We Gave Nagoya One Day. It Gave Us Our Favorite Meal in Japan.
Nagoya tends to get skipped.
It sits between Tokyo and Osaka on the Shinkansen, and most people treat it like a corridor rather than a destination — something you pass through rather than stop for. When we told people we were spending time in Nagoya with a toddler, the reaction was always some version of really?
Yes, really. And I want to tell you how that day went, because it turned out to be one of the best days of the entire trip.
Morning: Nagoya City Science Museum
We started at the Nagoya City Science Museum, and it earned its reputation immediately.
The giant silver sphere that houses the planetarium is visible from outside and sets the tone — this is a museum that takes itself seriously while also being completely accessible to small children. Many of the exhibits are hands-on and interactive, which for a 30-month-old translates directly into engagement rather than restlessness. She touched things and pushed buttons and stood in front of displays with genuine interest, which is not guaranteed at every museum.
We didn’t do the planetarium (toddler + dark room + stay still = risky mathematics), but the main exhibits filled the morning comfortably.
The park next door was where we stayed longest.
Right adjacent to the museum, there’s a large open park with grassy lawns and a playground. After an hour indoors, our daughter ran straight to it and stayed there for considerably longer than any exhibit inside the museum had held her attention. Sometimes the best part of a planned activity is the unplanned space next to it. Bring a snack, find a bench, let it happen.
Midday: Shopping in Sakae (Without the Crowds)
From the museum, we headed to Sakae — Nagoya’s main shopping district — and this is where I want to say something that surprised me.
Shopping in Nagoya is better than shopping in Tokyo or Osaka. I mean this practically, not aspirationally.
Because Nagoya draws fewer international tourists, the popular stores are notably calmer. No opening-time queues. No strategic refreshing of stock notifications. No arriving at 8am to stand outside a closed shop. We walked into stores, browsed at a human pace, and things we wanted were actually in stock. Comme des Garçons, Montbell, Danton, Vivienne Westwood — all within the LACHIC area and surrounding shopping streets. All enjoyable rather than competitive.
If shopping is part of why you’re going to Japan, consider Nagoya seriously. You’ll get more of what you came for and less of the performance that surrounds it in bigger cities.
Lunch: Hitsumabushi at Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa Sakae
No negotiation on this one. If you’re in Nagoya, you eat hitsumabushi.
Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa Sakae is on the fifth floor of BINO Sakae, one minute from Sakae Station. The eel is grilled to something approaching perfection — crispy exterior, tender inside, that particular smokiness that makes the dish what it is. You eat it three ways: plain first, then with condiments, then with hot broth poured over the rice. Each style changes the experience of the same bowl.
It was the best meal we had in Japan. Easily. Make a reservation if you can.
Info.
Website : https://yondaimekikukawa.com/
Address : 〒460-0003 Aichi, Nagoya, Naka Ward, Nishiki, 3 Chome−24−17 BINO栄 ５F
Tel. : +81529629991
Evening: MIRAI Tower and an Unexpected Discovery
After lunch, we walked to Chubu Electric Power MIRAI Tower — formerly the Nagoya TV Tower — to wind down the afternoon. The surrounding park is well-designed and pleasant for an evening walk, and as the lights came on at dusk, the atmosphere shifted into something genuinely lovely. A good pace for the end of a full day with a small child: slow, unhurried, outdoors.
But the real discovery of the day came before the tower.
Wakasa & Co. is a children’s bookstore that was not on our itinerary and became, without contest, our daughter’s favorite place in all of Nagoya.
Inside: beautiful picture books, educational toys, stationery, and — most importantly — a drawing corner where children can sit and make art, and demonstration areas where kids are encouraged to play with toys before deciding whether to buy them. Not look at toys. Play with them. It’s a meaningful difference.
Our daughter drew pictures for a long time. We slowly browsed the books. The whole space had the quality of somewhere that was designed by people who actually thought about what makes a children’s space good rather than just what makes it commercially efficient. It felt like a cultural space that happened to sell books rather than a shop that happened to have some culture in it.
If you’re traveling with young children in Nagoya, find this place.
Info.
Website : https://books.wakasa.jp/shop/c/c50/
Instagram : @wakasa_co_books
Address : 〒460-0008 Aichi, Nagoya, Naka Ward, Sakae, 2 Chome−2−1 Nakakoma Bldg., 1階
Tel. : +81526845567
On the People
I want to say something about Nagoya specifically, beyond the itinerary.
We don’t speak Japanese. We asked for help with directions, we pointed at menus, we fumbled through transactions. And every single time, people were patient. Not politely tolerant — genuinely patient and kind, often going further than we’d asked. The restaurant staff who noticed our daughter and quietly made things easier. The shopkeeper who walked us to the door and pointed us in the right direction. The small moments that accumulate into what you actually remember from a trip.
Traveling with a toddler internationally involves accepting that things will go imperfectly and hoping the people around you meet that imperfection with grace. Nagoya did, consistently.
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Have you spent time in Nagoya? I’d love to know what you ate and whether you found Wakasa & Co.
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