A Rare Dud

Nagoya
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Well I thought at this point in our Japanese adventure that anywhere we went would be great... I was wrong. Nagoya, Japans fourth largest city, is a huge industrial centre that doesn't see many tourists and you can see why. It seems to lack the character and energy that epitomises so much of the rest of the country. Maybe the poor weather and recent economical downturn has helped in making this place look so unappealing, in any case we were here for just one day before hastily moving on.

Getting to Nagoya was more fun than actually being there. We took the Shinkansen (aka Bullet Train) from Kyoto, a unique train ride costing just under 40 pounds (80 Aussie Dollars) each for a mere 37 minutes on board. It's a great train experience however and one not to be missed if you're travelling in Japan. The trains are clean, reliable and fast. At peak time in the morning they were arriving every 3 minutes and they were arriving on time. Once on board the train, as you race to your destination at over 300km/h, the ticket inspectors and trolley dollies bow as they enter and exit your carriage. Standards are high. This is a train system like no other. For the businessmen who use it daily its efficiency is second to none.

Nagoya seems to lack the character and energy that epitomises so much of the rest of the country

Shinkansen arrivals board
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There were a couple of things worth checking out in Nagoya itself. The International Design Centre with its ingenious way of displaying so much in such a small area and the local cuisine specialising in cold noodle dishes. An acquired taste though I feel. There was not much else to keep us interested in this city, luckily Shannyn's favourite coffee shop, Tulley's, was on hand to fill the remainder of our time here. Next day we were off once more as we headed north to the Japanese Alps region, hoping for better things... Gary