Nagoya

I took a rapid train from Nakatsugawa station near Magome directly to Nagoya.  It took about an hour.  The Nagoya train station is crowded.  Nagoya is the third largest city in Japan.  It is the headquarters of Toyota Motor Company.  According to the map, it should be about a 10 minute walk to the Toyoko Inn where I am staying.  But it never work out that way.  The map seems to take me on a detour before I finally found a Toyoko Inn.  But it's the wrong hotel.  The one that my friend Soon Kuan booked me in is across the street.  After about 30 minutes I checked into the hotel.

Toyoko Inn is like Motel 6 in the US.  It's a budget hotel, catering to mostly single business travelers. Nothing fancy.  Just a nice clean room with a your own bathroom and toilet and a simple breakfast in the morning.  The staff is friendly and polite.  Like all things Japanese, they pay attention to all the little details, especially cleanliness.  They even have laundry facilities, where I did my 1-week collection of dirty clothes.

A simple breakfast of vegetables and bread at the hotel

We looked for a restaurant for dinner.  Soon Kuan has traveled in Japan many times and love traveling in the small towns and cities.  According to her, typically on the upper floor of a shopping center, there will be a food court or several restaurants.  We went to one next to the train station and found a nice French restaurant.  It doesn't make sense to be eating French food in Japan but here we are with the best possible choice of what is available.  It wasn't expensive, by Japanese standards.  About 3,000 yens or close to US$30 for the dinner.

Nagoya Train Station

Inside the station

It was cloudy the next morning.  We decided to walk to the nearby market.  This is a much smaller version of the Tokyo Fish Market but it still offers an interesting glimpse of what the Japanese love about their food.  Seafood dominates what's being sold here.  They are used for sashimi, sushi, or any version of Japanese cuisine.  Nagoya is supposed to be known for their eel, or unagi in Japanese.  Perhaps that explains why the Japanese are so healthy; many of them living to almost 100 years old.  Plus their food is not greasy at all.  The western world is starting to learn that red meat is not good for you.  The Japanese have known this for a long, long time.

Eels are a popular dish

Mackerels are usually grilled

Many varieties of seaweed are available

Some friends of Soon Kuan's are traveling with her in Japan.  It was going to rain that afternoon so in the morning, while it's still dry, we decided to take a walk in the pottery district.  This is an area where there are many kilns and pottery shops.  None of us bought anything.  It's hard to be lugging around souvenirs while you are traveling.  Besides, I have enough junk at home.  My experience with souvenirs is they look interesting when you first see them but after 2-3 years, they belong to the trashcan or junkyard.

Hello!

Pottery as art

Old pottery are reused to line the walls of an alley

Some interesting artwork

A kiln

It rained in the afternoon.  We had no choice but find an indoor activity.  Toyota Motor Company had its start here in Nagoya.  I think its headquarter is still here.  We decided to visit the Toyota Museum. I drive a 13-year Toyota Camry in the US and it is still a very reliable car.  I keep thinking of a reason to buy a new car but the Camry just keeps running and running.  So it's interesting for me to see the connection between my old car and where it originated from.

I did not know that Toyota started as a textile machinery maker.  The son of the founder had the foresight in the 1930s' to see that automobiles was going to become big.  On a couple of tours to Britain and the US, he learned about car manufacturing.  Well, the rest is history.  Toyota has been the largest car manufacturer in the world for many years, until it was overtaken by Volkswagen (through acquisitions).  It is best known for its quality.  I can understand why now that I've spent quite a bit of time in Japan.  Their attention to detail is incredible, even for their cleanliness in the bathrooms and trains.  No wonder their cars are always the best-selling cars in the US.  No wonder my car is still running well after 13 years.

A machine making yarns

Demonstrating the weaving process

A Toyota engine

Old models of Toyotas

Nagoya is a well-planned urban city, boasting several modern buildings and an impressive train station.  Obviously, there are more places of interest than the two that I've been to.  One of the best known is the Ise Grand Shrine, about two hours away by car.  There is also the Nagoya Castle, Tokugawa Art Museum and Garden, Koshoji Temple, Toganji Temple, Nagoya City Museum, etc.  Like most places I visited, I wish I had more time and the weather was good.  From Nagoya I head to Nara, another popular tourist destination.