After some down time for the last week or so, I’ll continue with my trip to Japan last summer. After spending two days in Tokyo, my next destination is Mt. Fuji…or so I planned.
I highly recommend buying the JR pass if you will be traveling on the Shinkansen. A round trip on one of these babies will cost more than the JR pass; it saved me a lot of money on this trip. However, the JR Pass doesn’t cover a ride on the Nozomi. :(
It feels like flying on a plane.
Breakfast for the day.
Arrived at Fuji only to find out Mt. Fuji is actually closer to Fujinomiya. “orz
It was so cloudy that Mt. Fuji was no where to be seen. I decided to head over to my next planned stop, Nagoya, instead.
Arrived at Nagoya that afternoon, though you can’t really tell what time it is with the cloud and all.
Hmm…now I’m not sure if that person is dead or alive…
Stayed at a “Ryokan” type hotel because I’ve always wanted to sleep in a futon on straw mats. ^^;;;;
It was quite creepy though, probably because of the colour of the room.
Very interesting building.
I waited for a hour and no body shoke my hand. :'(
Headed over to the Noritake Garden to snap a few pics.
I’m not much of a photographer, but I really like how some of these photos turned out.
The Red Brick Plant at the Noritake Garden. It was a brick manufacturing plant in case you were wondering.
The Six Chimneys, two of them are behind me.
An art teacher took his students to the garden for a field trip.
The Nitto Shrine:
Nitto Shrine was established on November 19, 1940, in prayer for the company’s security and prosperity. The three gods enshrined are Amaterasu-omikami, Atsutano-okami, and Kagutsuchino-kami…”
That’s what a sign says nearby.
Perfect for figure photo shoots.
My next stop, and the purpose of dropping by in Nagoya, is the Toyoto Automobile Museum (TAM).
The TAM deserves it’s own post! A must go for people who likes cars.
The TAM is located at the Geidai-dori Station on the Linimo line.
The best looking train I’ve been on so far. It feels like sitting in a TIE fighter. ^^
This is when I noticed something called “Women-Only Car”. I’m not sure why I didn’t notice it in Tokyo.
Strolling around to the front gate of Nagoya Castle.
It was closed when I arrived around 4:30’ish, so I had to go back the next morning.
My first visit to a Japanese castle; it was quite awesome despite the crappy weather.
Deers are considered sacred animals in Japan, more on that in a later episode.
Unfortunately, the Nagoya Castle we see today is a rebuild of the original structure that was flattened in an air-raid during World War II. Many other historical structures in Japan fell to the same fate.
Inside, you’ll find some artifacts from the original structure and many models and replicas of what the original structure looked like before 1945.
The sacred kinshachi. A mythical creature with the tail of a dolphin and the head of a tiger.
‘Tis a beautiful view from the top of Nagoya Castle. Too bad it was raining that day. :(
Next stop, Hiroshima.
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Very interesting. I personally haven’t been outside Tokyo so far, so these are definietly new to me.
Haven’t been to a castle before, but I did see some photos of Kumamoto’s from my sister when she went to Kumamoto last Christmas. They surely look grand and impressive!
I’ve read about the Kumamoto castle, but haven’t been there personally. I should go there next time. ^^
I’m amazed at how some of the seemingly more mundane things like the train stations and buildings or things you find walking around are more fascinating to me. Nice pictures, looks like you did a great tour.
It was an eye opener for me as well. That’s why I took photos of almost everything around me. ^^;; I had a great time during my trip.
It’s kind of interesting to read someone else’s impressions of a city that I’m living in :P.
Looks like you had fun. I keep complaining Nagoya has nothing, but looks like I need to do a bit more looking around.
I would say it’s a really lovely city, though you would run out of things to do after a couple days. So you can’t really compare my two day trip to what you think. ^^; I was only there for Nagoya Castle and the Toyota Automobile Museum, so I left happy.