Map of Nagoya- Japan

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is Japan’s third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area. It is located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu. It is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan’s major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Kitakyushu. It is also the center of Japan’s third-largest metropolitan region, known as the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. As of 2015, 2.28 million people lived in the city, part of Chūkyō Metropolitan Area’s 9.10 million people.

Population: 2,191,279 (2016)

Language: Japanese

dialects

The Nagoya dialect is spoken in the western half of Aichi Prefecture, centering on Nagoya. It is also called Owari dialect. The Nagoya dialect is relatively close to standard Japanese and to the Kansai dialect, differing in pronunciation and vocabulary.

Currency

The yen (¥) is the currency of Japan and banknotes and coins are identified easily. There are ¥1,000, ¥2,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 banknotes; and ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100 and ¥500 coins. Cash is the most widely used in Japan. However, major department stores and large hotels major accept credit cards.

Geography

Nagoya lies north of Ise Bay on the Nōbi Plain. The city was built on low-level plateaus to ward off floodwaters. The plain is one of the nation’s most fertile areas. The Kiso River flows to the west along the city border, and the Shōnai River comes from the northeast and turns south towards the bay at Nishi Ward. The man-made Hori River was constructed as a canal in 1610. It flows from north to south, as part of the Shōnai River system. The rivers allowed for trade with the hinterland. The Tempaku River feeds from a number of smaller river in the east, flows briefly south at Nonami and then west at Ōdaka into the bay.

The city’s location and its position in the centre of Japan allowed it to develop economically and politically.

Climate

Nagoya has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with hot summers and cool winters. The summer is noticeably wetter than the winter, although rain falls throughout the year.

Culture

Nagoya was a major trading city and political seat of the Owari lords, the most important house of the Tokugawa clan. They encouraged trade and the arts under their patronage, especially Tokugawa Muneharu, the 7th lord, who took a keen interest in drama and plays and lived lavishly. Under his rule, actors and actresses began to visit Nagoya. Arts and culture was further supported by the city’s wealthy merchants. Culture flourished after the feudal Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji era. During World War II many old buildings and artefacts were destroyed. The region’s economic and financial power in the post-war years rekindled the artistic and cultural scene.

In popular culture

Nagoya, especially Nagoya Castle, has been featured in three Godzilla movies: King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, and Godzilla vs. Mothra. The city is also featured in Gamera vs. Gyaos and is the main setting of 2003 film Gozu. 1995 film The Hunted starred Christopher Lambert and the 1992 film Mr. Baseball starred Tom Selleck.

The city was the setting for the 2007 movie Ashita e no yuigon (translated as Best Wishes for Tomorrow), in which a Japanese war criminal sets out to take responsibility for the execution of U.S. airmen. The anime The Wind Rises by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 2013, is a highly fictionalized biography of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero’s chief engineer Jiro Horikoshi and takes mostly place in Nagoya of the 1920s and 30’s.

Transportation

Nagoya is served by Chūbu Centrair International Airport (NGO), built on an artificial island in Tokoname. The airport has international flights and a high volume of domestic flights.

A second airport is Nagoya Airfield (Komaki Airport, NKM) near the city’s boundary with Komaki and Kasugai. On February 17, 2005 Nagoya Airport’s commercial international flights moved to Centrair Airport. Nagoya Airfield is now used for general aviation and as an airbase and is the main Fuji Dream Airlines hub.

Nagoya Station, the world’s largest train station by floor area, is on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line, the Tōkaidō Main Line, and the Chūō Main Line, among others. JR Central, which operates the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, has it headquarter there. Meitetsu is also based in Nagoya, and along with Kintetsu provides regional rail service to the Tōkai and Kansai regions. Nagoya Subway provides urban transit service.

Nagoya Port is the largest port by international trade value in Japan. Toyota Motor Corporation exports via this port.