Top Reasons to Visit

Top Reasons to Visit

The Shrine of Shrines

South of Nagoya are the Grand Shrines of Ise. The shrines, rebuilt every two decades for the last 1,500 years, are the most sacred in Japan. Naiku, the Inner Shrine, is dedicated to the worship of Amaterasu, the sun goddess and highest Shinto deity.

Crafty Shopping

Nagoya has the world's largest producer of porcelain, Noritake, and the nearby towns of Seto, Tajimi, and Tokoname have famous ceramics traditions as well. Arimatsu offers tie-dyed fabric, Gifu makes paper lanterns and umbrellas, and in Seki samurai swords are still forged the traditional way.

See Japan at Work & Play

Nagoya, with its comfortable size, is the perfect place to sample contemporary Japanese culture. Factory tours are available at Toyota, Noritake, and major brewers Asahi and Kirin. Sports include the annual sumo tournament in July and Chunichi Dragons baseball games.

Relive Japan's Modernization

In the green hills outside Inuyama city is Meiji-mura, an open-air architectural museum with more than 60 buildings from the Meiji era (1868-1912) that were brought from all over the country and lovingly reconstructed. Highlights include the foyer of Frank Lloyd Wright's stunning Imperial Hotel and a still-functioning kabuki theater.

Eating Fish from the Bird's Mouth

Ukai takes the twin Japanese obsessions of patience and idiosyncratic dining to their natural extreme. Cormorants attached to leashes capture ayu (sweetfish) lured to the surface by the light of a fire from a boat. Rings around the birds' necks prevent them from swallowing their catch, which are taken from their mouths by fishermen.