Oz Mall: Open Air Mall Experience

Japanese Required: None to moderate depending on shopping

The Oz Mall is an open air mall located a short walk from Ozone station. The street is lined with a multitude of different shops, ranging from shoe stores to floral shops. To walk down the entire way and enjoy everything can take anywhere between ten minutes to half an hour or more depending on your interest. The main reason this is called Oz Mall actually has little to do with Ozone: there are several statues featuring scenes from The Wizard of Oz.

There are many statues of Dorothy, of course, but the one that I found most interesting was actually a little bit out of the way. Most of the statues are straight down along the street, but the one above was to the side and placed amidst a gorgeous display of flowers. I found it to be the best of the statues due to the pretty background. Aside from the statues, there were other displays of artistry (not least of which is the Oz Mall sign itself).

A prime example of this would definitely have to be a mural that was painted on the side of a three story floral shop. It was closed at the time that I went there, so I don't know how many of the floors are accessible to customers, but the mural was amazing. I've seen a few mural art paintings before, but most of them did not have the same  style. In my opinion, this was the most interesting of the things that can be seen at Oz Mall.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience, and the location lends itself especially well to someone interested in taking their significant other out on a date. The atmosphere is relaxed, and it's possible to have a leisurely walk around and explore a multitude of various stores before deciding to have a light snack at a cake shop / cafe or a full meal at a nearby restaurant.

Kamimaezu: Orchid Garden

Japanese required: Almost none
Recommended for: flower lovers, couples, people looking to spend a relaxing hour or two

The orchid garden in Kamimaezu is full of beautiful arrangements. The place is relatively small, but it can take up to an hour or more to fully enjoy everything it has to offer.There is both an interior and an exterior portion to the orchid garden: the majority of the orchids are located inside, but there is plenty of other plant life to enjoy outside as well.

 I spent the majority of my time inside the orchid garden itself, taking a multitude of close up pictures of the different flowers (most of which I hadn't seen before). They were all tagged with their scientific names, so I don't remember any of them. Everywhere that I turned, there was a splash of colors varying from purples to whites and reds. I'm not entirely sure how they decided the placements, but it made for a very pleasant atmosphere. Even though there were quite a few people there with me, the placement of the different flowers made it feel very private.

Although I was inside for a long time, outside of the orchid building there was an open space with a very pleasant garden. Miniature waterfalls and lush, vibrant greenery made up almost half of the entire orchid garden complex. There were several pathways that led behind the greenery, some of which had benches to sit on and just soak in the calm, soothing atmosphere of the place. The scenery was picturesque, and the different displays came together very nicely.

Overall, I'd recommend the Orchid Garden to anyone with an interest in spending a relaxing afternoon or evening alone or with another person.

Little World of Man

Japanese Required: Moderate

Cost: 1,600 for adults and college students, 1000 for high school students, 600 for junior high, and 300 for children
Recommended for: groups, families, history buffs, people interested in eating food from different cultures

On one of my many attempts to visit Inuyama castle, I ended up at the little world museum of man. First off, let me say that I have no idea why, whenever I suggest visiting Inuyama castle, my friends always have some place in Inuyama that is "better."  According to H, it’s not worth visiting because  it's small, other castles are more interesting, and so on and so forth. Let’s see... I’ve been to Ukai fishing, water rafting, and the little world museum of man and outdoor museum of man throughout time.

The place is massive, so be ready to walk around a lot in order to see everything the place has to offer. Most of the outside exhibits are buildings showing how people lived in the past or small patches of flowers, which are lovely if you go when they are in bloom and do not allergies but not really impressive when compared to gardens you can see more conveniently elsewhere. The main reason I would suggest doing the walkabout outside is to experience food from many different cultures. Bring an appetite - there's at least five restaurants. The traditional exhibit halls were rather unimpressive to me with the exception of the hall of masks.

I really enjoyed variety in masks between cultures even though many of them revolved around the same ideas: demons, spirits, and gods. Looking at the make of the masks helped me feel like I was more truly connecting to the cultural and spiritual aspects of by-gone eras. Even with the same materials used (wood, most commonly), the textures and chosen colors and effects had such diversity that it was hard to believe that the masks and statuettes came from the same stuff. It gave me perspective that even with the same ideas, every person will have a different way to represent it.

