Nagoyakō, not for the faint of heart, apparently!
- Nagoya, Japan
- Apr 26, 2015
- 5 min read
First off: this might have been the most relaxing day in the entire month I’ve spent in Japan. So what’s up with the title, you might ask? I’ll get back to that in a bit. For now, let me tell you how I ended up in this Floridian looking piece of Japan in the first place.
I must admit, after ‘losing’ my JR Railpass, things got a little tough for me. I’d seen most of Nagoya already, and now I knew for sure that there was so much more out there that I was dying to see. Besides, I was starting to feel more alone now than ever. I knew Noura was in Tōkyō, but without my JR Railpass, I’d have to spend thousands of yen to see her. But here in Nagoya, I didn’t know many people, and the people I’d met were all too busy to meet up. On top of that, I think my hosting family showed me all they could think of, because they didn’t take me out to see things anymore. They took me out to go shopping, at most. So it may sound a bit harsh and maybe even spoiled, but… I was bored out of my skull. In Japan. Can you imagine? Here I am, right in the middle of the country of my dreams, and I’m bored. I hated myself for that. To top it all off, the sun was finally shining after three weeks of rain. At long lest the weather was amazing, and here I was, bored in my bedroom. I couldn’t let that happen, so I just went out. I mindlessly walked into the subway station at Gokiso and got in the blue line. There, I checked out the map. Ōsu Kannon again? No, I’d seen enough of that place already. Besides, I just remembered it was the first day of Golden Week. If I had understood my Hajime correctly, the shops would all be closed for the day. That crossed out all the shopping centres. Oh well.
Finally, one of the stations on the map caught my eye. It was the station in the most down-left corner. That meant I hadn’t been around there at all yet. Good. Would it be interesting enough, even when the stores were closed? It possibly would. Was it suitable for this kind of weather? Hell’s yeah. Onwards, to 名古屋港 [Nagoyakō] – the Port of Nagoya!
Honestly I did not know what to expect. A port could very well be industrial only – nothing interesting for a wandering tourist like me. But the weather was good, so maybe I might be able to watch some boats or something. I don’t know, anything was good at this point. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Getting out of the subway station, I immediately got the idea that this place is made to be a lot more crowded than it was. There was barely anyone there, but there were queue fences everywhere, like I’d just entered an abandoned theme park. To be honest, it kind of gave me the chills. When I walked on, I started to see a few people, so the chills disappeared. But I also saw why this place was made to hold so many people. There were signs everywhere that led to a big, pretty dome by the water: the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium. Ah, I’d heard about that! It seems to be a very good aquarium. I’m sure this harbour is crowded in summer!
Today, the aquarium was closed. That was fine by me, because to my glee the area looked interesting enough by itself. The view at sea was amazing, there were a lot of interesting ships and monuments and the plants and trees were abundant. The thing that surprised me most was probably the amount of palm trees. I almost started wondering if I didn’t end up in Florida or California or something. Palm trees weren’t the kind of trees I’d expect in Japan! In the harbour I found a giant orange ship called ふじ [Fuji]. There was a sign that explained that this was the Japanese ship that carried scientists all across Antarctica. There was a chopper on board and in front of the ship a vehicle that was used on Antarctic land was on display. Very impressive. There was also a sweet memorial of two huskies, タロとジロ [Taro and Jiro], who had to be left behind when one of the expeditions went south (heh heh) and who managed to survive on Antarctica for a year while their 13 colleagues either disappeared or died. Sad story, beautiful monument.
After checking out the contents of the harbour for a bit, I found a nice strip of grass with a view at sea. Apparently, it was also part of the tsunami evacuation route. Good to know. Being Dutch, the sign gave me a few tiny chills again – I have never seen anything like a tsunami, earthquake, tornado or something like that. At home, the trains stop working when there are a few leaves on the rails and when there’s a bit of wind we all get advised to stay indoors. So I’ve got, like, zero experience with natural disasters. Did these things just happen? Did nature give you a warning? The sea looked nice and calm, but I guess you never know. I decided to take my chances and lay down on the grass. I drowsily watched some boats and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. I didn’t even notice I closed my eyes, but when I opened them again, two hours seemed to have passed. Whoops. At least I felt refreshed and relaxed, so it was time to explore some further. The Public Aquarium may have been closed, but apparently, another theme park wasn’t. I ran straight into – you’d better believe it – the amazing Sea Train Land. If that doesn't sound impressive, I don’t know what does! Admission was free, so hey, why the hell not. There was a ferris wheel, some tiny rollercoasters, and a few more small attractions. As expected, there were barely any visitors. But there were goats! Gotta love the goats. Alright, let’s move on.
I walked further on around the harbour and ended up at the train station again. I grabbed a bit of lunch and went back to the boulevard where I had enjoyed the sunshine before. I figured I didn’t have anything better to do, so I’d best just enjoy the view while eating my favourite lunch: おにぎり [onigiri: rice balls]. I had also bought a large container of iced tea, and the guy at the counter passed me a straw to go with it. It made me giggle, because apparently this bloke thought I was going to drink 1,5 liters of iced tea just like that. Cute. On my way back to the seaside, I passed a coffee house. I thought I’d seen quite my share of weird English names here in Japan, but this one took the cake. Coffee House ‘Fat’. Only in Japan! This place is just chock full of surprises.
Yoshie had asked me to be back before dinner, so around 4 PM I decided to slowly get back to Gokiso. I was doing some more sightseeing on the way back, when a small warning poster on the harbour building caught my eye. I couldn’t quite read what it said, but I globally understood its meaning. And I didn’t like it. Apparently, the grass I had just been sleeping on for hours was inhabited by, ah, black widows. Those spiders I’ve always heard of but hey, they lived on the other side of the world, didn’t they? Yes, they do! And where was I? Ah yes, on the other side of the world, that’s right. Splendid. My whole body would probably be itching for the rest of the week. But at least I heroically survived a tsunami and a massive spider attack. That was a story to come home with. Like I said: the Port of Nagoya is not for the faint hearted!
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