Tokyo to Nagoya by Shinkansen
Allegedly, Nagoya is the most boring city in Japan. I have been here a couple of times before, once for a week and once for a day trip from Gifu which is a satellite city of Nagoya, so I have first hand experience of how boring it is, boring enough to entice me back for another 6 night stay when I could have gone anywhere in all of Japan.
Getting here was the standard bullet train Nozomi 700, it never changes, I know people expect it to be star wars or hello kitty themed and to have fish tanks in every seat and possibly hover through a teleportation ring etc, but it is just a train, there is no food service onboard, they are old, the baggage police now issue fines if you do not follow the rules etc.
Before taking my train I was also subjected to some more Japanese efficiency with extra steps. I had to pick up 4 train tickets. This required going to 3 different places because there is JR East, JR Central, JR West and they are all different. Their machines do not play along with each other, their offices are separate, their ticket collection procedures are separate (credit card of purchase, pickup number, passport, phone number and any combination there of). You can try using a machine, some need an orange E549547 logo and others need a blue E437373 logo to work, but you have to find the one that does a passport scan unless your iris is already registered via the 7-eleven app, in which case you can print a QR code and go to the machine that issues you a ticket with a QR code on it to hand to the guy at the gate to scan for you.
Here is an idea, how about JR just has one website that sells tickets to go anywhere and they email you a QR code you can scan at the gate? You can do that with Eki-net for one specific Shinkansen track only, but that is once again a different website, and specific gates in the station. OK I could go on.
If only I knew! Why are they not open for Breakfast! I spotted a hooters on my walk around Tokyo before it was time to check out. Check out the eyes on that owl.
If offices all looked like this no one would want to work from home anymore.
Here comes my train. My top tip if you are waiting for a train at Tokyo station is to go up to the tracks and walk to the end of the line where there will be no other people. The waiting areas in the station are way too small for the number of people using the station.
This is the outside of Nagoya station. I remembered the tall buildings from last time. They look good at night so expect a night shot of that later. It was starting to rain...
Nagoya is skipped by most tourists, so the shops here are struggling to remain open due to the declining population. This was very evident!
Recognise this? I had exactly the same salad for lunch a few days ago in Tokyo. The one I complained was too expensive. It still is.
The underground area around Nagoya station is huge, which is great when it is raining, but a huge percentage of the shops are closed down.
And now everyone's favourite, boring hotel shots! And if you think I am joking the only comment I got requesting anything so far was more info on the hotel I stayed at in Tokyo. This is Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nagoya-Sakuradoriguchi, it is just east of Nagoya station, and I am paying about $90 Australian a night for what they call a Superior double room. The bed is actually very large despite this photo. It is slightly bigger than the standard double room I stayed at in Shimbashi in Tokyo, but the desk of this one is a more annoying layout. The bed is of a medium firmness. The TV has no English channels, um... there is a humidifier, there is no coffee or tea provided but you can pick it up at reception, there is a fridge, there is a window that opens slightly with a view, it seems quiet, there are enough lights, you can stand at the foot of the bed, there is no room under the bed, there are 2 small bins one for rubbish and one for recycling, you can control your own air conditioner settings, there is a smoke alarm and sprinkler, check in is from 1500 and check out by 1100..... ALL THINGS THE HOTEL BOOKING SITE WILL TELL YOU!
I can go on and on for the bathroom too? The toilet is fancier, it has multiple sphincter pulsating programs and you can select the tune you want it to play. OK now to figure out if it will ever stop raining.
Nagoya Sakae and Mirai Tower
Too much of Nagoya is underground. I remember reading that the 2 largest underground shopping areas in Japan are both in Nagoya. They are about 2km apart.
The station area is one half, and then Sakae is the other.
When I was last here I remember Sakae being bigger than the station part, but now it seems opposite, with a lot more new things built around the station and integrated into the underground labyrinth.
It is a bit strange that so much is underground here, as it is not really ever cold even in winter. I suspect that this can be to the detriment of the above ground. A tale of two cities, above and below.
All of that is irrelevant tonight, as below ground is the winner, because it is once again raining. Tomorrow, more rain, a lot more, then none for a week if the forecast is to be believed.
Yes, I will stand in the rain with a non water proof camera on an overpass just to take a photo.
Here is Mirai tower in Sakae. A good thing about a bit of rain is no one else wants to get 'the shot'. I think a bunch more shops have sprung up in the central park area above ground here since my last visit.
I remember this as being the bus station, and signs say that it still is, but I did not see a bus. You can get on the roof, I will probably do that on another night.
Underneath that roof is this. Did this use to be bus parking? Now it is called Oasis 21 and has a strange plastic floor. I will have to look back to my first visit here and check.
Underground malls really do go forever here, in multiple directions. I had no idea which way I was facing most of the time.
I decided I wanted ramen for dinner, so I looked on google maps, went up to the surface where it was almost not raining... and then walked to the nearest one with a good score. Apparently it is historical in some way, and ordering was a bit different. The machine really only had one thing to select, so I ordered it and sat down at a really old tiny wooden booth facing the kitchen with a little blind.
The blind was lifted and a guy did a bow and handed me a sheet of paper to customise my order - level of spice, noodle chewiness etc. So I filled that out and rang the bell and he came back and opened the blind again, closed it, and repeated the routine to deliver my ramen. Also, the egg was in its shell, I had to peel it, I cannot remember the last time I peeled a boiled egg.
As for the ramen, hmmmm, nothing special, not much flavour, noodles were a bit ordinary. I feel as though they are trading on history.
And for my last pic, a bridge, with lights, in the light rain.