What I ate in Nagoya: Tori-Tori Tei & Ramen

We were so hungry after walking around Nagoya castle for a couple of hours that by the time we had lunch - we just ate at the most convenient location which was located near a post office.It was a one man show. One man manning the restaurant. He was our server and cook. He was so efficient and the food was delicious!

I had the miso ramen. And my dress was splattered with it too. I haven't learned how to slurp ramen like a local. Such a rookie!

We were stumped on where to eat on our last night in Nagoya. We walked around our hotel and we found this restaurant by smell. It was less than 5 minutes away from our hotel and we could smell the charcoal and decided that we would eat here. No regrets! 

We received chopped cabbage with dipping sauce and it was amazing! I am not a fan of raw cabbage but this one was really really good and when you dip it from the in-house sauce, it's even more amazing! 

We ordered a bunch of meat to grill - chicken, beef, heart, etc. Everything was good!

Nagoya Castle: Ninomaru Tea House

We were super lucky that the Ninomaru Tea House and garden was open for us to wander around in. I love the traditional Japanese house. I love the use wood and tatami. I wish I can have a Japanese style house one day but with heating of course for winter ;) Not found of low ceilings too since I live with a very tall person. 

What a treat though! Next time I would love to experience a Japanese tea ceremony! It makes me really want to go back to Japan to do a lot more things that I missed this time.

Muji Japan

I've been to Muji in Europe and I didn't quite get the craze until I went to Japan. The Muji stores in Japan are huge and it has everything! From food to furniture to stationeries. I went crazy looking at the whole store. Not every item is affordable but I love the simple aesthetic of the products. I especially fell in love with the bed above. Let me tell that I haven't sleep so well in any hotel rooms than in Japan especially the hotel we stayed in Nagoya! I love love the mattress that I slept like a baby most nights. 

I wanted to take the bed with me from the above photo. It's what I am looking for in a furniture. Simple, sturdy, and clean design plus it's very comfortable. I could have slept inside the store if I could. And don't get me started on the duvet. 

To console myself, I went to the stationary department and went crazy over pens instead. I know get why Torontonians are hoarding pens from Muji Toronto. The store is always empty because of serious hoarders. It is minuscule compared to the stores in Japan and lacks the furniture department. I hope they can expand and carry more items so I can finally have my dream bed. 

Nagoya Castle: Exhibition of traditional local dolls and toys

Happy Monday! I hope you are having a great day. I am working at my HQ right now (a.k.a. my bed). It's a Family Day long weekend and that means catching up on my blogging and pigging out. I just had a very good dim sum this morning and I am ready no nap soon but first here's another part of Nagoya Castle.

It was such a treat for us to see other exhibitions while visiting Nagoya castle. I loved the traditional buildings that were dotted around the castle grounds that holds other exhibitions. I quite liked this one because it had masks on display.

Nagoya Castle - Bonsai Show

We were very lucky to catch the Bonsai show at Nagoya Castle. I love love bonsai's but I don't have a green thumb. I stay away from buying plants because I know I will eventually kill it. So when I see thriving plants, I snap away and admire it.

From what I understood, one person owns each plant and loaned it for display. The old man in the picture was pruning his own bonsai and I think it's at least 30 years old. Every plant was old. I love the interesting shapes of each plant.

What I Ate: Nagoya - Yama-chan Chicken Wings

Visiting Nagoya means going to Yama-chan for food. Keiko instructed us to go there for dinner. It was so close to our hotel and she said "it's very famous!". So we obliged.

We went there on a Monday night so it was pretty quiet but we enjoyed the delicious chicken wings and sides. And the beer of course ;)

We ordered the chicken karaage twice! It was perfect! I definitely recommend visiting this restaurant when in Nagoya.

Nagoya & Castle grounds

 

The main reason I visited Nagoya was to visit my dear friend Keiko. We took the shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya where she met us at the train station.

Nagoya reminds me of Toronto. It's definitely quieter than Tokyo. Wider streets and less people. Everything was bigger in Nagoya including our hotel room and for a cheaper price than Tokyo.

Our first day consisted of walking around Nagoya and raiding another Uniqlo store.

We got up early the next day to go sightseeing with Keiko. She was our tour guide in Nagoya. She took us to Nagoya castle. We took the subway there and after exiting, we met a very energetic mochi vendor. He was so charismatic that we bought mochi from him. It was delicious!

The grounds of Nagoya castle is extensive and we found smaller exhibitions housed in old buildings and an outdoor bonsai exhibition. More on that next.