Page 149 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Japan

CENTR AL HONSHU  147

Environs
Outside Inuyama is Meiji Mura,
a theme park with over 60 Meiji-
era (1868–1912) build ings,
including the lobby of Frank
Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel
from Tokyo. Yaotsu, where
Chiune Siguhara was born is a
train ride away. Japan’s consul
in Lithuania in World War II,
Sugihara saved around 6,000
Jews using transit visas via
Japan. He is commemorated by
a monu ment and museum at
Yaotsu’s Hill of Humanity Park.
Part of the Tale of Genji handscroll in Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya
E Meiji Mura
q Nagoya Environs 15 min by bus from Inuyama.
NagoyaTrips from Nagoya, all on Tel (0568) 67-0314. Open daily.
the Meitetsu rail line, include Closed Mon (Dec–Feb). &
Aichi prefecture. * 2,240,000. k £ Arimatsu, a Tokaido post town,
n at Nagoya JR stn (052) 541-4301.
_ Atsuta Shrine Festival (Jun 5), known for shibori (tie-dyeing). e Gifu
Nagoya Festival (mid-Oct). Tours of the Toyota Car Fac tory
∑ city.nagoya.jp/en nearby may be arranged. Gifu
A major transportation hub for E Toyota Car Factory Gifu prefecture. * 420,000. k £
the region, Nagoya is a pleasant Tel (0565) 29-3355. Open Mon–Fri. n at Gifu JR stn (058) 262-4415.
and convenient, if unexciting, _ All-Japan Fireworks Contest (last
base. It rose to prominence in Sat in Jul). ∑ city.gifu.lg.jp
the 17th century as a Tokaido
castle town, birthplace of Oda A rather garish spa town, Gifu’s
Nobunaga and Toyotomi main attraction is ukai cormorant
Hideyoshi (see pp58 and 60). fishing (see p48). This tradition
Japan’s fourth-largest city and involves using trained cormorants
an industrial center, it was to catch fish. Nightly from mid-
heavily bombed in World War II. May to mid-October, except
The city’s one-day bus or bus- at full moon or when stormy,
and-subway passes are good fishermen and their cormorants
for exploring. Nagoya Castle, Meiji-era post office at Meiji Mura go out on torchlit boats; the
built in 1610–12 and one of the near Inuyama birds dive for ayu (sweetfish)
largest, most soph isticated of and trout, which they are
the Edo period, was destroyed w Inuyama prevented from swallowing
in a bombing raid in 1945; Inuyama by a ring around their necks.
today’s concrete reconstruction The town is also known for its
has a top-floor observatory, and Aichi prefecture. * 76,000. k £ paper parasols and lanterns and
the modern interior contains n 5 mins E of station (0568) 61-6000. for the largest lacquer Buddha
_ Tagata Honen-sai (Mar 15),
exhibits about the castle. in Japan, at Shoho-ji temple.
A short bus ride east is the Inuyama Festival (1st weekend Apr). Dating from 1832, it comprises
Tokugawa Art Museum, with a woven bamboo frame
superb Edo-period treasures, as Inuyama is a quiet, friendly covered with sutra-inscribed
well as a 12th-century illus trated castle town on the Kiso River. paper, then coated in clay
handscroll of the Tale of Genji, Its castle, built in 1537, is and lacquered. Gifu Castle is
part of which is ex hibited the oldest in Japan. It places a modern reconstruction.
each November. Photos and more emphasis on de fense
reproductions of the scrolls than show, but is still small,
are on permanent display. simple, and graceful, with
panoramic views across the
E Nagoya Castle river far below. In nearby
 Shiyakusho stn. @ Nagoya-jo Uraku-en Park is Jo-an tea-
Seimon-mae stop. Tel (052) 231-1700. house, a classic example of
Open daily. & rustic simplicity.
P Tokugawa Art Museum
@ Shindeki stop. Tel (052) 935-6262. E Inuyama Castle The small, reconstructed castle at Gifu,
Open Tue–Sun. & Tel (0568) 61-6000. Open daily. & perched on a hilltop
For hotels and restaurants see p303 and pp326–9

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