Hekinan, Aichi

Has anyone been to Hekinan in the Aichi prefecture of Japan? I'll be staying there this summer for a few weeks and I was just wondering what it's like there. Thanks!

I thought it was nice, quiet suburban town. People were very friendly.

If you want some actions, you can hop on the trains to Nagoya.
They have shopping, restaurants and clubs.

I lived in the city next to Hekinan (Takahama city) for 5 years. It is about 30 minutes by car from Chubu International Airport. What do you want to know?

It is a small town on the ocean. The main industries are making roof tiles, manufaturing (there is a Toyota plant on the outskirts), fishing and agriculture. The sweet onions from Hekinan are famous.

There is a one train (Meitetsu Mikawa line) and the line starts in Hekinan and you can take it to Nagoya for about 1000 yen. There are four trains an hour and you have to change trains at Kariya or Chiryu to get to Nagoya. It takes about 1 hour.

As for entertainment in Hekinan, there is no movie theater in the city or near by. I am not even sure if there is a bowling alley. Nor is there any major shopping centers or even really a downtown. There are clusters of shops around the station and various grocery stores and the like. The city library is spacious and new and has a whole shelf of english books and a couple of english newspapers. A garden center called Aoi-park is a hands on place where you can pick your own vegetables and is kind of fun. Other than that, there is an community art gallery and the usual assortment of community centers and sports fields. There is a small aquarium attached to the Hekinan gym. For younger kids there is Akashi Park with many cheap amusement like rides. Near the ocean lots of people fish. There is an old temple town called Ohama (if I remember correctly) within Hekinan that has many old temples. In December, Hekinan city decorates itself with lots of lights and many tourists come to see the streets and displays. In July there is a fireworks festival (shared with Taketoyo city).

If you have access to a bike, it would be the best way to get around. The city is basically flat. There are some buses ("Kurukuru" bus is the name, I think) but they are infrequent and manly serve seniors. Most families own two cars and relay on their cars to get around.

The summer is really hot and humid. You don`t really need to dress up if you are in Hekinan, but if you go to Nagoya or even Kariya or other cities in between you will notice the change in fashion and atmosphere between the countryside and the built-up cities. Most people won`t speak any english, nor will there be many english signs. In fact, Portugese is spoken much more than english in the region.

If you want to know anything more in particular, let me know.

Thanks, Kaeru, for all of that information, it's really helpful! I think you generally covered everything I wanted to know, but if I have another question, I'll ask! Thanks again!