⌖ Nagoya Weekend

ITINERARY

Half a Day in Nagoya, Starting and Ending at the Station

Two industrial-heritage sites within walking distance of Nagoya Station, with the timings worked out so you can leave your bags in a locker and still make an afternoon train.

Before you commit

Good for
Anyone with a half-day gap between trains, and anyone interested in how Nagoya became a manufacturing city. Both stops are indoors.
Not for
People travelling with small children who need a park, and anyone hoping to see the castle — that is on the other side of the city and does not fit in half a day with these.
Start and end
Nagoya Station → Nagoya Station
Total time
About 4 hours 30 minutes, door to door
Getting around
On foot, or one stop on the Higashiyama subway line
On foot
Around 2 km in total, all of it flat
Budget per adult
About ¥1,300Includes Admission to the Toyota Commemorative Museum and one subway fare. Excludes Food, drinks, the Craft Center museum at Noritake Garden, and station lockers.
Booking
Nothing here needs booking in advance.
Drop this first
Noritake Garden. The grounds are pleasant but the Toyota Commemorative Museum is the reason to make this trip, and it needs the full two hours.

THE DAY

Stop by stop

  1. 10:002 hours

    Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology

    トヨタ産業技術記念館

    The looms in the textile hall are run for visitors rather than left as static exhibits, which is what makes the jump from weaving to car manufacturing legible. Give the textile hall as much time as the car hall.

    Hours
    9:30–17:00
    Last entry
    Last entry 16:30
    Closed
    Mondays (the following day when Monday is a public holiday), and the New Year period
    Adult admission
    ¥1,000University students ¥600, secondary school ¥500, primary school ¥300, over-65s ¥200. Pre-school children free. Twenty per cent off with a subway and city bus one-day pass.
    Getting there
    3 minutes' walk from Sako Station on the Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line — one stop from Meitetsu Nagoya. The Meguru loop bus also stops here, from bay 11 at Nagoya Station bus terminal.
    Open in Google Maps ↗Check hours on the official site ↗

    How this differs from the Toyota Automobile Museum →

    Then: On foot, 15 minutes in all. Changes: None.

  2. 12:151 hour 15 minutes

    Noritake Garden

    ノリタケの森

    The grounds are free to walk through, and the café and shop sit inside them. The Craft Center museum and the painting workshop are ticketed separately, so decide at the gate whether you want them.

    Hours
    Hours differ by building: the shop and gallery run 10:00–18:00, the welcome centre and the Craft Center museum 10:00–17:00, and the café 11:00–17:00
    Last entry
    The painting workshop takes its last booking at 16:00
    Closed
    Closing days are announced month by month on the official site rather than falling on a fixed weekday.
    Getting there
    15 minutes on foot from Nagoya Station, or 5 minutes from exit 2 of Kamejima Station one stop away on the Higashiyama subway line. It is also 15 minutes from Sako Station.
    Tickets
    The grounds are open to walk through. The Craft Center museum and the painting workshop are ticketed separately, and the workshop is worth booking.
    Open in Google Maps ↗Check hours on the official site ↗

    What is walkable from Nagoya Station →

    Then: On foot to Nagoya Station, 15 minutes in all. Changes: None.

If the weather turns, or something is full

Both stops are under cover, so rain does not change the plan. If the museum is closed, the SCMaglev and Railway Park is the nearest equivalent — but it closes on Tuesdays, so the two do not cover each other on the same day.