4-Day Road Trip Across Central Japan Episode 1 japan-guide.com

With a mountainous interior that makes up the Japan Alps and bordered by the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean in the north and south respectively, central Japan, which is sandwiched between Tokyo in the east and Osaka and Kyoto in the west, offers spectacular vistas that include rustic and traditional landscapes. Not only that, the region is also home to many important cultural and historical sites. In this four-episode series, we're going on a four-day driving trip through central Japan, visiting some of the best and scenic spots in Nagoya and the surrounding prefectures. My name is Raina Ong, staff writer for japan-guide.com, and over the next four days, I'm going to take you on a scenic four-day road trip from the coast to the peaks of central Japan. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Day one. Our trip begins at Chubu Sentrair International Airport, where we pick up our trusty steed for the rest of the trip. From there, we drive to Nagoya Castle, have lunch before going to the Ise Shrines and spend our first night at an accommodation in Agobe. About 40 minutes away from the airport is the city of Nagoya, where we make our first stop for the day. One of the most popular attractions in the city is Nagoya Castle, the former seat of one of the three branches of the Tokugawa family, which ruled Japan for about 250 years from the early 17th century. The palace buildings that you can see behind me are excellent replicas of its original. They feature excellent traditional craft and artwork. Let's go inside and take a look. One thing that visitors may not realize is that not only were the castle grounds for defense purposes, there were also palace buildings where the local lords lived and entertained their guests. Many of these palace buildings have been lost over time and few remain today. Nagoya Castle is one of the very few castles whose palace has been reconstructed. A few steps away from Nagoya Castle is Kinshachi Yokocho, made up of two restaurant areas filled with trendy and local specialties and where I headed for lunch after visiting the castle. One of the local dishes not to be missed when in Nagoya is miso katsu, which is deep-fried pork cutlets dipped in a savory blend of miso and dashi broth, and my choice for lunch. This gold miso katsu is only available at the outlet closest to Nagoya Castle and it looks super shiny! Our trip continues with a drive down south to the Shima Peninsula, where the Ise Shrines, or Ise Jingu, as they're known in Japanese, are located. The Ise Shrines are the most sacred Shinto shrines in Japan and they have a history dating back a couple of millennia. I'm at Geku, the outer shrine, which is dedicated to the goddess of food, clothing and water and this building behind me is the main shrine. The shrine architecture here is also said to show almost no influence from the Asian mainland and the buildings on the grounds are reconstructed once every 20 years in a tradition that has been carried out for over a thousand years. While there are no specific order to visit the shrines, it is tradition to visit Geku, the outer shrine, before going to Naiku, the inner shrine. One of the highlights on the way to Naiku is walking through Oharai-machi, the traditional and lively approach to the inner shrine. Shops offering traditional and local foods and souvenirs flank the street and visitors can enjoy the traditional atmosphere before reaching Naiku. Beyond these steps is the main shrine building where the sun goddess is enshrined. Now cameras are not allowed beyond this point so I'll see you guys in a bit. After that visit to the simple yet stately Ise shrines, I get back in my car and make my way to Ago Bay at the southern end of the Shima Peninsula where my accommodation for the night is located. It's seafood on the menu for tonight and I've got two of the Shima Peninsula's local delicacies. Abalone and Ise-yabi. Gonna take a bite? So fresh. And that was day one of our four-day road trip through central Japan. Be sure to join us on episode two as we continue on the second day of our trip participating in some exciting activities and going stargazing. For more information about this trip or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head over to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive, up-to-date travel guide first-hand from Japan. Thanks for watching. Be sure to subscribe and click the notification bell for more videos about Japan. Happy travels.