Tag: Old

SCMaglev and Railway Park

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Probably my favourite place that I visited in Nagoya, the SCMaglev and Railway Park is a haven for train lovers. Everything about Japanese train history, from the steam locomotives to the avant-garde maglev trains, and everything in between from onboard refreshments, tickets, even the toilets were on full display! Whilst I’ve been in other train museums in Japan, this definitely blew the ones I’ve visited out of the water.

I regretted leaving this place as an afterthought when I visited for the first time, which left me with not enough time to explore the place before I had to rush back to the station to catch a bullet train to Tokyo. Visiting this place the second time was much less rushed and allowed me to explore even more of the place, but I still feel like there’s not enough time to look at everything – I didn’t have enough time to look at the special cafeteria nor the theatre sections. Given some of their exhibits rotate, I could probably make a case for visiting a third time. Maybe someday.

I did buy the comprehensive museum guidebook to tide me over until then.

Cars of the Toyota Automobile Museum

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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.

Nagoya Castle

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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!

Tamsui Church

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Old Sanmachi Walk

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From souvenir keepsakes to local produce (sakes, beef) to snacks and cafes, there’s a lot to see, eat, drink and buy. As I’ve repeatedly stated, places do close early so get your shopping done in the late afternoon.

Takayama Showa Museum

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I consider the Showa Museum to be better in size and scope compared to the nearby Retro Museum. Showa doesn’t technically mean retro, but rather a time period from the mid 20s to mid 80s, in line with the emperor that ruled Japan during that time, which is why it definitely has a lor of similarities to what is considered “retro” today.

The lack of a lunch option is made up for with more space and rooms to explore and pose for photos. Lots of photo spots, less people, even a little cinema as well. There’s still slot machines and “Smart Balls”, though this place has a dedicated retro pachinko room, which I think is definitely more on brand for Japan. Add to that functioning 8-Track machines and additional retro consoles.

Still, if you have the time, I recommend visiting both. This one‘s a short walk away from the Retro Museum. Allow plenty of time, I easily spent half an hour on the free-play pachinko alone. 😛

Gassho-zukuri Houses

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This is definitely the main highlight for anyone visiting Shirakawa-go. It’s fascinating to learn about the fragility of the thatched roofs, and more importantly the effort and system in which they get repaired/replaced routinely, with a whole task distribution system that meant the entire village helps one another. Various professions were carried out in the houses back in the day, from silkworm cultivation to even gunpowder making! Some of the houses are still very much inhabited, but do make sure to pass by Wada House, one of the largest ones, and is open as a museum to the public.

Hida Takayama Retro Museum

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It was a very interesting visit. The museum may be small, but it’s packed to the rafters (literally, there’s a games – both retro consoles and old wooden games – room in the upstairs area!) with restored nostalgic items, outfitting various rooms of the era, from classroom, to doctor’s office, to barbers, to electronics stores, and everything in between. Lots of free slot machines to waste your time on, including ones that seem targeted at actual kids from the period. Come at lunchtime, and you can have a period school lunch from the 60s (though the spread isn’t as great as a full-fledged school lunch restaurant I visited years ago).

Oh, did I mention this isn’t even the only “nostalgia museum” in Takayama?

In Spite of All The Danger

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I started liking The Beatles in 2011, and eventually I bought their Anthology box set in 2012, which had a recording of this song made by the group’s predecessor, The Quarrymen. I really liked the song, though I had wished a better quality recording in the same style and arrangement would have existed. I only found out years later that a movie was made about John Lennon’s early life, and the soundtrack included a (what I considered) very faithful cover of this exact song!

Snow is Melting

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Given how thick the snow was and how chilly the air still is, I’d suspect this went on for a few days.