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NAGOYA |
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Japan's fourth largest city is NAGOYA , the capital of Aichi-ken and
major transport hub on central Honshu's industrial southern coast.
Completely rebuilt after a wartime drubbing, it's an overwhelmingly
modern city of high-rise buildings, wide boulevards, multi-lane highways
and flyovers, more suited to business than sightseeing. This is where
Japan's top pasttime, pachinko , was born; the mind-numbing pinball
game's mix of flashing lights and noise are a reflection of the city.
Despite the hustle and bustle, Nagoya is still more laidback than Tokyo
or Osaka and it has a few decent attractions, the most interesting of
which is the grand Tokugawa Art Museum , housing belongings of the
powerful family who once ruled Japan, and the Toyota Commemorative
Museum of Industry and Technology , an appropriate tribute to Nagoya's
industrial heritage. The city's most hyped attractions - the castle
Nagoya-jo and the sacred shrine Atsuta-jingu - are hardly outstanding
examples of their kind, but they're worth checking out if you have the
time.
West of Nagoya, the Kiso-gawa forms the border between Aichi-ken and
Gifu-ken, and the ancient night spectacle of ukai , cormorant fishing is
still practised in Inuyama . This small castle town, where you'll find
the classical Jo-an teahouse in a beautiful traditional garden, is also
the jumping-off point for the vast outdoor architectural museum, Meiji
Mura . Across the river in Gifu-ken, the capital Gifu serves up a
similar combination of castle, parks and ukai , and is well-known for
its production of lanterns and umbrellas made of paper. Further into the
mountains, along the Nagara River, Gujo Hachiman is a refreshing city of
clean rivers and traditional houses, with a summer dance festival that
is perhaps the best in Japan.
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