Photo: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: LMP 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nagoya is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and Japan's fourth-largest city, home to about 2.34 million people and the centre of the Chūkyō metropolitan area of over 10 million — the country's third-largest. It sits on the Pacific coast of central Honshu, roughly midway between Tokyo and Osaka on the Tokaido Shinkansen, and its port handles more international trade by value than any other in Japan.
The city grew up as a castle town: in 1610 the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital of Owari Province here from Kiyosu and built Nagoya Castle, seat of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan. Much of the old city was destroyed in the air raids of 1945 — the castle's main tower burned and was rebuilt in concrete in 1959 — but the orderly street grid Ieyasu laid out still shapes downtown. Far older is Atsuta Shrine, one of Japan's most venerable shrines, traditionally dating to around 100 AD and home to the legendary sword Kusanagi.
Today Nagoya is Japan's great manufacturing city — Toyota, Brother and Lexus are among the giants headquartered in the region — and its food culture, Nagoya-meshi, is famous nationwide for bold red-miso flavours: miso-katsu, tebasaki chicken wings, hitsumabushi eel. The city is currently in the global spotlight as host of the 2026 Asian Games, being held across September and October 2026.
Population: 2337864 (2025).
Photo: Base64, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meijo 1-chome, Kita-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 462-0845
Built from 1612 as the seat of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan. The main tower was destroyed in the air raids of May 1945 and rebuilt in 1959; its pair of golden shachihoko roof ornaments is the symbol of the city. The Honmaru Palace, lost in the war, was faithfully reconstructed and reopened in 2018.
Category: castle
Photo: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jingu 1-chome, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 456-8585
The second-most venerable shrine in Japan after Ise, traditionally founded around 100 AD. It enshrines the legendary sword Kusanagi, one of the three imperial regalia of Japan, which is not on public display. The shrine hosts around 70 festivals a year.
Category: temple
Photo: Alan & Flora Botting, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Osu 2-chome, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 460-8799
A Buddhist temple originally built in 1333 and relocated to its present site in 1612. It anchors the Ōsu shopping district, a warren of covered arcades known for electronics, secondhand goods and street food.
Category: temple
Photo: Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kinjo-futo 2-chome, Minato-ku, Nagoya, Aichi
JR Central's railway museum at the port, opened in March 2011. The collection runs from historic steam locomotives to retired Shinkansen sets and maglev test vehicles.
Category: museum
Photo: Bariston, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Noritake-shinmachi 4-chome, Nishi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 451-0051
Set in a former Toyota textile mill near Nagoya Station, this museum traces the company's path from automatic looms to automobiles, with working textile machinery and hands-on technology exhibits.
Category: museum
Photo: Kansai explorer, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hisaya-odori, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0005
A steel broadcasting tower and landmark of the Sakae district, set in Hisaya-Odori Park at the heart of the downtown grid.
Category: landmark
Photo: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hisaya-odori, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0033
A modern multi-level public plaza in the Sakae district, next to Nagoya TV Tower, with shops and a bus terminal.
Category: landmark
Photo: Tomio344456, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tokugawa-cho, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-0022
The private museum of the Owari Tokugawa family, who ruled from Nagoya Castle for 16 generations. It holds 10 designated national treasures, including some of the oldest surviving scrolls of The Tale of Genji. The adjoining Tokugawa Garden is a traditional Japanese garden.
Category: museum
Photo: Tomio344456, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Minato-ku, Nagoya, Aichi
Opened in 1992 in the Port of Nagoya area, it has the largest tank capacity and total area of any public aquarium in Japan, and Japan's largest dolphin show tank. Home to around 50,000 animals across 500 species, including orcas and belugas.
Category: aquarium
A breaded pork cutlet served with a sweet, rich red-miso sauce — the signature dish of Nagoya-meshi.
Chicken wings marinated in a sweet-savoury sauce with sesame seeds and pepper — essentially Nagoya's take on yakitori.
Grilled unagi (freshwater eel) over rice in a lidded wooden container, eaten three ways: plain, with condiments, then with dashi poured over as ochazuke.
Firm udon noodles stewed in a red-miso broth and served still bubbling in a donabe earthenware pot.
Flat, slippery udon noodles in a light soy-based soup with sliced leek — served hot or cold.
The Nagoya Municipal Subway provides urban transit, complemented by JR, Meitetsu and Kintetsu rail lines and city buses. The orderly grid street plan laid out under Tokugawa Ieyasu makes central districts like Sakae easy to explore on foot.
| City | Distance |
|---|---|
| Kyoto | 102.8 km |
| Osaka | 136.5 km |
| Kobe | 162.7 km |
| Yokohama | 252.0 km |
| Tokyo | 257.1 km |
| Hiroshima | 413.5 km |
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