As our itinerary was packed with places to visit, we did not have much time to waste, so again we took the earliest shuttle bus to Kyoto Station.
Our 1st destination was :
Nagoya Castle
Address : 1-1 Honmaru, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture 460-0031, Japan
Hours : 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Entrance to the donjon until 4:00 p.m.)
Closed : December 29 – January 1
Admission : 500 yen
Website : Nagoya Castle
From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama Subway Line to Sakae Station (5 minutes) and change to the Meijo Subway Line to Shiyakusho Station (2 minutes). The total one way journey takes about ten minutes and costs 240 yen. From the nearest exit, it is a three minute walk to the castle's east gate.
On board Shinkansen with our breakfast
Handsome train conductor...
Snowing on the way to Nagoya...
Subway Fare Chart
Shiyakusho Station
The map near the train station
Buying tickets to Nagoya Castle
Nagoya Castle, here we come...
Samurai...but it looked like the crazy god of wealth, Ji-Gong (濟公活佛) to me
ハンサム( handsome) Samurai
Nagoya Castle 名古屋城...so far this is my favourite castle.
Staircases again!!! We took the lift to 5th floor only.
Golden dolphins, or kinshachi, but I realised that I did not take a proper photo of the famous golden dolphin.
It was a sunny day though the temperature is still less than 15 degree.
Ice cream vending machine
Such a sunny day that our eyes could not open wide.
"sun-ing" our legs...
As we were leaving the Nagoya Castle after all the eating and resting, we found a very nice park (not sure if its the Meijo Park)
The word "hanami" is for cherry blossoms viewing and "umemi" is for viewing plum blossoms. Umemi is usually in late winter and early spring, just before the famous "sakura" cherry blossoms. And here we were for "umemi"...and its equally beautiful...
Finally this is what I want, surrounded by flowers...hahahaha
Osu Kannon Temple
Address : 2 Chome-21-47 Osu, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture 460-0011, Japan
The moment we stepped into the temple, we feel the "zen zen zen" feeling...Loved the temple...
Amy,the photobomber...
We were addicted to buying amulets from different shrines and temples,lucky the shop was not opened when we were there, if not, sure buy somemore...
Loved the smell of the incense...
At some temples, visitors burn incense (osenko) in large incense burners. Purchase a bundle, light them, let them burn for a few seconds and then extinguish the flame by waving your hand rather than by blowing it out. Finally, put the incense into the incense burner and fan some smoke towards yourself as the smoke is believed to have healing power. For example, fan some smoke towards your shoulder if you have an injured shoulder.
When entering temple buildings, you may be required to take off your shoes. Leave your shoes on the shelves at the entrance or take them with you in plastic bags provided at some temples. Wear nice socks.
Photography is usually permitted on the temple grounds. It is forbidden indoors at some temples. Watch for signs.
Just beside the Osu Kannon Temple is the Osu Shopping Arcade
A church
Hungry...so just randomly went into this ramen store for lunch.
ALL IN JAPANESE!!! Got to match the words with the picture.
Complimentary iced water
Amy's dry ramen...more yummy than me...so jealous...
After our lunch, we saw people queuing, and smell something nice, so as typical Singaporeans, we also joined in the queue. We queued for more than half an hour (I think) before its our turn to order.
Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato
After placing our order, we were given a queue number. Waiting and waiting, the store lady then spoke to us in Japanese...we ordered and paid for 2pieces but we got 4pieces. Amy told me that its something like her order of azuki flavour Taiyaki was not available so the lady compensated us with the croissant skin one...
Kuma Café
Address : 〒460-0008 Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, Naka Ward, Sakae, 3−25−34, Japan
Opening Hours : 11.00am to 11.30pm
Here we are...the Kuma Café
The dessert menu
Cappuccino for me
Mocha for Amy
After ordering, I went upstairs to take photo of the place.
After resting our feets for awhile, we proceed to our next destination...lts shopping time!
