For our little ones’ first trip to Japan, we chose Nagoya as our base. Nagoya is the fourth largest city of Japan and the capital of Aichi Prefecture.
You may ask why Nagoya? Not Tokyo? Tokyo with Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea should appeal very much to kids. Or maybe Osaka with Universal Studios Japan?
Well, we got to admit our promotional air tickets had a major part to play in influencing our choice. We managed to purchase tickets for 2 adults and 2 children to Nagoya via Thai Airways during December school holidays for S$1,550. The catch was we had to transit at Bangkok but the time in between the connecting flights was between 50 minutes to 1.5 hours and the flight path is also longer due to the route. In addition, we had to purchase the tickets months in advance; bought them almost 9 months ahead of travel date. Otherwise, it was a great deal for us. In comparison, the cheapest economy adult return ticket direct from Singapore to Nagoya via Singapore Airlines costs $628 on fare deals.
The actual planning of the places to visit came after our purchase of the tickets and took some cracking of brain cells. Nagoya may not have really big name attraction as compared to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, with the exception of maybe Nagoya Castle. But that suited us fine since it meant we need not contend with large tourists crowds.
Due to time constraint, we only visited Nagoya and Fukui, capital city of Fukui Prefecture. The prospect of visiting one of the top 3 largest dinosaur museum in the world in Fukui thrilled DL, a dinosaur-enthusiast who thinks paleontologists have the best job in the world. And for our 6D 5N trip, we spent an affordable S$860 per pax (read more about the cost breakdown at end of post).
Below was the itinerary for our 6D 5N trip to Nagoya, Japan. As with our earlier trips, we tried not to rush through the sights.
Day 1:
From Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport, we took an airport train along Meitetsu Line to Nagoya City, reaching the city in just 28 minutes of train ride. After checking in at the hotel, we went for a meal of miso katsu, one of Nagoya’s must-try. It is a meal of deep-fried breaded pork cutlet dressed with thick red miso sauce and eaten with shredded cabbage and rice.
Overnight at Daiwa Roynet Nagoya-Shinkansenguchi (walking distance from Nagoya Station).
Day 2:
SCMAGLEV and Railway Park
We started our exploration of Nagoya City with a visit to SCMAGLEV and Railway Park, a Railway museum owned by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The museum has 39 rolling stocks on display, including conventional carriages and Maglev.
After spending a good 4 hours in the Railway Park, we made a brief visit to Osu Kannon (Goddess of Mercy temple).
Late afternoon travel to Fukui. Overnight at Fukui Manten Hotel Ekimae.
Day 3:
Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum
A full day out Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, which is reputed to be the largest dinosaur museum in Japan and one of top three biggest in the world. The museum is also located near to the on-going excavation site. Despite its remote location in a mountainous area, it welcomes around 700,000 visitors annually.
Coincidentally, it snowed in the early afternoon, so we had some snow play outside the museum.
Overnight at Fukui Manten Hotel Ekimae.
Day 4:
Nihonkai Sakanamachi seafood market
We departed Fukui City for Nagoya in the morning. En-route, we visited Nihonkai Sakanamachi seafood market, a large scale seafood market in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture. The market has more than 60 establishment selling fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan. With a name that translates into ‘Sea of Japan’s Fish City’, the market stocks seafood direct from the port.
Nagoya TV Tower
After a satisfying seafood lunch, we continued our travel back to Nagoya. Evening visit to Nagoya TV Tower. Nagoya TV Tower is the first TV tower in Japan and one of Nagoya’s most recognisable landmark. Completed in 1954, the tower stands at 180 metres tall. This popular tourist attraction has an observation Sky Deck at 90 metres above ground and an open air Sky Balcony at 100 metres above ground.
Overnight at Daiwa Roynet Taiko dori Side (walking distance from Nagoya Station).
Day 5:
Nagoya Castle
The only full day in Nagoya, we visited Nagoya Castle in the late morning. Nagoya Castle was built in 1612 during Edo Period and was one of the largest castles in the country back then. The palace and main castle tower were designated as national treasures in 1930. However they were burnt down in 1945 during World War II. The current castle was rebuilt in 1959 with ferro-concrete.
Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology
With two Toyota museums and a Toyota plant in Nagoya open to visitors, we thought we should at least visit one of them. So we chose Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, which is nearer to Nagoya Train Station and our hotel. The museum traces the history of Japanese industrial development and Toyota Corporation’s growth from a spinning and weaving company to a car manufacturer.
We also did some shopping for gifts at Nagoya Train Station before we called it a day.
Overnight at Daiwa Roynet Taiko dori Side (walking distance from Nagoya Station).
Day 6:
Head for home after breakfast with a late morning flight.
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How much did we spend on a trip like this?
An affordable S$860 per pax, excluding souvenirs and gifts. Here’s the cost breakdown:
- Air Tickets: S$1600
- Accommodation: S$645
- Transport: S$540
- Food: S$460
- Admission Charges: S$145
- Miscellaneous (such as lockers and laundry): S$50
- Total Cost: S$3440 for 4 persons
To keep cost low, we
- took public transport to get from place to place,
- ate at mass market eateries
- stayed in 3-star business hotels (hotels chosen based on proximity to main train station)
- we took 2 hotel rooms with 2 adults and 1 child in each room (travelling party of 4 adults and 2 children)
- breakfast excluded only during our stay at Daiwa Roynet Taiko dori Side