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.

The Nagoya Aquarium: fish

Japanese required: Moderate (Must be able to speak to get in, the rest of the aquarium does not require Japanese)
Cost: Aquarium is 2000 for adults and high school students, 1000 for elementary to junior high students, 500 for children aged 4 and older. Three attractions and the aquarium costs 2400 for adults and high school students, 1200 for elementary to junior high, and are free for children aged 4 and older.
Good for: Anyone

Every time I've gone to a foreign country, or even a new place in a country, I try to go to the aquarium. Combined with going there once or twice with friends, I've been to the Nagoya Aquarium several times.The Aquarium's split into two parts: a northern building and a southern one. The displays between the two buildings are rather different: the larger animals (dolphins, orcas, beluga whales) are in the northern building while the smaller fish are in the southern building.

 I personally never really found the larger animal exhibits to be as interesting as the smaller fish at aquariums. Pretty much every aquarium will have dolphins, so they're not really anything new. One thing in the northern building that would have been extremely interesting to me would have been seeing some beluga whale babies, which was advertised on a sign. I was disappointed when I saw there were no beluga whale babies.

There's also the very common dolphin show, where they make the dolphins spin around in the water, catch frisbees, leap out of the water to touch balls suspended in the air, and the like. It might be worth watching a bit of the dolphin show even if you've seen the show many times to experience the slightly different ambiance of it being in Japanese instead of English. The seating area for the dolphin show is also the most comfortable place in the aquarium, so resting there isn't a bad idea even if you don't plan to watch the show.

The smaller fish exhibits were more interesting to me. There were quite a few fish that I'd seen before, but they were still interesting. There was a series of exhibits devoted to jellyfish, which is always fun. It was unfortunately too dark to take pictures of the jellyfish because a few of them glowed. There were also some long nosed fish (I don't know their name), which were fascinating when I first saw them and are still rather fun to look at. They hardly move in the water, but that only made it easier to look at them in a more close up environment, since they were held in a circular tank that I could look at from different angles.

The single most interesting exhibit for me was seeing an eel through a tank that had the under-ground portion visible as well. I've seen plenty of eels before, large and small, but I hardly ever get to see how they move their bodies below-ground. Their movements don't really change, but it's still fun to watch an eel swim up and down out of a hole for a few minutes.

The aquarium was quite a bit of fun for about two hours' worth of time. I'd recommend it for people who like dolphin shows, turtles, penguins, small fish, or have kids that they need to entertain for a while.

Kiso River Boat Ride

 
Japanese required: Moderate
Cost: 3400 for adults, 1700 for children
Good for: Everyone

The Kiso river runs through Inuyama. Inuyama is a quaint rural village with many different things to do and see. You can easily visit this town many times and find something new every time. The kiso river boat is a great way to spend the day. The meitetsu train ride there from Kanayama is 39 minutes and costs 650 yen. The bus that takes you to the loading dock for the river boat ride is a 5 minute walk from the Meitetsu InuyamaYuen station east exit and has a nice waiting area.

The view from the indoor waiting area makes it ideal for a picnic. There are plenty of tables, and they sell beverages and snacks. I packed a picnic lunch and was able to enjoy the full meal while waiting for the bus. The bus to the dock leaves roughly every 30 minutes and my group decided to let one bus go before leaving. This allowed us to have the place to ourselves, and it would be romantic if you were on a date. If you speak Japanese, you can have a friendly conversation with the couple that runs the bus stop and learn about the woman's homemade ginger "dog candy." The actual boat ride is about an hour.

It is a very calm and relaxing ride with a few small "rapid" areas. The drivers know a lot, but they can only speak Japanese. Even if you don't understand what they are saying, the many sights are impressive and enjoyable. I would suggest visiting the website for anyone that doesn't speak Japanese but still wants to know the history and some of the information shared by the drivers.

Overall, it is an enjoyable ride and I would recommend it for anyone.