All in all it wasn’t a bad of an experience and, if you know what to expect, can be quite enjoyable. I had the misfortune of going after eating a big meal. Don't make the same mistake I did! I think this is a good place for families, groups or exploring on your own if you have a day to kill and don’t want to spend all that much money.

Nagoya Castle: Modernized, but Historical

Japanese Required: Minimal
Cost: 500 yen for adults, free for junior high children or younger, with discounts for groups of 30 or 100
Good for: Groups, people interested in history, people that like art

Nagoya castle, despite its age, is not considered by many people I talk to as being a worthwhile place to go to because it has been renovated and changed. However, after having gone there, I believe it's still a great place. The major difference between Nagoya castle and other castles is it doesn't have the same feeling of age. This is contrasted with slightly more comfort, and the castle itself is reminiscent of a museum. When walking around the grounds, there's not many hints of the modernization that has happened elsewhere, and the greenery is beautiful.

Upon entering the castle walls, there's a separate area (the guest house) that has the rooms used in the past, and their decorated sliding doors, on display. With the very subtle lighting changes between rooms, each illustration is stunning. The colors in all of them are very vibrant. Animals were depicted in almost all of the pieces, but my favorite was of a tree. The lighting gave it an especially pretty glow that made it pop more then the others. The best aspect of it had to be the feeling that I was seeing the sun climb over the clouds thanks to the great positioning for the shaded and lighter areas.

The guest house is small, so going through it shouldn't take more than five to ten minutes for most people. After the gardens and the house, there's the castle itself. Nagoya Castle had six accessible floors when I went there, and each floor had something interesting on display. Displays ranged from old suits of armor and weapons to architectural models and works of art. I'm a big fan of old weaponry in part because of sense of permanency to them and in part because the way that the Japanese treated weapon creation as an art form led to many beautiful swords and spears. In addition to the works of art, a fair amount of actual history is explained in both English and Japanese.

Izakaya: The Japanese Tavern

Japanese Required: A lot
Good for: Everyone

If you stay in Japan for a while, you'll probably hear the term "Izakaya" a lot. "Izakaya" in Japanese translates to "Tavern" in English, and they are truly the taverns of Japan. You can find Izakaya restaurants everywhere in Japan: down side-streets, near train stations, in rural areas, in urban areas, etc. They are almost certainly more common in Japan than fast food places.

All Izakaya restaurants are essentially the same. They usually serve food on skewers, rice, and miso soup. They also serve edamame (soya beans). The food is served family-style, and there are usually several different types of meat on each skewer rather than a single place having multiples of the same kind. You can almost always order some sort of fried food, and assorted alcohol is the norm.

I have been to many different Izakaya restaurants around Nagoya as well as to one in Inuyama. Although they are all the same food, each restaurant has slight differences to match the place they were built. The restaurant in Inuyama was a more intimate, close seating style that was suited toward families or close friends. The atmosphere was very comfortable and bright, and our table was actually sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant via sliding doors. This gave it a very personal feel even though, just a couple feet away, there were at least two or three other tables with people seated in their own sectioned off areas. Meanwhile, a place in Sakae had more open style seating.

Something to note about Izakaya restaurants is that they very often have traditional Japanese seating arrangements, which means no chairs. If you aren't used to sitting on a cushion, then adjusting might be a little bit difficult. Although the place in Sakae was more open, the space made it feel less comfortable and relaxed. This was in part due to, despite having a private seating area, being able to hear and see the other people in the restaurant whereas, in Inuyama, I had the feeling of just being with my friends.

I would have enjoyed the one in Sakae if I was eating alone because I would still feel apart of the buzz and would most likely have been invited to join in some of the conversation. I recommend the one in Inuyama (or similar ones) for eating with friends and wanting that tavern feel while having some privacy. Check them out and decide for yourself which you like more.

