I tend to forget how different it feels like to step into a place of historical significance. Though, heritage and conservation wasn’t exactly my specialty back in architecture college days (I took Environmental Management Planning as an elective), that does not go to say that I have no interest in history and culture! (In fact, I am deeply interested in it, with my love for art museums and such! hehe :p)
On a slightly rainy day, we were finally being able to visit Nagoya Castle. Once arriving, after stepping past the gate, I felt my imagination stretch a little bit and began to picture what life must have been like many years ago. I was very impressed with how they were able to preserve and maintain the place, since I noticed how the pathways were spotlessly clean and the built structures were still in very good condition.
Entrance to Nagoya Castle grounds
We found this soft serve stall that mainly sold matcha-flavored ice cream right before the entrance to the castle. The display of all the different kinds of ice cream looked so tempting that we decided to try it out before heading into the castle. This was probably a very bad idea, since we came to Nagoya during the winter, which was not exactly the best time to be eating ice cream! haha!
Inside Nagoya Castle
The view from the top observation deck of Nagoya Castle
There were three men dressed in traditional costume roaming around the castle grounds. I couldn’t understand what this guy was talking about, but it seemed to be pretty entertaining, and the people seemed to be laughing and enjoying. haha! Well, me and my mom, being the tourists that we are (lol), we approached two of them to ask if we can have our pictures taken with them. kekeke
After visiting Nagoya Castle in the morning, we wanted to take a look at the Sakae city center. You can find a huge branch of Don Quijote here! This is also where you can ride the ferris wheel attached to a mall (as seen in above photo). You should give it a try if you want to take some good photos of the city view!
Crossing the street at Sakae to get to Don Quijote! It was raining and we had no umbrellas. Luckily, Don Quijote was just across the street, so we decided to drop by to buy one.
Inside Don Quijote! This place is souvenir heaven! You can find all kinds of assorted snacks, kit-kat, etc. Though, my favorite part about shopping in Don Quijote is–apart from the snacks–checking out the makeup section. hehehe It’s only in Japan where I’m able to find rare brand collaboration items for makeup, such as the Sailor Moon eyeliners, My Melody lip tints, and much more! ♥
I bought one of those kabuki face masks in Tokyo before, and it’s actually pretty fun to try on! haha! I guess it’s a bit pricier than the normal face masks, but if you’re in for the added fun of looking like one of the traditional geisha (or if you wanna try the animal ones), then you should definitely try out these funny face masks! haha! 😀
We didn’t spend much time in Don Quijote, since we were more focused on shopping for clothes, bags and shoes. It also started to rain at this point, so we just bought us an umbrella then headed to O-su Kannon. Time management-wise, we knew we could just come back to Don Quijote later in the evening, since it closes pretty late (until around midnight, I think?), while O-su Kannon’s stores probably close around 8:00pm.
We were pretty hungry, so the first place my mom and I headed to at O-su Kannon was the oh-so-glorious (x2!!!) taiyaki stall we stumbled upon the other day. ♥ We just found ourselves so hooked with the sweetness and creaminess of the custard and the red bean, in contrast to the crunchy caramelized breading. Ughhh it was so good, you guys!! ♥ You need to try it if you get the chance to visit this place! What I like about this snack area too is that they have simple seating areas and a vending machine right across their stall should you need to find a drink combination for your snack. ♥
We went back to the hotel after some shopping. Tita invited us for dinner out, so we took a break at the hotel first then met up with them at Nagoya Station. I heard that we were gonna have niku (meaaat) for dinner, so I was kind of soft of really excited. hahaha!
nikuuuu!
The next day, we planned to visit Little World, which is similar to the Global Village we visited in Dubai last year. Before getting there, we stopped by Narita Shrine in the morning first for some omikuji (fortune drawing) and an overall experience of shrines in Japan.
Washing of hands before heading to the shrine
My omikuji that reads good fortune! 😀
It was another slightly rainy day at Little World. I didn’t get to take much photos, but I did manage to take lots of video clips! I’ll try to post a vlog about this day some time soon! To get an idea, Little World is somewhat like a theme park that showcases anything culturally-related to different countries all over the world–from built structures, clothing, food, and much more!
When we got there, we met up with the rest of the group, and then Tita Arianne’s daughters gave me this adorable tiny chick toy as a present! How cute! ♥ haha!
We were greeted by some adorable animals at the entrance! They were incredibly cute (but I couldn’t help but feel bad somewhat).
There’s a restaurant near the entrance, should you get hungry. I took a photo of the menu for future reference on the pricing and the food options. hehe 😛
Since Little World is pretty big (lol the irony), you can opt to take a shuttle around the area instead of walking. You only need to pay a small fee (I forgot how much. Sorry!). I honestly would have preferred to walk around, but it was kind of a rainy day, so I decided to take the shuttle for most of the tour.
One of the souvenir shops around the area. I think this was in Germany’s section.
The super yummy apple juice at the European area!
Had some of this frozen chocolate cream crepe as an afternoon snack!
Again, I wasn’t able to take much photos of the different areas of Little World, but I’ll try my best to post a vlog entry about my experience there!
We ended the day with a lovely dinner at this fancy restaurant that Tita Vicky had especially chosen for us for a reserved seating dinner. After a long day touring around Little World, having high-quality sushi, and deep-fried shrimp and vegetables for dinner was just simply the BEST way to end the day. ♥
If you missed out on my other entries for the Nagoya, Japan blog series, do check out:
Nagoya, Japan (February, 2016) Days 1-3: http://www.armaineyapyuco.com/2016/05/06/nagoya-japan-feb-2016-days-1-3/
Nagoya, Japan (February, 2016) Days 6-7: http://www.armaineyapyuco.com/2016/06/18/nagoya-japan-feb-2016-days-six-seven-nagoya-port-o-su-market-nagoya-airport/
