Hi,
I’ll be flying into Nagoya (from Taipei) in September (visiting with my mom), and I’ll be spending a total of 4 nights there (9/16 – 20); was wondering if anyone had suggestions on day trips from Nagoya / how long I should spend in the city proper (I’ll be headed to Osaka and Kyoto later, so no day trips to those two cities)? We most likely won’t be getting a JR pass, and we don’t want day trips where transportation takes up too much time. Also would love some food recs if people have any! Definitely eating some hitsumabushi and miso katsu, haha
**Potential day trip ideas:**
Inuyama (castle, Meiji-mura museum)
Ise-Shima (Ise Shrine, seaside, perhaps a stop at Matsuaka for beef?)
Gujo-Hachiman
I know a day trip to Shirakawago is possible, but seems a bit far?
**Attractions of interest in Nagoya:**
Sakae (staying in Sakae, so will definitely check out the attractions here)
Osu Shopping Street
Atsuta Jingu
Shirotori Garden
SCMaglev and Railway Park (I personally really want to go here as a train nerd)
Nagoya Castle (not sure if it’s worth visiting)
Toyota Museum of Industry (seems interesting but not sure if it’s the top of my list)
We’ll also be heading to Osaka on the 20th; was thinking of taking the scenic route and stopping by Hikone first, but open to other potential ideas!
8 comments
We will visit Narai-juku from Nagoya as a day trip in October. You can also check out other parts of the Nakasendo Trail and it’s beautiful towns and natural sights.
Takayama and Matsumoto are stretching ‘day trip’ (2h each way on the fast train) but both very fun, as is all the famous Nakasendo towns (Magome, Tsumago, Narai). Also Sekijuku which is closer and right off the train, although technically Tokaido.
Possibly blasphemous but the Ise shrines, while culturally very significant, are visually not very stunning. The seaside is nice but not incrementally more spectacular than what is available in Taiwan.
Atsuta jingu is on a large wooded grounds, definitely worth stopping by if you’re in Nagoya. The castle was recommended to us but we didnt go. It’s a reconstruction and we had seen Matsumoto and Himeji.
We did go over to Sekigahara as a day trip, outstanding museum there.
If you’re a train nerd you could consider taking the Hinotori just because its an awesome train. We ran out of time but considered it.
Tsumago, Ghibili Park (requires reservation)
Nagashima Spa Land is within day trip distance from Nagoya, if you like roller coasters, and there’s a pretty great outlet mall right next to it.
I had hitsumabushi in Nagoya at Atsuta Horaiken and it was a strong contender for the best meal I ate in a trip full of amazing meals. It’s going to be tragic when unagi go extinct.
Take the earliest train and bus to Magome, then hike to Tsumago. It’s a lovely walk and mostly downhill, and both towns are just lovely and beautifully preserved. There’s a tiny cafe up in the pass which has the best gohei-mochi (local must-try dish) i found on the entire Kisoji, and after that you will encounter a super authentic volunteer-run tea house.
Enjoy Tsumago, then walk go Nagiso station and take the train to Narai-juku which is the best preserved of the Nakasendo post towns. Have some food here and check out all the wonderful little shops and temples, and catch the chou/shinano line all the way back to Nagoya.
I did split this up into two days, but each only took half a day and I did other things too on both days!
Inuyama is super easy from Nagoya. Also, when I was in Nagoya last December, the main castle was closed for renovations. You may want to check to see if it’s open before you go.
Hi! One of the most popular food of Nagoya is kishimen noodle and the shop at the Shinkansen platform is quite popular and very local Japanese. Not expensive at all but very local experience, also introduced [here](https://www.japansportsticket.com/post/japan-travel-the-must-do-when-you-pass-nagoya-by-shinkansen).