After quitting the Castle the rest of Nagoya may be done in one day, but if it happens to be in the April of blossoms when the city is in joyous mood, you may linger for a few days to see the various shows, theaters and festivals which Nagoya knows how to stage so well. In the course of your drive through its clean, broad streets lined with tempting shops and tall department stores, you may drop in at the Tsurumai Kōen, 20 minutes from the station. It is a smart little modern park with its picturesque pond, its zoo and library, its statues and lecture halls, tea-houses and cherry-flanked promenades--all the requirements of a real park. Very famous, too, are the two great temples of Nishi (west) and Higashi (east) Hongwanji, and the Ōsu-Kwannon, the ceaseless Mecca of local pilgrims -- men, women and children--at all hours of day and night.
Outside the city proper lies the august shrine of Atsuta in a district of the same name, which can be reached in half an hour by car. The shrine is consecrated to some ancient Imperial princes, and in it is deposited one of the three Imperial regalias, "Kusanagi-no-tsurugi" (the grass-cutting two-edged sword). The shrine and its environs are modelled after the great mausolea of Ise, and considered as ranking second only to the shrine of the nation at Ise.
Situated within two miles of the city is the recently-built Nakamura Park which will not be worth your visit unless you are historically-minded or a hero-worshipper. Nakamura was a cold, smokeless sort of village when the great Taikō, or Hideyoshi, was born there, and it was also the birth-place of Kiyomasa. A couple of shrines stand in memory of the great men, and the spot where Hideyoshi saw the light of day is marked with a bamboo grove.
Such then are the chief sights. Among the many interesting and healthful excursions possible from Nagoya, the most famous are the cormorantfishing (during summer) on the Nagara river (1 hr. from Nagoya), a boating trip down the Kiso, or the Rhine of Japan, and seabathing at Kamagōri where there is a fine hotel. But do not forget to buy Gifu lanterns and Nagoya porcelain ware as souvenirs for home! Few things could possibly be more acceptable.
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