Nagoya, capital of Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, is a manufacturing and shipping hub in central Honshu. The city’s Naka ward is home to museums and pachinko (gambling machine) parlours. Naka also includes the Sakae entertainment district, with attractions like the Sky-Boat Ferris wheel, which is attached to a mall. In northern Naka is Nagoya Castle, a partly reconstructed 1612 royal home displaying Edo-era artifacts.

Atsuta-jingu is a major Shinto pilgrimage site that houses a sacred imperial sword. Although this roughly 2,000-year-old weapon is not on display, a treasure hall is open to the public. Along the waterfront, the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium presents outdoor dolphin shows in its main tank. The Tokugawa Art Museum features an extensive collection of medieval objects, most notably 12th-century illustrated scrolls of The Tale of Genji. The Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology features a pavilion chronicling the history of automobile production, an important industry in the region.

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