Cars of the Toyota Automobile Museum

Shaking off the terrible experience of Ghibli Park, the Toyota Automobile Museum is only a few stops away by train, far less crowded, has prettier buildings and lots of cool stuff to see.

While their car collection are certainly plentiful (and only a selection is on display, the vast remainder of their collection is in private storage), the large museum also fits in an entire car memorabilia section (toys, car magazines, stamps, etc), showrooms, a library of car-related literature and Toyota catalogs (low key interested in buying a JPN Taxi for personal use), a restaurant and large gift shop (which sadly doesn’t do tax-free either, but hey, you can’t have everything).

Overall, much more satisfying place to visit and spend several hours in. It’s not, however, the best place I went to in Nagoya. That will be for a future post.

Ghibli Park Is Overrated

Having visited the Ghibli Museum in the past, I was excited to see Ghibli’s attempt at a bigger, Disneyland-like venue. Unfortunately, I was quite underwhelmed by what I saw.

Continue reading “Ghibli Park Is Overrated”

Many Faces

Taken at Binen-Yumeromu Museum.

Tebasaki and Beer @ Sekai no Yamachan

Being in Nagoya, of course I had to sample the local specialty. Yamachan’s one of many popular chains selling fried chicken wings, locally known as Tebasaki. I favored their “Phantom Chicken Wings” which packs a ton of pepper, while my traveling party favored the sweeter soy sauce-flavored chicken wings more. Regardless, definitely enjoyed best with local beer (sorta mandatory since they require every guest to purchase a drink) and other snacking dishes like fish cakes with cheese inside, gyozas, as well as tofu and potato salads.

Nagoya Castle

Sadly the main castle building is off-limits to visitors due to structural repairs. Honmaru Palace provides some interior views, minus the various floors.

Feel free to use the last photo as your wallpaper!

Breakfast @ Komeda’s Coffee

Came here from a friend’s suggestion, and was attracted by their breakfast special – free toast, egg/red beans and jam with any drink. Generous offer, but we added a few things we wanted to try. A repeat of the Viennese coffee along with yoghurt and honey was a good choice, but my traveling companions were drawn to the salad and the tasty dressing. Unfortunately after the some questions and requests, there was no way to buy a bottle of their (apparently original) salad dressing to take home.

Too Early for Sakura

Indoors 11 – Cherry Pie

Watching Migi and Dali made me want to try cherry pies for the first time. Bought them from a specialized bakery and enjoyed each slice with some B&J’s.

Singapore Airlines Lobster Thermidor

Always flying economy when on Singapore Airlines in the past, I’m very grateful for the opportunity to finally fly SQ’s Business Class for the first time. After reading about the ins-and-outs, I decided I have to order the signature Book-the-Cook (Singapore Airlines’ online food ordering for premium passenders) dish: Lobster Thermidor with fondant potatoes. I had my reservations when ordering, since I’ve never had anything above decent when it comes to seafood on an airplane, but with the light-tasting lobster and the rich, creamy sauce, this is possibly the best seafood dish I’ve had in the air so far!