Atsuta and Kanayama
Kanayama station is one of the most important railway stations of the city of Nagoya, an interchange station between the JR, Meitetsu Railways and subway lines. A few kilometers south of Kanayama is also the area of Atsuta, site of an important Shinto shrine.
The neighborhood
The area around the station Kanayama is very busy because of the importance of the station, and there are several hotels, karaoke, izakaya and restaurants, but nothing special for which it is worth a visit.
In front of the north exit of the station there is the
Asunal Center, a strange building with shops and restaurants, placed in a circle around an outdoor plaza where often perform for free some music bands. This place is very popular as a meeting place for the city's youth.
In front of the southern exit of the station there is a 31-storey skyscraper (
Kanayama-Minami Building), inside which there is a hotel (
ANA Crowne Plaza Grand Court), the
Nagoya Boston Museum and the
Nagoya Urban Institute.
Nagoya Boston Museum
(admission 1300 yen, opening hours 10-19, 10-17 on weekends, closed on mondays)
This museum is a kind of minor branch of the famous
MFA of
Boston, in the United States. The museum covers the first three floors at the base of the skyscraper that houses the hotel ANA Crowne Plaza.
Its permanent collection consists mainly of Japanese works, and of Europeans Impressionist as regarding the non-Japanese art. There are also temporary exhibitions of major works that come from the main museum in Boston.
Nagoya Urban Institute
(free admission, opening hours 10-18, 10-20 on fridays, 10-17 on weekends, closed on mondays)
Located between the 11th and 14th floors of the skyscraper. The 11th floor is open to the public and exhibits a number of plans, projects and photographs of the urban development of Nagoya and its history, thus ranging from the past to the ideas for the future of the city.
the skyscraper in front of Kanayama station
Walking for about 2 km to the south (or taking the Tokaido Main Line from Kanayama station to Atsuta station, 2 minutes) you can get to the most important Shinto shrine in the city, known as
Atsuta Jingu.
Along the way, more or less half way in front of the railroad tracks (1 km south of Kanayama station, 1 km north of Atsuta station), there is also a big shopping center called
AEON Mall Atsuta.
Atsuta Jingu
(free admission)
This shrine, as all major Shinto shrines, is located within a large park, a few meters west of the Atsuta station. It is assumed to have been founded around the year 100, and is therefore considered one of the oldest still existing Shinto shrines, although most of its buildings were destroyed during the last war and later rebuilt.
Another reason that has made this shrine famous is the fact that inside is kept a sword (not exposed to the public) known in Japanese as
Kusanagi (Kusanagi no Tsurugi), one of the three legendary
Imperial Regalia of Japan.
Inside the park there is also a large camphor tree (
goshimboku) which is said to have been planted around 1000 years ago by
Kūkai himself, and a small museum (
Houmotsu-kan, 9-16:30, 300 yen) with various objects belonging to various shogun and members of the imperial families.
The most popular and most touristy attraction of the shrine is a restaurant among the most famous in the city for
kishimen style udon (a typical dish of Nagoya), the name of the restaurant is
Miya Kishimen.
Atsuta Jingu
kishimen udon
Sleeping, recommended hotels in Kanayama, Nagoya
As mentioned in the guide, just in front of Kanayama station there is a skyscraper with a hotel, the
ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Grand Court Nagoya, upscale hotel and one of the alternatives with the best value for money if you are looking for a room on the upper floors with city views.
North of Kanayama station there are two accommodations particularly recommended for those on a budget: the
Capsule Inn Nagoya, a capsule hotel from 2980 yen per night, and the
Kanayama Plaza Hotel, a business hotel with single rooms from 4500 yen per night.
Practical guide, how to get to Kanayama and Atsuta
As already mentioned,
Kanayama station is one of the most important railway stations of the city, of JR, of Meitetsu Railways and the municipal subway.
Nagoya station can be reached in just 3/4 minutes with one of the two JR lines serving the station (
Tōkaidō Main Line and
Chūō Main Line).
For other areas of the city you can use the subway lines instead, the
Meijo line (without changes to Sakae, Meijo Koen) and the
Meiko line (without changes to the harbour area).
The lines of Meitetsu Railways serve various locations in the surrounding region, including Nagoya Airport (Centrair) which can be reached in just 24 minutes.
The Atsuta Shrine is located 2.5 km south of Kanayama station, and is surrounded by three different stations:
Jingumae station, served by the
Meitetsu Tokoname Line and the
Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line (without changes to Kanayama, Nagoya station), and situated 600 meters walk from the main buildings of the shrine;
Atsuta station, served by the
JR Tōkaidō Main Line (without changes to Kanayama, Nagoya station, it's cheaper than the Meitetsu lines), and situated 1 km walk from the main buildings of the shrine;
Jingumae station, served by the
Meijo Line of the subway (without changes to Kanayama, Sakae, Meijo Koen), and situated 700 meters walk from the main buildings of the shrine;
Map of Kanayama and Atsuta, Nagoya
Guided tours, activities and other things to do
If you are planning a trip to Japan and you want to do something more than just visiting famous places and monuments, we suggest you to use
Rakuten Travel Experiences.
How to use Rakuten Travel Experiences
Rakuten Travel is a very useful website to
enrich your travel experience, especially if you are going solo or it's your first time in Japan.
Because of the language barrier (and more), in Japan it is very difficult to interact with the locals and to get off the tourist track.
Thanks to Rakuten Travel you can find a lot of interesting and sometimes unique
guided tours and activities all over Japan (and not only in Japan), that you would otherwise never be able to enjoy.
But there's more: on Rakuten Travel you can also
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Some examples
Take a look at Rakuten Travel Experiences
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the skyscraper in front of Kanayama station
Atsuta Jingu
kishimen udon
