I visited ‘Japan’s most boring city’ and found it was the opposite

4 hours ago 1

The first time I came to Nagoya, the locals offered me their condolences. Sorry, they said, for having the misfortune of visiting the most boring city in Japan. It was an ominous way to start my stopover and after having a night that was anything but boring, I was inspired to come back and get to the bottom of what makes the city so maligned.

Nothing, as it turns out.

Nagoya doesn’t live up to its boring reputation.

All those articles, all that fear-mongering, everything I was told about Nagoya was so blatantly wrong. It made me wonder if this was all a strategic ploy by the locals to keep us tourists away but no, the locals were friendly, welcoming, and more than happy to share the joys of their city.

I knew Nagoya was a good time when I arrived at the train station next to my hotel. I left the gate, walked about 10 metres, and found myself in an underground passageway lined with about a dozen tachinomis, or standing bars.

One of these tachinomis was run by a gaggle of old women. They were hidden behind sinister jars of fruit liquor, working in a space no bigger than a bathtub as they cooked food that would make Japanophiles weep and poured beers into frosty glasses. I hadn’t even made it to my hotel yet and I was already two beers deep, enjoying some of the best tamagoyaki (rolled omelettes), oden (hot pot), and sashimi of the trip.

This was not a boring experience. Quite the opposite, in fact, and was made even less so by the women behind the bar who kept cracking jokes at my expense. None of the eclectic regulars there spoke English, and my Japanese is mediocre at best, but we didn’t let that get in the way of our good time.

If there is one thing that Nagoya is known for, other than being boring, making cars, and having a nice castle, it’s probably the Nagoya breakfast. It’s a breakfast meal whereby, after ordering a drink, you’ll receive a slice of thick-cut toast, a piece of fruit and half a boiled egg or something for free.

There are other fancy add-ons like adzuki beans and yoghurt but sometimes, all you need to soak up a train station-related hangover is buttered toast that comes for free with a gigantic vat of coffee.

I can’t speak to the economics behind this but I can say that going out for a Nagoya breakfast was an event, with locals lining up and friends getting together in a country that lacks much to do before 10am. It was a refreshing change from just about everywhere else in Japan, where I would have to watch the sun crawl across the footpaths before the cafes opened and I could get my much-needed hit of caffeine.

Visitors can get authentic, great food in the city.

Nagoya has everything you would expect from a large Japanese city. It has a castle, one of the most well-regarded in Japan. It has a shrine, too, a gorgeous complex surrounded by elegant cypress trees. But what I enjoyed most about Nagoya, however, was less about what it had and more about what it lacked.

Tourists.

I didn’t see a single other foreign tourist as I wandered around Atsuta Shrine, which was a welcome change from what I had seen all over the country; tour groups with their flags, headsets, and silly hats. It helped me forget, for a moment, that I was a traveller there, becoming an active part of the city as opposed to viewing through a well-constructed window.

No matter where I went in Nagoya, it seemed like I was tripping over things that brought the city to life. A farmer’s market here, a free concert there, there was even a French food festival. And while you don’t come to Japan to eat croque monsieur, there was something delightful about paying 500 yen for a red wine and drinking it with a Japanese dude in a striped shirt and a tilted beret.

All of this was the antithesis of boring. It made me think that there are no boring cities, only boring people. And if you think Nagoya is boring, I’ve got some bad news: the only boring thing there is you.

DETAILS

FLY
JAL and ANA offer flights to Nagoya, with connections in Tokyo. See jal.co.jp

STAY
It might not have bars in the train station next to it but Nikko Style offers fantastic rooms. The Deluxe King ranges from $200-$350 a night, depending on the day of week. They also rent Tokyobikes from the lobby, which I’m a sucker for. See nagoya.nikkostyle.jp

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The writer travelled at his own expense.

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