Nagoya worth the visit?

Thank you all again for you advice!

Korakuen Garden is most definitely on the list. We want stay in Uno to make the trips to the islands as short as possible. Also the famous garden Kanazawa we will visit and from there slowly back through the alps to Tokyo/Narita airport.

We plan to stay 5 full days in Koyto so we are able to go to Nara too and spend maybe one day in the mountain area above the city or take a day trip to Osaka.

Hmmmmm.....

The biggest problem between Tokyo and Kyoto for side trips is that most of them are either swamped with tourists already (think Takayama and Kanazawa), are not worth visiting or a bit difficult to visit.

If your looking for something a bit different, I reasonably enjoyed Inuyama which has a nice castle and I'm a big fan of Meiji Mura which is absolutely huge. However, if your not a fan of old buildings then Meiji Mura might be a bit bland.

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-989
https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-990

Another nice castle town close to Kyoto is Hikone which has one of the more picturesque castles in the Kansai region. It's also close enough for a day trip to Kyoto.

If you can drive in Japan, have a bit of time and are not really tight for finances, one of the better highlights I've had in Japan is staying around as Asuka and Sakurai areas of Nara. It's the cradle of Japan and has some of the best forest temples and shrines in Japan.

I also stayed in a semi rural guesthouse which was fun

http://asuka-minpaku.com/en/

The following two posts took I think a day and a bit for more but it's should have been completed over 2 days to fully enjoy everything....

https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3042
https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-3043

This is rather off the subject of Nagoya, but if you can extend your stay in Okayama for a day, then depending on your taste in gardens and your taste in art, the Adachi Museum in Yasugi can make a perfect day trip, if you also enjoy recreational train riding and have a rail pass. I did this last year and it was one of the most enjoyable days I have ever spent in Japan. (It is definitely NOT for people who do not appreciate long, scenic train rides and simply cannot fathom why someone would spend as many hours on trains in a day as at one's primary destination. And the venue itself isn't for those people who can't stand not being able to stroll around in the garden. I got over that immediately myself, but many folks just cannot. Then there are some who find the gardens there "sterile" because they are so pristine and highly groomed. To each her own...)

If you're interested in doing this, go on a weekday, try to leave early (the 7:05 Yakumo 1 is perfect; have breakfast on the train), and don't forget to show your passport for a very generous discount. Research train and shuttle bus times (and museum particulars) carefully before you go and allow yourself plenty of time to take everything in. And if it rains, consider yourself to be in great luck! That place is incredible in the rain, and as an added bonus, "bad" weather keeps some people away. Meanwhile, since most of the places for viewing gardens are inside, you don't have to worry about getting wet.

There is an onsen (Saginoyu) right next door and it is possible to combine a day-use soak there with a trip to Adachi Museum, but you'd really have to do your homework, as the timing is tricky and details are not all that easy to come by in English. I haven't done this, although I might at some point. But I would go back any time just for the museum, combined with some lovely train riding.

We are getting totally off topic here... but to the idea of Asuka, actually you don't need a car for Asuka and Imaicho and Kashihara Jingu. You can easily come by train from Nara (or Osaka) to Imaicho (there are 3 train stations within a few hundred meters of each other: Yaginishiguchi, Yamato Yagi and Unebi). Kashihara Jingu has its own train station as well. And to Asuka, when I went, I saw that one can rent somewhere (probably Kashihara) bicycles to make the short trip.

It is a very nice region, and so close to Nara, but nearly void of - foreign - tourists. For some reason they all head off to Magome / Tsumago, which is nice... but so far away. Imaicho and Asuka merit more time.

I think instead of now spending 1 day in Nagoya, you will need to add another 2 - 3 weeks to your trip to get to all the other splendid places ;-)

But don't despair, just come back when time and budget allows for it.

I suggest you consider opening up your scope a bit - Inuyama has definitely got some good places. The crown jewel is Meiji Mura, truly the finest open-air museum in the whole country.
https://youtu.be/ZgYDE7ujk8A

Inuyama Castle is small but one of the few surviving originals. The Sankoinari Shrine next to it is not half bad either. I've seen a couple dozen traditional gardens though, and Urakuen was one of the least interesting of them all - not to mention costing about 2-3 times the price. In addition to the ones in Nagoya, a very nice garden is at the Eihoji Temple in Tajimi, Gifu.

JR has a most excellent railway museum there, with a Legoland across the street. There is a smaller tram/subway museum on the other side of town. The city is large enough to have all the big-box retailers, like BIC.

I stayed 2 nights in Nagoya and it was perfect.

I arrived at about 5pm from my previous destination and checked into my hotel (APA Nagoya Sakae-Kita, which was in a perfect location to walk to all my planned landmarks) and spent the evening relaxing in the room since I had a long day.

The next morning I woke up early and walked to the Science Museum, since it doesn't open until 9:30am I walked a little further and checked out Osu Kannon Temple for 30 min. It was great because I was there when people were worshipping in the temple-so I observed).

I went to the Nagoya science centre which is awesome if you like science and know a bit of Japanese.

Walked through Sakae, stopped for lunch, and walked to Nagoya Castle. Got a FREE english tour of the castle (since I was alone, it was just me and the guide) which was phenomenal!!!! SO SO SO WORTH IT.

Spent the evening walking around Sakae and Osu Shopping District, where I shopped at tons of thrift stores and ate good street food. I also stopped at the arcade.

Finished the evening on top of Oasis 21 for a nice view of the city.

The next morning I went to Toyota Commemorative Museum after checking out of my hotel, then took the shinkansen to my next destination.

SUMMARY: Go to Nagoya for 2 nights. Spent 1.5 days there. Worth it.

Thanks for that information Natasha! Just what I needed to read. Going to take a trip there tomorrow for a couple days and will follow your foot steps...

How was Okayama and the Seto sea islands??

Also - us regular Japanese tourist bunch often forget the excitement of visiting just a general Japanese city for the normal tourist. Thus the fussyness that we probably exhibit. It's also fair to say that it's only be the last 2-3 years that more information on travel to Nagoya has become more prevalent in English as well....

I have probably been to Nagoya as many times as Osaka and it is a better city to visit if you have time. I lose count of the number of times I've been there. But if you go to Tokyo, then Osaka is a smaller (pale) version of Tokyo and harder to get around - I know that will annoy those that like Osaka, but a decade of travelling, it doesn't measure up.

For the islands, Naoshima is ok for a day-trip, and it is getting over-run with tourists and the island (despite the promotion) is struggling with its own popularity. My last visit I did see a bunch of unhappy visitors that didn't like the delays and other people visiting the Art House Project. I now do day-trips in preference to staying on the island.