Jokoji: Hiking and the Temple

Japanese required: Moderate
Cost: Transportation from your location to Jokoji
Good for: Everyone

Jokoji is a great hiking area with many scenic views. The actual hiking is not particularly tiring, so it's good even for people who have kids or aren't very athletic. I went to Jokoji near the beginning of Winter, so the leaves were changing colors, and it was very beautiful. All told, the hiking along with the temple took about four hours. I went with a group of people, so it probably took longer than it would have if I was by myself.

At the Jokoji station (which took 20 minutes to reach by train from Ozone), there's a really good view that exemplifies the beauty of the area. To actually start hiking, you have to cross a bridge. The stream below had very clean looking water, and the rocks were practically shining in the sunlight. The view made me have a very optimistic outlook on the beauty of the rest of the hiking trip, and I was not disappointed in the least. If anything, the rest of Jokoji had sights that were more spectacular than the one at the beginning.

The hike up the mountain had mostly light inclines, and several locations had stone steps in place to make it easier (though I hate steps, personally). After a bit of hiking, there's actually a very gorgeous lake and park. The lake itself isn't very big, but the view across it to the park and the tree covered mountain behind it was really fantastic. The park also made for a great picnic spot: there were several groups of people picnicking, and my group did the same thing. The air was very clear, and it felt very refreshing to relax after walking for a while.

After enjoying the picnic, my group went to Jokoji temple. The trip to the temple was the hardest because there were actual stairs instead of just an incline. The multitude of steps made the tip up rather painful and exhausting whereas the hike up the mountain had been a kind of leisurely strolling experience. That being said, the temple itself was gorgeous. There were numerous places to get amazing views, there were traditional Japanese statues and altars, and the trees were alive with brilliant splashes of color. The temple was rather large, and there was even a large, open area with chairs near a small stand that sold some warm food. I had a rice cake stick covered in sesame seeds. Despite the journey up being rather painful, there were actually a lot of elderly Japanese people in the temple. Judging from the small parking lot that I ended up seeing while I explored the temple, it's actually possible to drive all the way up the mountain (though most seemed to have parked their car lower down).

The entire trip was very great, and it was nice to go with other people. I'd say this trip works best for groups of people or couples, as there's a lot of places that make for great shared experiences. If you like easy hikes, then going alone might be a great experience as well.

Atsuta Shrine: Famous for a reason

Japanese required: Moderate
Cost: Transportation
Good for: Everyone

Atsuta Shrine is an expansive place with a lot of beautiful things - both natural and man-made. I've been there several times, both with friends and alone, and they were very relaxing trips. One entrance to the shrine is located just outside of Jingumae station. The entire shrine is dotted with different places that are considered sacred, which range from being special trees to actual man made prayer spots to honor certain deities.

The gates leading to the main shrine are impressive in size, but the most interesting things are on the way to the main section. One of these things is a majestic tree. The tree itself has been around for a really long time, and priests used to feed eggs to snakes that lived in the upper branches. The tree has a very old feel about it, which adds to the sense of calm that the entire shrine has. In addition to the tree, a member of the group I went with explained that a bridge we saw was actually one of the oldest in Nagoya. The bridge itself wasn't much to look at, but the history of the location made it a good place to take a picture.

The place has a large number of trees and other plants which fill all the space not taken up by path or buildings. This created the feeling of being completely and totally immersed in the shrine itself - as if I had left Japan behind. There were practically no sounds aside from people walking and softly talking, and even children that were brought to the shrine were quiet. To add to the feeling of timelessness, there were stone lanterns in different places that looked as if they had been in the shrine for hundreds of years.

I'd say Atsuta Shrine has one of the best atmospheres out of all the temples and shrines that I've visited. It's definitely a place that I would recommend to everyone that visits Nagoya. It's a pleasant and relaxing walk, which makes it good for small groups or going alone. There's even a cafe to stop at for a small snack or some coffee.

Inuyama Ukai: Night Fishing

Japanese Required: Moderate

Inuyama is quaint castle village and a prime example of old school Japan. While I haven’t yet made it to the castle, I have visited Inuyama several times and always with a group of different friends with different interests. I ride the meitetsu to Inuyama from Kanayama which costs 1180 yen round trip. A word of warning: the meitetsu can be very confusing, even if you understand Japanese. Always make sure to remember the time and platform number of your train. I have forgotten to do this and ended up getting on a train headed the opposite direction from my destination. This trip, I met up with a large group of friends and we wandered the streets of Inuyama before heading over to the docks.

