region on central Honshū, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports.

Nagoya's two most famous sightseeing spots are Nagoya Castle and Atsuta Shrine. Nagoya Castle was built in 1612. Although a large part of it burned down in the fires of World War II, the castle was restored in 1959, adding some modern amenities such as elevators. The castle is very famous for two magnificent Golden Orca on the roof, often used as the symbol of Nagoya.

Atsuta Shrine is known as the second-most venerable shrine in Japan, after Ise Shrine. It is said to enshrine the Kusanagi sword, one of the three imperial regalia of Japan, but it is not on display to the public. It holds around 70 festivals in a year, and many people visit the shrine year-round. Also, the shrine has over 4,400 national treasures representing its 2,000 year history. It is currently (2009) undergoing restoration.

Things to See & Do

* Nagoya Castle
* Atsuta Shrine
* Nagoya TV Tower
* Nagoya port aquarium
* Toyota Museum

General information

Cruise Season – Jan - Dec
Currency – Yen (JPY)
Language – Japanese
Population – 2,260,900 approx
Land Area – 326.45 km2
Electricity – 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style or with a round pin below
Time - GMT plus hours nine hours
International Country Telephone Code – 81

Port Location – Cruise ships are be accommodated at Garden Pier (Berth 2 & 3 ), where leisure facilities such as Aquarium, Antarctic Museum (retired icebreaker Fuji), Maritime Museum (Port Building), Italian Village (commercial complex) and JETTY (shopping mall) attract many people.

Travel Links - Chubu Centrair International Airport is Japan's third major international gateway, is on an artificial island 30 minutes south from the center of town. The best way of connecting between Centrair Airport and central Nagoya is the Meitetsu Airport Line.


Nagoya is located along the Tokaido Shinkansen rail route between Tokyo and Osaka. To the west are Gifu and Kyoto, and to the east are Hamamatsu and Shizuoka.

As Nagoya is a major city, there are many daytime and overnight buses which run between Nagoya and other locations throughout Japan, which can result in significant savings when compared to shinkansen or local train fares. The JR Bus Group is a major operator of the routes into and out of Nagoya.
Taiheiyo Ferry offers overnight car ferries to Sendai (21 hrs 40 mins) and Tomakomai in southern Hokkaido (40 hrs) on the SS Ishikari and SS Kitakami from the Nagoya Ferry Terminal [14] (Japanese).