Things to do only in Aichi: Ghibli Park, the Toyota Commemorative Museum, National Treasure Inuyama Castle and Tokoname's Pottery Footpath — touring Aichi from Nagoya

Aichi Prefecture lies between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka; Nagoya Station, in its capital, is about 1 hour 40 minutes from Tokyo by Shinkansen Nozomi and about 40 minutes from Kyoto (Aichi Now, Aichi Prefecture's official tourism site). Places you can only find here include Ghibli Park in Nagakute, the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology on the site where the Toyota Group began, Inuyama Castle (a National Treasure) and its castle town, Tokoname's Pottery Footpath, and the pottery town of Seto. All are day trips from Nagoya, so staying in Nagoya is the efficient way to see them.

Where is Aichi, and who visits?

Aichi Prefecture is in central Honshu, with Nagoya as its capital. In the Japan Tourism Agency's 2025 survey of prefecture visit rates by nationality, 6.9% of all visitors to Japan went to Aichi, with higher rates among travellers from Vietnam (20.2%), China (9.4%), the Philippines (9.3%), Thailand (8.5%), France (8.3%), Taiwan (7.8%) and Spain (7.5%) (some country samples are small, so read these as trends).

What can you do at Ghibli Park (Nagakute)?

Ghibli Park is inside Aichi Expo Memorial Park. All tickets must be reserved and are not sold at the entrances. According to the official site, it is open 10:00–17:00 on weekdays and 9:00–17:00 on weekends and holidays. To get there, take the Higashiyama subway line to its end at Fujigaoka and change to the Linimo for Aichi Expo Memorial Park Station, right by the park, or take a Meitetsu bus from platform 24 on the 4th floor of the Meitetsu Bus Center at Nagoya Station. There is no dedicated parking. Access and tickets are explained in detail in our article on where to stay in Nagoya for Ghibli Park.

What can you see at the Toyota Commemorative Museum?

The Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology uses a Taisho-era factory on the site where the Toyota Group began, preserved as industrial heritage. It has a Textile Machinery Pavilion and an Automobile Pavilion, with working machines and staff demonstrations. In TripAdvisor's list of Japan's most popular sights among international travellers, it ranked 28th in 2014 and 23rd in 2018.

• Hours: 9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
• Closed: Mondays (or the next day if Monday is a holiday) and over the New Year holidays
• Admission: adults 1,000 yen, 65 and over 200 yen, university students 600 yen, junior high and high school students 500 yen, elementary school students 300 yen
• Access: 3 minutes' walk from Sako Station on the Meitetsu Nagoya Line, or get off at the Toyota Commemorative Museum stop of the Me-guru Nagoya sightseeing bus

Inuyama Castle and its castle town

Inuyama Castle is a National Treasure and one of Japan's castles whose original keep still stands. It is about 25 minutes from Nagoya on a direct Meitetsu train. In the Michelin Green Guide Japan, the castle and the castle town of Inuyama have two stars each, and Urakuen Garden with Joan, a National Treasure tea house, and Museum Meiji-mura have one star each. In TripAdvisor's 2019 ranking of Japan's most popular castles by reviews, it came 6th.

Tokoname's Pottery Footpath

Tokoname is a pottery town. According to Aichi Now, take the Meitetsu line from Meitetsu Nagoya Station to Tokoname Station, then walk 5 minutes. There are two walking courses: Course A (1.6 km, about 1 hour) passes brick chimneys and kilns, black-walled workshops and slopes paved with pottery waste; Course B (4 km, about 2 hours 30 minutes) takes in visitor facilities such as the INAX Live Museum. The official page does not give the Meitetsu travel time, so check Meitetsu's timetable before you go.

The pottery town of Seto

Seto is another pottery town. Aichi Now's directions: from Nagoya Station take the Higashiyama subway line to Sakae, then change to the Meitetsu Seto Line from Sakaemachi to Owari-Seto. The Seto-gura Museum is 5 minutes' walk east of Owari-Seto Station. From Nakamura Koen Station, Sakae is about 12 minutes and 240 yen on the Higashiyama Line with no change.

What to do in Nagoya itself

• Nagoya Castle: the keep is closed and the restored Honmaru Palace is open (as of 3 November 2026). Adults 1,000 yen, free for junior high school students and younger (revised 1 October 2026). One star in the Michelin Green Guide
• Tokugawa Art Museum: two stars in the Michelin Green Guide
• Atsuta Jingu: one star in the Michelin Green Guide. About 33 minutes and 270 yen from Nakamura Koen to Atsuta Jingu Nishi Station, changing to the Meijo Line at Sakae
• Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium: two stars in the Michelin Green Guide. About 37 minutes and 310 yen from Nakamura Koen
• Nagoya food: Nagoya Umaimon-dori at Nagoya Station (inside JR Nagoya Station, Taiko-dori side, 17 shops) gathers miso katsu, hitsumabushi, kishimen, Taiwan ramen and more

What does a 3-night Aichi trip look like?

An example of staying 3 nights in Nagoya and heading somewhere different each day. Travel times are from official sources.

• Day 1: Arrive in Nagoya; Nagoya Castle's Honmaru Palace and Osu. Nagoya food at Nagoya Station in the evening
• Day 2: Ghibli Park (tickets must be reserved; go by Higashiyama Line and Linimo, or by Meitetsu bus)
• Day 3: The Toyota Commemorative Museum in the morning (3 minutes' walk from Meitetsu Sako Station; closed Mondays), then Inuyama in the afternoon (about 25 minutes from Nagoya by Meitetsu) for the castle and castle town
• Day 4: Walk Tokoname's Pottery Footpath (5 minutes from Meitetsu Tokoname Station; Course A about 1 hour) before you leave

Where to stay to tour Aichi

Trips to Ghibli Park, the Toyota Commemorative Museum, Inuyama, Tokoname and Seto all start from Nagoya Station or Sakae. Coming back to the same room every night also saves repacking. Central Nagoya has private stays in Nakamura Ward, west of Nagoya Station: House and Residence are near Nakamura Koen Station on the Higashiyama Line (4 stops, about 7 minutes, 240 yen from Nagoya Station), and Stays is 4 minutes' walk from Taiko-dori Station, 1 stop from Nagoya Station on the Sakura-dori Line. The Higashiyama Line runs to Fujigaoka, so you can reach the Linimo transfer for Ghibli Park with no change. All three have a kitchen, a washing machine (or washer-dryer) and fast Wi-Fi, plus a 10% long-stay discount.

• Where to stay in Nagoya for Ghibli Park →
• Small towns to visit from Nagoya →
• Central Nagoya House →
• Central Nagoya Residence →

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