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A great stop between Tokyo and Osaka, Nagoya tends to get ignored on most first-time traveler’s itineraries. It even took me until trip six to get there – and that was by accident! That meant I did not end up with enough time here to do everything I wanted. Here’s what you need to know to ensure you don’t do the same thing…
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
Quick Summary
The minimum amount of time you should spend in Nagoya to see the main sights is two whole days – but that won’t be enough to see all of the other cool things nearby, so once I discuss how to spend those first days, I’ll then talk about who might want to spend a bit longer in this fun town.
Nagoya’s highlights include its castle and museums, there’s a fun shopping area with some interesting shrines, and I loved wandering around the old, ungentrified area of Nagoya. It also has a unique food scene.
This alone is enough to fit into two days – but those who love quirky Japan, foodies, car fans, and/or all things Ghibli might need to stay a day or two longer. Read on to find out why.
My Experience in Nagoya
As I said, I ended up in Nagoya by accident. The original plan for my trip had been to start in Nagasaki, traveling down there in one day from Tokyo and coming back to Osaka – and I’d booked about half of the trip before we started doubting the wisdom of this decision.
Instead of going all the way south, we decided to start looking for somewhere between Tokyo and Osaka to stop, and as Mr Japlanease does not like nature, we needed a city. Ten minutes after looking at the map of Nagoya, we realized we’d found the perfect spot – ten days of looking at it, my list of things to do was getting longer, and I realized there was no way I was going to get all the cool stuff there done in the time I had – but I was going to give it a go.
How to Spend Two Days in Nagoya
If you want to cover the main sights in Nagoya, here’s how to do it in two days.
Day One
Start your day wandering Shikemachi and Endoji Shotengi Shopping Street. This ungentrified area is full of old wooden houses, tiny shrines, and local shops, and it’s fun to walk around watching the area wake up. See our guide to Endo-ji here so you know what to watch out for.
Then, head to Nagoya Castle. Walk back down through the Kinshachi Yokocho area, which is a convenient place to try some of the unique foods you find in Nagoya (more on those in a minute).
Now, jump on the train down to Osu. This area is teaming with shops containing everything from clothes to electronics – and is home to fun food trends like the cheese 100 yen coin that has long queues in Tokyo but not here in Nagoya!
Osu is also where you find two of Nagoya’s most interesting shrines, Osu Kannon and Banshoji. You can easily spend 2-3 hours in Osu finding everything hidden in the alleys and back streets here.
Depending on the time, you might be able to fit in Nagoya’s Science Museum before it closes at 5pm.
Spend your evening in the lively Sakae district – making sure you snap a picture of the famous Nagoya Tower on your way. If you’re braver than me, you might also want to walk on the glass floor of the cool Oasis 21 building.
Day Two
Spend the morning at one of Nagoya’s many museums. I picked the Maglev Museum, which is slightly out of town and so, takes up a full half day of your plans. This is all about Japan’s famous trains and answers the important question of what happens to the shinkansen in an earthquake.
The afternoon could be spent at another museum – the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology is fascinating and not just for people who like cars; visit the Science Museum if you didn’t get there yesterday, or the City Art Museum. The free Matsuzakaya Art Gallery also has some interesting exhibits.
‘Provided by Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
Or, visit Atsuta Jinju – Nagoya’s most important shrine.
Spend the evening in the Meieki area close to Nagoya Station.
4 Types of People Who Might Want to Spend Longer in Nagoya
1. Lovers of Quirk
My trip to Nagoya included quite a lot of the above, but it was mostly spent searching out quirky things in Nagoya – and this is why I did not have enough time there.
Nagoya has… deep breath… a shrine covered in boobs (Komakiyama Mama Kannon Buddha), a shrine dedicated to, erm, male parts (Tagata Shrine), a shrine dedicated to bunnies, one dedicated to dogs (Inu Shrine), and one that’s made for Instagram (Wakeoe Shrine).
If that sounds like your kind of holiday, there’s a plan here on how to visit all of Nagoya’s quirky shrines in half a day.
There’s a tiny statue in Osu of an old lady, which, if you rub it, gives you fashion sense. And, a short train ride away is the town of Tokoname, which is ostensibly famous for pottery but also has a statue of a giant waving cat – and many other fun touches.