Komeda's Coffee: Not just a coffee shop

Japanese Required: Moderate

Komeda's coffee is a well known place in Japan to get coffee. When I went there, I was expecting to smell coffee thick in the air and see mostly light snack foods and the like.  This, however, was not the case. The smell was not rich with the scent of coffee despite the place being so full I had to wait a while to be seated. The inside had soft mood lighting, and it had a very relaxed atmosphere. Part of this was the fact that elderly Japanese people filled most of the seats, and they always give off the full extent of their relaxation in how they hold themselves (and how intense their conversations are). Once I was finally seated, I got treated to a surprise via the menu.

Yup. Komeda's coffee is a sandwich shop! The place sells hamburgers, egg salad sandwiches, and other, similar stuff. In addition to these normal sandwiches and such, there's the option to have the Komeda Pizza. I'm personally not a fan of burgers, so I went with some toast and the pizza. The pizza had some green bell peppers (very little, so it was hardly spicy), onions, and ham pieces. Meanwhile, the toast had two options: cut into four slices or kept as two normal slices. I opted for four slices because I have a habit of spreading too much butter on normally sized toast.

The pizza didn't have much sauce or cheese, so most of the actual substance came from the bread. The entire pizza was slightly chewy rather than the crispier versions you might get from pizza hut. The toast was pretty normal as far as toast goes, and they supplied enough of both jam and butter. The pizza also came with tabasco and a packet of lightly salted peanuts. I, being a salt addict, loved the peanuts.

Overall, Komeda's Coffee was a pleasant experience. The food was alright, I received both my pizza and my toast in less than the amount of time I spent waiting, and the serving staff was responsive when I asked questions (like "what is in the special Komeda Pizza?"). I wouldn't recommend that anybody go out of their way to eat here, but, if you're in the area and want to take a brief coffee break, Komeda's Coffee is not a bad choice.

Noritake Craft Center: Ceramics

Japanese required: A little
Cost: 800 yen or more per person (depending on purchases)
Good for: Single people, couples, or groups up to about ten people

The Noritake Craft Center is a place filled with ceramics and ceramics related information and history. Since the craft center is located in a garden park of sorts, it has a rather relaxing atmosphere when walking between the buildings. The craft center is made up of two central buildings, a welcome building, two restaurants, and a couple of shops. To explore everything at a leisurely pace took me roughly four to five hours. There is one area where the exhibit actually changes regularly, and it seems to only have a slight relation to the rest of the craft center.

When I went to that place, the exhibition was for flower arranging. There were a lot of really amazing displays, ranging from smaller ones to large, elaborate set ups. I think one of the most fascinating was one that actually used shadows as part of the exhibit. I found it really amazing how they used the placement of the flowers to create the body of a person. Although there were other flower arrangements that, in my opinion, were more in line with what I would imagine as "traditional" flower arranging, I found this display in particular to be interesting because of how different it was. A more usual flower arrangement has about three main "branches" that the plants are grouped in, which are at different elevations and placed in particular directions to try and match the Japanese concept of artistically creating peace and serenity within oneself.

The majority of places in the craft center don't allow pictures to be taken, so keep this in mind when you go. There isn't really much to take pictures of outside of the places that they you can't take pictures, but you might be interested in taking pictures of the garden itself rather than the ceramics displays. There's a fountain that comes on in the afternoon/evening, which is rather picturesque. There's also several trees and outside displays that might be of interest. Since I went about a month before Christmas, there were actually wooden reindeer on display outside in several places. They weren't terribly interesting, but there might be other displays during other parts of the year that are enjoyable to look at.

The most interesting place in the Noritake Craft Center was the museum, which was a no-picture zone. Inside, there were several displays of the machinery used in making ceramic dishes and vases, along with textual and visual explanations (some text was translated to English, but not all). There were also people actually doing several of the jobs described within plain sight, which was fun to watch. The most amazing part was definitely when they actually showed some finished works. They had jaw dropping, gorgeous vases and plates on display. Each one was a wonderful work of art in and of itself, and I was really sad that I couldn't take any pictures.