The closer you are to the castle entrance, the more novelty shops you’ll find. The streets of Inuyama are wide and all look pretty much the same, so I suggest going with at least one person that can read Kanji or has been there before. It's a good thing I like to roam around because it is fairly easy to get lost. Getting lost in Inuyama is half the fun: it is so small that it is next to impossible to stay lost for long. If all else fails, you can always find your way back to the castle information center and ask for a map. They don’t speak any English but are quite used to lost foreigners.

Using the map and my powers of navigation, I was able to find my way to the dock in plenty of time to catch our boat. Ukai is cormorant fishing, a traditional Japanese fishing method. The ukai viewing requires reservation, and each boat seats about 16 people. The boats are spacious and allowed us to talk amongst ourselves quite comfortably as we headed out to the fishing spot. We spent around five to ten minutes just riding in the boat and looking at Inuyama's night-time lighting before we actually arrived.

 When we arrived at the fishing spot, I was very excited at the thought of seeing the birds dramatically swooping and diving to catch large amounts of fish. I was surprised that it was actually very calm and not visually dynamic. The torches lit up the area over the water, but I could not see the birds once they dove. The closer you are to the boat, the easier it is to see the birds deliver the fish they have caught.


 

It was a very relaxing and an enjoyable trip. While I’m not sure if I would go again, I definitely recommend the experience to anyone interested in learning about Japanese culture. Ukai fishing in Inuyama is a nice, comfortable cultural outing that makes you feel connected to old Japan.

Higashiyama Zoo: A Time Commitment

 

 

Japanese Required: A little

Good for: Everyone

The Higashiyama Zoo is huge, and it has exhibits for fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. To look at all of them took me several hours (mostly spent standing up), but it was a very enjoyable experience.The most interesting exhibits, for me, were the ones of the fish and reptiles. The birds weren't terribly interesting, but the rest of the exhibits had some animals that I liked.

Although zoos are not really known for fish exhibits, there were actually a few interesting ones. I managed to get a really great picture of a fish with an eye mark on its body, which I felt I should share even if the fish itself isn't that interesting. And then there were also fish whose fins actually changed colors while they were swimming. I have known about these kinds of fish for a while, but it was a first for me to actually see them in person. I really enjoyed staring at them for a couple of minutes just to see how many different shades they could change to. The fish exhibit area was set apart from everything else, and it was purely smaller fish. Overall, it took roughly ten minutes for to see all of them.

 

The reptile / amphibian area had crocodiles, lizards, frogs, snakes, and more. The majority of the animals in this area weren't very active when I saw them. Quite a few were hiding away under a rock or behind something and sleeping. This made it a lot harder to take pictures, but I managed to get some good pictures of the lizards (my favorite animal). I've always liked lizards the most out of all the animal kingdom. Their intelligence, the way they move, everything about them fascinates me. Particularly interesting to me are the monitor lizards. Monitors are the most intelligent of the lizard species, and there's quite a bit of variety even within this subset. The zoo only had one type of monitor, but I quite liked their coloration.

Lizards aside, there were several types of frogs as well, including a poison dart frog. Although there was an entire section devoted to frogs, it was actually a bit difficult to find many of them. So many of them were difficult to see that I actually ended up making a game out of it just to avoid being frustrated. I actually gave up on even looking for them after the third failed attempt. To make myself feel better, I went back to the other amphibian sections and took a picture of a newt waving at me.

Newts, frogs, and lizards aside, the displays also had a few types of giant salamanders, crocodiles, some turtles, and a few toads. The most amusing thing for me in the entire zoo was the crocodile exhibit. There was a Japanese crocodile in a cage that looked rather small, and in a cage right next to it was one from America that was at least twice as large. The sheer difference in size really displayed just how a difference in environment can lead to drastic changes in even the least changing type of animal that I can think of.

