Nagoya Shopping

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The area near the gate for either Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium or Nagoya Castle East Gate, you will see some food stands just as you may see in festivals. Most of the Nagoya Castle visitors who get off from subway station, SHIYAKUSHO-MAE, enter the castle from East Gate near the Ninomaru Garden. So these stand try to lure these visitors.

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When you have lunch around Tsuruma Park, think about this bakery as an option. It is located in Tsurumai station and there are some seats for dining. The shop has a wide variety of kashipan or sweet buns or pasta or okonomiyaki style buns. In Japan such bakery shops are very popular and they are something like what Kentucky fried chicken or Mcdonald chains are like. When you enter the shop pick the buns you like in a tray and bring it to the clerk. If you want to dine here then you choose if you want to have them at the dining space or take out and eat outside.

So, Atsuta Aeon is definitely the place to go mall-shopping in Nagoya. They have everything. I could spend a whole day there, and I don't really like to shop. There are many great shops in the mall. Beaux-Arts, I think, is one of them.

I'm not from Japan, so I get into the exotic stuff that foreigners love about Japan. All the cool yucattas and jimbays, and glassware, chopsticks, sandals, Japanese prints, etc. Beaux-Arts has all this stuff, lots of gift items, housewares, shirts, plants, and the store is quite small. Prices are pretty cheap too. It's one of my favorite stores in Astuta Aeon.

What to buy: Gift items and souvenirs are the best items. These souvenirs are cool, too - not the cheap stuff you normally see.

What to pay: Pretty cheep. Lots of stuff at 500 yen, some at a 100, most between 1,000 and 5,000 yen.

In Japan, what's cute is popular. Everything is cute, cute, cute. They've made a fine art of cute. You see it everywhere. And no one is exempt from the cute bug.

This shop in Aeon has a lot of crazy cute stuff. You've gotta check it out. The prices are reasonable too.

What to buy: I like the bowling pin lamp and the cat mirrors.

What to pay: Cheap. 500 yen to 2000.

Central Park is one of many underground shopping malls that Nagoya is famous for. It is located at Sakae station. There are many shops and eateries here. The mall also connects to all the major stores in Sakae. It's worth a stroll even if you're window shopping.

Open until 8:30pm daily. Restaurants until 9pm.

What to buy: There's lot of shops, but most are for girls. You can just about buy anything here though, and there are lots of cafes and pastry shops but not as many restaurants.

What to pay: About average price.

This is a really cool department store near Yaba-cho station and Sakae. The store is located in the Nadya Park building, an usual "art deco"-type complex. It's very popular with the young people. "NADYA" stands for "Nagoya, design, youth, and amusement."

The store has just about everything cool and hip. There are many imported items that can't be found elsewhere in Japan, and just about any type of souvenir you need. Everything is here, even a bookstore with an extensive English section. This is my favorite store in Nagoya although it's a bit pricey. You must check it out.

What to buy: Gifts, housewares, stationary, books, Japanese items, imported stuff, jewelry, watches.

What to pay: A bit pricey. Stationary items are cheap (less than 1000 yen) but watches are a bit more (10000 yen and up).

Osu Kannon is the place to go for electronic equipment. But it's also an extensive outdoor shopping arcade with all sorts of stores and eateries. The area is about a 15 minute walk from Sakae, another big shopping district in Nagoya. At the western end is Osu Kannon temple.

What to buy: Electronics, clothes, souvenirs, music

Mostly ppls come here for eating (see my restaurant tip), but you can also buy some cute piggy things in here.

What to buy: You can buy some original souvernir of Yabaton in here such as its glass, t-shirt, sticker etc.