The other main attraction is a sort of science museum-esque building. Inside, there's a bunch of English or Japanese exhibits (the language of which changes depending on which language card you get at the front desk). You go to different parts, called zones, and swipe your card over the indicated locations to get some instructions for how to interact with the display. There's also quite a bit of English explanation written down for various things, which made this the best place to actually learn about ceramics, and it is also the best place to take children due to the interactive nature of everything. To just walk around takes hardly any time (three to ten minutes, tops), but interacting with everything and listening to / watching all of the video explanations can eat up a couple of hours very easily. There's a place to sit in the middle, so there's no need to worry about getting tired from standing around and listening to all of the explanations.

I really liked the Noritake Craft Center. It's a great place to go for a six hour day of seeing different things about ceramics, and there's also a lot of ceramic dishes and such for sale (they are beautiful, but expensive - the lowest priced items were about 8000 yen, and the highest were upward of 100 thousand yen). I would recommend it to anybody to go at least once.

The Shidax Karaoke Club Experience

Japanese Required: Some

I went to my first karaoke experience with a group of friends in the afternoon. I was actually very surprised by the room that we had. My mental image of a Karaoke place was darker and more in line with a bar that had a singing stage. Instead, the room was bright and comfortable, and people sang at their seats. My friends and I had Japanese-style brunch at the club: a boxed lunch of food with a drink and some miso soup. There was enough space for everyone to eat at their seats, and people kept singing even while the others were eating.

The machine to pick songs had both Japanese and English menus along with songs for both languages, ranging from old (more than a couple decades ago) to somewhat new (in the last five years). At first, I was very nervous about singing in front of other people, and hearing my voice coming from the speakers didn't help. As everyone sang and laughed in both English and Japanese, I warmed up to the experience. The atmosphere being so relaxed and comfortable brought me out of my shell despite my inability to sing well. In the end, I probably sang the most out of anybody in the group.

The karaoke atmosphere was a pleasantly different surprise, and I ended up having even more fun than I expected. Everyone sang at least twice, and we ended the day by singing some Christmas songs together. I would definitely recommend trying out karaoke to anyone that wants to spend a few hours relaxing with friends. After such a great experience, I really feel ready to sing more. Maybe next time I'll sing some songs in Japanese!

Tokugawa Art Museum and Garden

Japanese required: Some

Art museum cost (per person): 1200 for adults, 1000 for seniors (66 years of age or older), 700 for students (high school / college), 500 for children (ages 7-14)

Garden cost (per person) for non-local people below the age of 65: 300 for small groups / individuals, 270 for large groups (20 or more), 240 for huge groups (100 or more) - Note that the price is the same regardless of age

Cost for both: 1,350

Good for: Single people, couples

The Tokugawa Art Museum and Garden is a combination of both natural and artificial beauty. The garden is very beautiful and gives the feeling of being "away" from the noise and atmosphere of modern cities while barely being separated from the rest of Nagoya by a small wall. On the other hand, the art museum shows a wide display of human artistry ranging from swords to poetry. Between the two, I find the garden to be more of a place that I could visit several times and still enjoy.

The garden is big enough that, if you want to, you can spend about fifteen minutes enjoying one side, go to the museum, and save the other side for another visit. When I first walked in, I got a good view across a small lake (more of a large pond really). There were a lot of carp in the lake, and the sunlight actually reflected in interesting ways on the rocks (unfortunately, my camera couldn't catch the visual effect). The area around the lake includes several places to sit and a wide variety of trees. The most interesting aspect of the lake is probably looking across it: the way the sun hits the water is really enjoyable.

On one side of the lake, there's a sizable  number of trees with pathways leading through them. I ended up taking the most time here, in part because of a few waterfalls and in part because of the atmosphere being so serene. I waited until nobody else was around and sat down to just soak in the feeling of being there. There were seats directly in front of what was, in my opinion, the best of the waterfalls in the garden. The sound of the water combined with the sounds of nature was relaxing. I'd definitely recommend going to the Tokugawa garden by yourself or with one or two other people for a relaxing walk.

