Never one to do things by halves, when my father decided he needed to climb Mt. Fuji before he died (see our trip here), he then went ahead to plan a tour to sites all over Japan. Or more to the point, he told me what he wanted to do and had me plan it. Not that I really minded, I know that there will not be many more chances to travel with my father.
But I knew his recent hip replacement would be a problem with all the steep stairs and ladders at Himeji Castle. Fortunately I was able to divert him by saying it was currently under renovations. I proposed Nagoya Castle, which unfortunately burned to the ground in World War II, but has subsequently been restored and looked pretty great in the photographs.
Nagoya Castle, Japan (Photo credit: jsteph)
We took the shinkansen to Nagoya, which was only about 2 hours form Tokyo. We planned to spend the night there, then continue south the following morning. So we stowed our luggage in a coin locker and went to the front of the station. Though there was public transportation to the castle, I opted to save my father’s limited endurance and hailed a taxi. It seems like they are everywhere in Japan, and though the driver did not speak English, he understood “Nagoya Castle” well enough and even pointed to some interesting buildings along the way.
Nagoya City Science Museum (Photo credit: morigamikenta)
It was amazing to see the castle rising above the surrounding modern buildings, out of place in the concrete jungle, but still commanding attention and respect. The white walls were topped with sweeping tile roofs, and at the top edges were the golden dolphin-like shachi which are said to protect buildings from fire. They didn’t help in the fire bombings of the war, but the new castle and shachi looked just like the originals; impressive symbols of power and authority.
Nagoya Castle with Shachi (photo: jpellgen/flickr)
We took several photos of the massive wooden gates, which were said to be original. but did not spend much time in the gardens. My father claimed a lack of interest, and I was happy to wait for other, more notable gardens on our journey. The main castle building was our goal.
Nagoya Castle Gate (photo: Damien Gabrielson/flickr)
Though my father didn’t bring his wheelchair, we took the special entrance with the ramp and he claimed his senior discount despite not having an official booklet from the city office, showing his passport instead.
Nagoya Castle Path to Gardens (photo: jpellgen/flickr)
The medieval exterior of Nagoya Castle was a sharp contrast from the modern, climate-controlled interior. I know many people complain that it does not look original, but we really enjoyed the museum which filled six of the seven floors. The elevator made it easy to get around, and we spent a lot of time looking at the armor and weapons.
Nagoya Castle Room Reconstruction (photo: kristi-san/flickr)
We really enjoyed the third floor, which had full-size replicas of stores and buildings, complete with sound effects and lighting, to give an impression of life centuries ago. On a different floor, photos of the original castle engulfed in flame sent shivers down my spine.
English: Burning Nagoya Castle (Author’s original scan image) 日本語: 空襲で炎上中の名古屋城 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The best part was the top floor, which had wide windows commanding views in all directions. There was no glass, only wood slats that did nothing to filter the wind blowing through. It felt wild and exotic, looking down over the ornate roof to the town far below. We could imagine Nagoya Castle sentries watching for enemies, minds filled with samurai of the past.
Nagoya Castle View of gardens and city (photo: neepster/flickr)
Meals can be a challenge because my father professes to not like foreign food, but seems to eat what is put in front of him. So we settled upon Coco Ichiban, a family restaurant chain that serves Japanese-style curry dishes. The place was clean and modern, but the menu was full of photos that looked very similar. Fortunately the young employee was studying English and walked us through the choices. There was a basic curry and rice dish that you could get in different sizes, levels of spice, and toppings. My father really enjoyed the Coco Ichiban mild curry with grilled, breaded chicken and cheese, while I opted for shrimp and vegetables and a lot more spice. I’m glad they set a pitcher of water on our table, it seems like usually there is only a small amount to drink with most meals we have found in Japan.
coco ichiban curry (Photo credit: petitshoo)
After eating and having a long rest, we took another taxi to Atsuta Shrine. This was a fairly large, park-like area with many buildings. We went to the main shrine first, which was all blond wood and bright cloth banners. It looked so new and vibrant, very unlike the weathered, dark shrines we had seen to date. Like Nagoya Castle, it had been destroyed in World War II, but here the restorations were not completed until only a few years ago.
Atsutsa Shrine in Japan (photo: rapidliner/flickr)
We heard that it was one of the three most important shrines in Japan because it housed one of the three imperial symbols, a sword. We did ask what the other two were, and found out that one is a mirror kept in Ise, and the other is a jewel kept at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. But actually, there is doubt about the latter’s existence, or even what it is. There is no plural in Japanese, so it could be “jewels” like a necklace.
Tsurumaru Bunchi Hyogo Chain Sword at Atsuta Shrine (photo: atsutajingu.or.jp)
Anyhow, because of the sword being there, many famous sword makers over the years have donated swords and asked for blessings of their work to Atsuta Shrine. So we went to the shrine treasure house, which was a small museum displaying a nice collection. The labels were in Japanese, but I could see the glint in my father’s eye as he looked at them all. I think he sometimes dreamed that he was a samurai in a past life. There were some other displays, but we were not excited about the documents, so went back outside for a stroll before calling it a day.
Celebrating Shichigosan (7-5-3) in Atsutsa (photo: JapanDave/flickr)
It was interesting to see all the sub-shrines and tea houses on the grounds. But what caught our attention most was a shrine that had a garage door on it. Apparently that is where people would bring a new car to have it blessed, protecting against accidents and so on. The god was originally the god of travel, but was adapted over time to cover cars, which we both agreed was extremely practical.
It was becoming later in the afternoon and my father was flagging, so we caught another taxi back to the station to collect our luggage and check in to our hotel. We would be leaving early in the morning, so opted for the Mariott Associa Hotel attached to the station which was a very nice hotel and had great service.
I settled my father in a plush chair in our room, next to a window with a beautiful view of the castle. He was already starting to nod off when I closed the door and went back to the station in search of some take-out food to eat in our room for dinner to end our day trip to Nagoya.
Nagoya Station Bento shop (photo: Cloudywind/flickr)