Sunshine Sakae Building in Sakae, Nagoya is a large shopping and entertainment building with a 42m-diameter Ferris wheel tacked on to the front. I noticed we did not take any photo of the Ferris wheel or buy anything there. We came here for one of the Nagoya meibutsu (a Japanese term for famous products associated with particular regions).
As we were leaving the Nagoya Castle after all the eating and resting, we found a very nice park (not sure if its the Meijo Park)
The word "hanami" is for cherry blossoms viewing and "umemi" is for viewing plum blossoms. Umemi is usually in late winter and early spring, just before the famous "sakura" cherry blossoms. And here we were for "umemi"...and its equally beautiful...
Osu Kannon Temple
Address : 2 Chome-21-47 Osu, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture 460-0011, Japan
From Shiyakusho station, take the Meijo Subway Line to Kamimaezu Station (4 stops away) and transferred to Tsurumai Subway Line to Osukannon Station (1 stop away).
How to visit a temple
Behave calmly and respectfully. Show your respect by making a short prayer in front of the sacred object. Do so by throwing a coin into the offering box, followed by a short prayer.At some temples, visitors burn incense (osenko) in large incense burners. Purchase a bundle, light them, let them burn for a few seconds and then extinguish the flame by waving your hand rather than by blowing it out. Finally, put the incense into the incense burner and fan some smoke towards yourself as the smoke is believed to have healing power. For example, fan some smoke towards your shoulder if you have an injured shoulder.
When entering temple buildings, you may be required to take off your shoes. Leave your shoes on the shelves at the entrance or take them with you in plastic bags provided at some temples. Wear nice socks.
Photography is usually permitted on the temple grounds. It is forbidden indoors at some temples. Watch for signs.
Osu Shopping Arcade
Just beside the Osu Kannon Temple is the Osu Shopping Arcade
ALICE ON WEDNESDAY!!! Did not notice the store until we saw the queue...OMG
There are doors of all shapes and sizes on the front of the building and the smallest, most difficult door to enter is the true entrance. I wondered if I could squeeze through the door.
ALL IN JAPANESE!!! Got to match the words with the picture.
After our lunch, we saw people queuing, and smell something nice, so as typical Singaporeans, we also joined in the queue. We queued for more than half an hour (I think) before its our turn to order.
Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato
After placing our order, we were given a queue number. Waiting and waiting, the store lady then spoke to us in Japanese...we ordered and paid for 2pieces but we got 4pieces. Amy told me that its something like her order of azuki flavour Taiyaki was not available so the lady compensated us with the croissant skin one...
We ate the taiyaki immediately becaused we really could not resist the temptation...yummy
Kuma Café
Address : 〒460-0008 Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya, Naka Ward, Sakae, 3−25−34, Japan
Opening Hours : 11.00am to 11.30pm
From Osukannon station, take the Tsurumai Subway Line to Kamimaezu Station (1 stop away) and transferred to Meijo Subway Line Line to Yabacho Station (1 stop away).
After ordering, I went upstairs to take photo of the place.
After resting our feets for awhile, we proceed to our next destination...lts shopping time!
Sunshine Sakae Building in Sakae, Nagoya is a large shopping and entertainment building with a 42m-diameter Ferris wheel tacked on to the front. I noticed we did not take any photo of the Ferris wheel or buy anything there. We came here for one of the Nagoya meibutsu (a Japanese term for famous products associated with particular regions).
Furaibou (風来坊) in Sakae (栄) is especially famous for Tebasaki or fried chicken wings.
Our eating corner
How to eat Nagoya Tebasaki...hahaha
The sauce for Tebasaki, but we did not try...heehee
Different part of the Tebasaki...I think Amy ordered different flavour but we could not taste any difference.
Grilled Shiitake
Grilled ika
The stressful part is the ordering part because the waiters could not speak English and the menu was in Japanese.
Overall the food was nice but the place was quite packed and noisy as most of the Japanese went there for drinks and chit-chat after work...
After dinner, we rushed to catch our Shinkansen back to Kyoto.
Nite Nite...