If you want to do all of these things and take in the main sights of Nagoya, you need 3-4 days in Nagoya. I did not get everything I wanted to do done in the two and a half days I did have.
2. Petrolheads
Nagoya is home to Toyota Motor Company, and they have three museums with car displays in and around the city. If you want to cover all of these, you’ll need to add one more day to your plan – as two are a short train ride outside town, so it will take one and a half days to do them all.
The Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology is the easiest to visit as it is right in central Nagoya. This examines the history of the Toyota Company and is as interesting to non-car lovers as it is to petrolheads. It’s closed on a Monday (or Tuesday if Monday is a Japanese holiday). We explain how to build that into your itinerary – along with our other favorite Nagoya sites in our two-day plan to see the city.
Image: Tokyo Automobile Museum
If it’s shiny cars you want to see, the Toyota Kaikan Museum is about an hour’s train ride outside of town, located in the town of Toyota and adjacent to the company headquarters.
The Kaikan Museum also used to offer a plant tour, but they are currently redesigning this post-COVID – check the Toyota plant tour information on this page to see if they have reinstated them before your trip. If they haven’t, there’s also a virtual plant tour on that page. This is closed on Sundays.
The Toyota Automobile Museum (above) is the third museum you can visit, about 50 minutes from Nagoya Station.
It’s also closed on a Monday (or Tuesday if the Monday is a Japanese public holiday).
All of the above include cars for you to gaze at alongside information about Toyota technology.
3. Studio Ghibli Fans
Nagoya is home to the Ghibli Park, which is an immersive experience for Ghibli Fans – if you can get tickets.
Next March sees the final part of this, the Hill of Witches, open, so it will be close to a full-day experience.
Tickets are hard to get, and you need to buy them pretty much as soon as they go on sale – 2pm Japanese standard time on the 10th of the month of the day you want to visit (so, if you’re going in April, you want to buy them on the 10th of March).
Buy your Ghibli Park tickets here; if you miss out and plan to go to Nagoya, you can also buy accommodation packages that give you tickets – and they don’t sell out as quickly.
See more about Ghibli accommodation packages here.
As well as the Ghibli Park, don’t miss the Osu Mori no Kodama Cafe close to the Osu district. This is Ghibli-themed and absolutely adorable. All the meals relate in some way to the movies and are served with their respective characters.
You do need to book in advance via their X (Twitter) feed.
Foodies
Nagoya has a thriving food scene is famous for its cuisine, ‘Nagoya Meshi,’ which includes dishes you don’t see in other areas of Japan. These include stuffed chicken wings called Tebasaki, rice balls stuffed with tempura shrimp, miso katsu – breaded pork topped with a red miso sauce, and some tiny cakes shaped like chicks.
The two streets of Kinshachi Yokocho, which lead to and from Nagoya Castle, are good places to try many different Nagoya Meshi dishes in one area.
If you want to try Miso Katsu, the most famous chain in which to do so is called Yabaton, which is found all over the city and is famous for its pig motif.
However, I’d suggest taking a half-day food tour, which gives you the chance to sample all of the dishes and learn about the cuisine. One local company that offers these is the team behind the Nagoya is Not Boring website. Take a look at their Specialities of Nagoya tour.
You won’t have time to do this and all the sights in our original 2-day plan, so add half a day if you want to nibble your way around Nagoya.
Hopefully, this has tempted you to add Nagoya to your Japan trip. There’s still so much I need to do there that I need to go back and explore further.
What to Read Next
If this helped you decide how long to spend in Nagoya, you might want to check out our guide to deciding how to spend in some other Japanese cities – like Kyoto (at least four days is the answer – and we’ll explain why and how best to spend those in the post).
Or the big one – how to schedule your time in Tokyo.
Who Writes This Blog?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a journalist and author. My travel articles have appeared in publications including The Australian, Escape, RAC Horizons, Jetstar Magazine, Sainsbury’s Magazine, and more.
I’ve traveled to Japan eight times before – solo and with my partner and visited over 25 towns and cities. My last visit was November 2024 so, everything here is pretty up to date.