The Tokugawa art museum is a pretty interesting place. The first time I went there, I actually got lost because of the way the exhibits are displayed. You have to walk in a pretty specific order to make sure you see everything and reach the exit. The exhibits themselves ranged from very interesting to me to uninteresting. I found the displays of swords and other weapons from long ago to be enjoyable, along wit looking at old paintings and portraits. There were also a lot of beautiful dishes and ink stone holders. On the other hand, the displays of old Japanese poetry and novels and the like were dull because I am not yet able to read them. The old Japanese writing style looked messy to me, and the main art of it all is the writing. There were a few rooms with t.v. displays / audio recordings to explain things in Japanese as well. Although the museum's at least twenty minutes' worth of entertainment, it's not really someplace I'd recommend doing with other people.

Osukannon: More a marketplace than a temple

Japanese required: None

Cost: Temple is free to enter, Shopping options vary from a 100 yen store to a gemstone and jewelry shop (costs varying from 5000 yen to upwards of 3 million yen)

Good for: Everyone

There are two parts to Osukannon: the marketplace and the temple. The shopping street was the more interesting of the two experiences for me, so I'll start by talking about that.

The marketplace is runs the length of a street right outside one of the Osukannon temple exits. I had a lot of fun just walking up and down and looking at all the different shops. They were mostly clothes shops, but even the variety of clothing was interesting. It ranged from casual, more Western clothing (jean jackets, levi's, etc) to kimonos and full length dresses. Most of the clothing stores were surprisingly cheap (the kimono and dress ones being exceptions), ranging from 700 to 5000 yen depending on whether clothing was branded or unbranded.

There were a couple of stores that were unique: a wooden toy store and a gem / jewelry shop. The toy store had puppets, shape blocks, figurines, a rocking horse, and several other types of wooden creations. It's a small store (barely room for five people inside), but the variety was enjoyable.

I call it a jewelry and gem shop, but they had a much larger selection than that. In the shop, they sold life sized statues of dogs, paintings, necklaces, and a lot of other things that would take too long to even list. Even if you don't plan to buy anything, simply looking around is a treat all on its own (be careful, though: no pictures allowed). It's possible to spend five or more minutes just looking at all the things sold here.

A store that might be of interest for anybody looking for more general things would be the 100 yen shop. When I walked around, there was a variety of toys and things for children (ranging from small toys to magic card decks). They also sold stationary, pots and pans, normal dishes, and other household goods.

Aside from all of the different stores and such, there's also a large number of food stalls. Almost all of the stalls sell different food, including hot dogs (with Japanese toppings), ice cream, hamburgers, fruit smoothies, and more. The places have a small seating area, so it's simple to just stop at one, grab some food, and take a break after walking around.

I actually had no intention to stop at any of these places at first. Then I got called out to by a pair of very friendly Turkish guys (in English no less) working at a place called Mega Kebab. They talked with me for a while, made recommendations about what to order, and shared some information about themselves (in Japanese). In the end, I only had a coke because I had eaten earlier, but the food looked good and they were great guys.

One of them actually tried to set me up with a girl when a couple of them came into the shop. He initiated this by asking them if they're interested in foreign guys, if they liked being talked to while eating, and a bunch of questions about themselves. Then he turned to me and gestured toward them. Although it was awkward, I did talk with the girls a little before they left.

The temple was a very different experience from what I was expecting. Although the Osukannon temple is large, most of it isn't available to the public. When I walked through the different parts of the temple that were accessible, it took roughly fifteen minutes total. Entry to the temple is free, and there are a sizable number of events that happen there. It's worth it to go two or three times to experience festivals and flea markets. The temple sells candles made by the monks, from a small 500 yen size to a very large 2500 yen size. I don't know if they're scented or what they're made of, but you can find out for yourself when you go (they are on display). There are also several talismans and good luck charms for sale, and you can buy a bundle of incense sticks to burn in the temple.

On a normal day, the temple is rather boring to me, but I have also been there on a flea market day. When a flea market is going on, the temple courtyard becomes packed with stalls and people. The things being sold vary, but I saw Japanese style bracelets and Seto-style plates as well as children's toys and figurines. Just a warning to families: I did see some pornography on sale. Overall, the flea market took me an extra twenty minutes of just looking around all the stalls.

I quite enjoyed my experiences at Osukannon, and I would definitely recommend it for people who have a few hours to spare. It's an adventure if you're willing to be adventurous, and it's just a relaxing time if you want to relax.