About ten minutes' walk across the zoo from all of this, there are large and small cats, birds, koalas, and some other animals. The birds had a bald eagle, a few cranes, and some other varieties. The large cats included a jaguar, a couple of small tigers, a female lion, and a snow leopard. The snow leopard was the only one that really moved around in a way that it was possible to take a picture. The majority of the caged animals stayed near the back or zipped about their enclosure with wild energy. I haven't seen many snow leopards, so it was nice to get a close up view of one.

Personally, I find koalas to be very boring, but I know that a lot of people like them. The koalas had their own building, and they got to sit in their trees doing basically nothing while a rather sizable number of people stared at them in fascination. So, for all of you koala lovers, I took a picture.

Overall, the Higashiyama Zoo is a great place to go, but expect to be out and walking for the better part of your day if you want to see everything it has to offer. The place has rhinos, elephants, penguins, birds, monkeys, reptiles, amphibians, fish, lions, tigers, and bears. You'll be there a while, but don't worry. There are places to buy food and take a rest. If you plan to go to the botanical garden and other places in Higashiyama Park, expect it to take all day. I didn't even go to those places and still took more than three hours with just the zoo.

SCMaglev and Railway Park: About the Trains!

Japanese required: Some (To get in takes some Japanese, but little to no Japanese is required while inside)
Cost: 1000 yen for adults, 500 for children (elementary school to high school), 200 yen for children (ages 3 and below), with separate, discounted rates for groups.
Good for:  Everyone

The SCMaglev and Railway Park is more of a museum for trains than a park. The park is located a bit out of the way at Kinjō-futō station, roughly 25 minutes from Nagoya station by train. Despite it's location, the railway park is definitely worth visiting on a day when you feel like going out but don't have anywhere in mind to go. The place is mostly suited to people who like science museums and trains, since there are many similar displays.

I found the place very easily thanks to a bunch of signs at the station, and it's a very short walk. Even though I'm not particularly interested in trains, I had a lot of fun at different exhibits, and I even got to relax and sit inside some of the trains. There were a lot of different train models on display, including both very old and very new designs. There was also a children's play area and a place to buy Japanese food and snacks on the second floor. The food place had some uncomfortable plastic chairs to sit in, but there are several places to relax in soft, reclining train chairs on the second floor as well.

While I walked around, I got to see even some trains that looked like they were old enough to be powered by boilers rather than electricity. I have always found the look of old trains to be very interesting, so these were my favorite displays. An interesting difference that can be seen when looking at modern and older designs is that older trains tend to be darker colors (black, usually) while trains are commonly white or other bright colors these days.

Although most of the trains were on display inside the building, there were two trains outside (one just the conductor's box, the other a full modern train). Although the older train couldn't be entered, there was a ramp leading inside the other. There were even several Japanese people sitting down in the train seats and resting or sleeping. I took some time inside the train to relax as well as soon as I found out that the train cars had working air conditioning! The museum's not hot, but having cool air blowing on top of me was still refreshing.

I found the trip to the museum to also be very educational, since there were many electronic displays explaining how trains worked. Many of these displays were interactive, indicating in English and Japanese to push a button or pull a lever. Some of the exhibits even had English explanations of what was going on. The most interesting ones explained how the newest train design (SCMaglev) actually used magnetism to levitate the train and propel it forward rather than using traditional train tracks. There was a small portion of this exhibit where anyone could spin a lever and cause a model train to simulate the levitation of a real train. The concept of a train moving at super high speeds using only magnets to keep it going was both a scary and exciting one. It definitely made me want to try riding in a SCMaglev train at least once in my life.

In addition to all of this, there was a possibility for me to win a lottery and get to try a train driving simulator. I unfortunately didn't win the lottery, but you might be lucky if you go (keep in mind that doing this costs an extra 500 yen for 15 minutes). I did get to see the simulator, and it seemed to be pretty realistic, if a bit less dangerous. If you've ever wanted to try driving a train without having to go through all of the training, this is probably your best shot.

I had a really great time at the park and would definitely recommend it to anyone with the slightest interest in looking at life-sized train models or finding out about some of the mechanical operations of trains.