Nagoya

Nagoya sits at the heart of Japan, buzzing with energy and quietly confident about its place in the world. It’s a city where ancient history and modern industry exist side by side — you can gaze up at a magnificent castle crowned with gleaming golden shachihoko, those magnificent fish-tiger creatures that have watched over the city for centuries, then step into a world-class museum to discover how one company grew from crafting weaving machines into building cars driven across the entire planet.

But Nagoya isn’t just about castles and cars. Wander through the streets around Osu Kannon Temple and you’ll find yourself swept into a colourful mix of street food, quirky shops, and street performers. Locals here are fiercely proud of their own food culture, with recipes and flavour combinations you simply won’t find anywhere else in Japan.

Whether you’re exploring sacred shrines, gazing at distant galaxies inside one of the world’s biggest planetarium domes, or soaking up the city’s lively street life, Nagoya always has something surprising waiting around the next corner.