Nagoya, Japan: Japan's Fourth City, Underappreciated and Well Worth Your Time

Nagoya Castle is the city's central landmark — a 17th-century fortress with distinctive golden shachi (tiger-fish) ornaments on the roof that have become the city's symbol. The original castle was destroyed in the 1945 bombing raids and rebuilt in concrete in 1959, but the scale and the grounds remain impressive. A restoration project is underway to rebuild the main keep in traditional wood construction; parts of the complex may be under scaffolding depending on when you visit. The castle grounds take about ninety minutes to explore comfortably.

The Atsuta Shrine is one of Japan's most sacred Shinto sites — second in importance only to Ise Grand Shrine — and houses one of the three Imperial Treasures of Japan, though the object itself is not publicly displayed. The shrine complex is a large forested park in the southern part of the city, about 20 minutes from the port by subway. The forest walk through the grounds is calm and genuinely different from the urban commercial districts around it.

Nana-chan is the 6-meter-tall model figure standing outside Nagoya Station that functions as an unofficial city mascot and a meeting point for locals. Worth a glance if you are passing through the station area. Nagoya Station itself is enormous — one of the world's largest train stations — and the underground shopping complex beneath it handles almost all consumer shopping categories.

Nagoya food is a distinct regional cuisine with its own character. Miso katsu — pork cutlet served with a thick hatcho miso sauce — is the signature dish. Hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice, eaten in three stages) and Nagoya cochin chicken are two more specialties. Yabaton, Misokatsu Yabaton, and Sekai no Yamachan (for chicken wings in a distinctive spicy soy sauce) are all restaurant chains that started here and expanded nationally. The Sakae district has the highest density of good mid-range options.

The Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology is on the site of Toyota's original textile loom factory. It traces the shift from automated weaving to automobile production with working machinery and interactive exhibits. It is more interesting than it sounds and particularly worthwhile for anyone with an interest in industrial history or manufacturing.