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Published: December 8th 2010
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We arrived in Nagoya and took the train to our hotel. I found out very quickly that many Japanese really did not speak much English. They were exceedingly polite and usually became very flustered when they could not help me with my request just because they do not understand me. I felt incredibly bad.
Subway rides are expensive! About 230yen per one way ride. We found out too late that we could actually purchase one day subway passes for 760yen and felt like kicking ourselves after. We arrived at the hotel and was told that we were at the wrong one. Apparently there are two hotels with similar names and it was obviously a common occurrence for tourists to end up at the one we ended up because the receptionist very quickly whipped out a map and point us in the right direction. The Lonely Planet guide was right in asking us to alight at Sakae station. We got too smart for ourselves (actually it was my fault) when i read the map and just assumed the B Nagoya Hotel was the same as the Nagoya B hotel. In the end, we trudged 30 minutes to the correct hotel (
The B Nagoya).
I would be pretty impressed if the wheels on my Antler duffel bag will last till the end of the trip.
The B Nagoya has so far surpassed expectations. It is a budget hotel at 7000yen/day for a twin room with a private bath. The room is clean and comfortable, and the tub is deep enough for a soak, though i have not personally tried it. What i have to really commend them on is their internet - it's free, and they provide a cable. The internet is incredibly fast and stable, and certainly more reliable than the one i have back home! I highly recommend the B Nagoya, especially when it is also located so near the shopping districts.
Other than that, Nagoya has not been very interesting. I reckon if you like shopping and you prefer to do so in non-crowded areas, then Nagoya is the place for you. Unfortunately P and i are not into shopping - we have neither the time nor the patience, so by the time afternoon came, we were actually
lamenting at how slowly the time was passing and oh my god, what the hell should we do now. We tried
to visit all the touristy stuff around the area but really most were departmental stores and we were so over it. I was appalled at how bored and disappointed i have become especially since i did not have any expectations for the trip. P and i agreed that we both at least anticipated that we would be strolling along village-strewn paths with old people ambling along ancient buildings. Clearly, Nagoya is very modern.
Ultimately, we decided to linger around and look for good eateries. That i have to say, was the one part of the itinerary which we hit pay dirt. So if you ask me, Nagoya is probably not the place for me. Tomorrow, we will be traveling to other areas; hopefully it will be more interesting and there will be more photo opportunities.
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