Nagoya, Japan

Family Reunion Cruise -- 8-Day Roundtrip Keelung, Taiwan on Diamond Princess

Day 5 -- Nagoya, Japan November 22, 2018 - Thanksgiving Day (7:00 AM~4:00 PM)

Diamond Princess docked at the Kinjo Futo Pier in Nagoya at 7:00 this morning. There are two major cruise ports in Nagoya and I had to do some hard search to find out where the ship would be docked before this cruise. Finally figured out that Princess cruises would be docking at the Kinjo Futo Pier instead of the Garden Pier which seemed to have a more direct transportation system to downtown Nagoya. Anyway, there's nothing we could do but do some re-planning. Fortunately, the JR Aonami Line at Kinjo Futo Pier is not that far away and they did provide free shuttles for passengers to get there from the pier. For those who are interested in going to Legoland, the Kinjo Futo Pier is much closer than the Garden Pier.

We were set to try out the Nagoya famous eel rice (Hitsumabushi) for lunch but ended up running out of time and which did not materialize. So disappointed! Hopefully, we shall return someday for this special treat.

We also found out that Nagoya has the worst public transportation system that we have experienced in Japan that is not user friendly, especially for wheelchair-visitors. This was why we wasted much time finding our way around the stations and the city as a whole.

We left the ship at 8:00 and took the free shuttle to the train station which was very convenient. We did not realize that this is a JR train station and would not be included in the one-day pass that we planned on getting. The train fare between Kinjo Futo and Nagoya is 650Y roundtrip and we would have to get the one-day pass at the Nagoya station. That turned out to be a complicated task in itself.

Train fare showing the JR train ride from Kinjo Futo to Nagoya.

This train was quite empty at that hour. A comfortable ride to town.

As soon as we got off the train at the Nagoya station, we had to look for the subway station where we could purchase the one-day pass. There was no signage showing where we should be going at this huge station. After walking around looking for the subway station we finally asked a gentleman who looked like a security guard and he told us to go outside of the JR train station to the other building across, go downstairs and look for the service center. With FIL in wheelchair, that was not an easy task so we separated the group into two. One going down to get the tickets and the other wait with FIL upstairs. After going downstairs and upstairs a couple of times inside the malls, we finally found the subway station but couldn't locate the 'service center'. After another inquiry, we found the service center at the end of a hallway with nothing that says 'service center' but something like 'desk for regular commuters'. Oh, well! They did have the one-day pass there but they required us to show our passports in order to purchase those tickets. We can purchase two tickets with each passport only so we had to run back upstairs to get the other passports to make enough purchases. I think we probably wasted half an hour just getting those passes.

By now, we figured that it might be easier for us to take the #11 bus, which is a tourist bus included in the pass, to go to Nagoya Castle. The bus stop seemed to be closer to the castle instead of the metro stop making it easier for FIL's wheelchair ride. Another wrong move because we did not know that we had to be in line for 30 minutes before the bus would come even though we were at the beginning of the bus route at the bus terminal right next to the station. Originally, I did not plan on going to the castle and thought that we should just leisurely walk around town, find the eel restaurant, enjoy a good lunch and then get back on the ship. Now the whole plan changed which totally messed up the schedule. Well, at least we got to see part of the castle!

#11 bus had a stop at the Toyota Commemorative Museum but we did not get off here.

Entrance to the museum.

The bus got really crowded.

We got off at the fourth stop and yes, it was just a short walk to the entrance of the castle from the bus stop across the street. After paying for the entrance fees we walked inside the castle ground where there was some kind of chrysanthemum festival going on with beautiful displays.

Right at the entrance

Inside the castle ground

A Samurai!

Bonsai with chrysanthemums

This castle, like many other ones, was undergoing reconstruction with scaffolding all around the wall of the main castle.

   

The Hommaru Palace was opened and we just had to go inside for a peek.

Everybody had to take off their shoes and put them in lockers. People with backpacks were asked to put their bags in front of them instead of behind them. Some rules to follow. 

It was very crowded inside with many tourist groups making the line moved quite slowly.

It's beautiful inside though!

 

 

Exterior of the Hommaru Palace at Nagoya Castle. FIL couldn't go in with his wheelchair so he had to wait outside.

After our castle visit, we walked about 20 minutes to the metro station to take the subway to Sakae, hoping to get to the eel restaurant in time for some good food. Unfortunately, we found out that there was at least a 30-minute wait in the long line before we would be able to get in. We did not think we had the time for that so we went back to the main station and took the train back to port.  We did buy some fried chicken wings (Nagoya Tebasaki Chicken Wings) at the train station to try. Kind of settled our cravings for local food.

Back at the Kinjo Futo JR Station.

In the long line for the shuttle back to port.

Back at port.

Cute!

We went up to the buffet for a late lunch after we got back on board and in time for the sail-away show at the pier put out by local performers. Just loved these farewell shows!

Sail-away performance by local dance group.

Energetic!

I think he was the leader of the group.

Still dancing as our ship pulled away from the pier.

The JR station is just a little distance away, right next to the brown church building.

The building with red rooftop is the Legoland Hotel with Legoland on the left of this photo.

He was still running along the pier with his huge flag.

Scallop and shrimp cocktail

Exceptional tonkatsu served at the dining room. They did not serve this on our next 12-night cruise from Yokohama to Singapore.

chicken and leek pot pie

grand-niece

This was one disappointing port stop for us and we all wonder if we want to come back to Nagoya in the future. This is certainly not an accessible city for people in wheelchair and it is a very confusing city even for us. I guess if we ever come back, I will be able to find my way around but for first timers this is a city that needs a lot more researching and planning. Maybe next time...