This booklet was created by students of Aichi Prefectural
University as part of our Project for Promotion of Global
Human Resource Development. It is our hope that this brief
introduction to Aichi-Nagoya in some small way enhances
your time here. All information provided herein is true to thebest of our knowledge at the time of publication, and allrecommendations are simply the opinions of the authors.

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5
page
souvenirs to buy

2affordable foods

4

meals to eat out

6places to visit

8etiquette tips

10faux-pas to avoid

14things to try

16fashions to find18

useful phrases

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November events221. Chopsticks
Chopsticks are the traditional eating utensil inJapan. You may have seen Japanese people use
chopsticks as hair pins in old movies, but we don’t
actually use eating chopsticks in that way!
Nowadays some Japanese people carry their own
chopsticks everywhere in order to use fewer
disposable chopsticks, and you can buy convenientcompact chopsticks to carry. Chopsticks are sold atmany souvenir stores, and at all 100 yen stores.
When you use them, there are a few things that you
should be careful of; see page 10 for chopsticketiquette tips.

2. Plastic Food
Plastic food looks like real food, but you cannot
eat it, of course. You can see it all over the placein Japan, as many restaurants promote theirmenus with window displays of plastic food.
There are many kinds of plastic food that you
can buy; sushi, curry, takoyaki etc. You can buy
plastic food as an accessory, a key chain or evenan iPhone case. Tokyu Hands department store(in Nagoya station or Sakae) is a good place tofind plastic food.

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3. Senbei (rice crackers)
In Japan, you can find many kinds of senbei
with different flavours, textures andingredients. You can buy beautifully packaged
fancy senbei at department stores, andaffordable senbei at supermarkets,convenience stores, or even 100 yen stores!

4. Furoshiki
Furoshiki are a kind of cloth. You can wrap almost
anything in a furoshiki to make a neat convenient parcel
that is easy to carry. Furoshiki are available at a reasonable
price in a range of traditional and modern Japanesecolours and designs.

5. Sake
Sake is Japanese rice wine. You canenjoy it cold or hot. Sake is usually
drunk straight, but you can use it formaking cocktails. You can buy a cup
of sake for about 200 yen atconvenience stores. If you go to
department stores, you will findmore expensive bottles.
They are high quality andsure to please!

31. Shironowaru
This is a famous Nagoyan dessert. A soft flaky danishbase is topped with vanilla soft-serve icecream and aglacé cherry. Served with maple syrup. You can findshironowaru in any Komeda Coffee shop.

2. Taiyaki
Fish-shaped pancakes usually filledwith sweet red bean paste. You canalso choose custard, chocolate orother fillings. Taiyaki are popularnationwide and are typically sold atfestivals or from small specialty foodstands.

3. Miso Kushi-katsu
This is another Nagoya specialty. Skewers of breaded pork
served with sweet and salty red miso sauce. You can findmiso kushi-katsu at most casual restaurants serving local
food in Nagoya.

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4. Taiwan Ramen
One of Nagoya’s famous noodle soupdishes. Although it is named “Taiwan”,
this dish is not actually from Taiwan.
Taiwan ramen is very hot and spicy. If you
prefer less heat, you can choose American
Taiwan ramen which is less spicy.
Toppings are ground meat and Chinese
chives. You can enjoy Taiwan ramen at any
Misen restaurant.

5. Uiro (pronounced weelow)
This confectionary is a well-known Nagoya specialty. It
has a soft jelly-like texture and comes in a variety offlavours and colours, from traditional sweet red bean
and green tea flavours to chocolate and even blueberry.
Toraya Uiro confectionary stores are a good place to go
and try uiro.

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1. Hitsumabushi
Hitsumabushi is a bowl of cooked rice topped with chopped
grilled eel. It tastes both sweet and salty; a taste notuncommon to Japanese food.
There are some steps involved in eating hitsumabushi. First,
eat it plain as it is. Second, eat it with some leek, nori (dried
seaweed), and wasabi (Japanese horseradish). Last, pourstock over the hitsumabushi.
Nowadays, the price of eel is going up, so thisfood is becoming more of a luxury.

2. Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a traditional Japanese dish, prepared andserved in nabemono (Japanese hotpot) style. Sukiyaki
consists of meat and vegetables which are simmered at
the table. Soy sauce, sugar and mirin (a sweet
Japanese condiment) flavour the sukiyaki soup. To
eat, simply take some meat and vegetables from the
hotpot, dip into the small bowl of raw beaten egg, andenjoy! If you are looking for a fancier place to havedinner, 木曽路 (Kisoji) is a famous sukiyaki restaurant
found all over Japan.

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3. Fish
It is worth going to a nice fish restaurant
while you are in Japan. Sushi and sashimi (raw fish)
are delicious, but they are not the only Japanese dishes
in which you can enjoy seafood! Traditional fish
restaurants serve a range of fish dishes, from simmered
fish dishes, grilled abalone and boiled octopus, tochawan-mushi (savoury steamed egg custard cups).

4. Misokatsu
Misokatsu is deep-fried porkwith miso sauce served onsalad and rice. It may not be a
fancy food, but miso sauce
goes with rice very well!
Yabaton is the most popular
restaurant for misokatsu in
Nagoya and perhaps even allover Japan. People come fromother prefectures just to try
misokatsu here in Nagoya.

5. Zaru Soba
Zaru soba is a cold noodle
dish. Soba (buckwheat)
noodles are served on azaru (basket), usually
made of bamboo. Pick thenoodles up off the zaru
with chopsticks, and dipthem in the dipping sauce
provided before eating.
You can try zaru soba at
any soba restaurant.

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1. Osu
Osu Kannon is the most popular temple in Nagoya
and Osu is home to a variety of shops and restaurants.
Visit the historical temple and shrines and try street food.
There are markets in Osu on the 18th & 28th of each month. Seeboth modern and traditional Japan here!
Foods to try include taiyaki (see p.4), karaage (fried chicken),
Turkish icecream & agemanju (fried dumpling).
Getting there: Tsurumai line, Osu Kannon Station (Exit 2).

2. Tokugawa-en
Tokugawa-en includes Tokugawa Museum, Hosa Library,
and Tokugawa Garden. The museum has a collection ofarmour and other artefacts used by Tokugawa generals.
The library holds the historical Owari Tokugawa family
book collection. The garden is a traditional Japanesegarden.
Museum admission is 1200 yen. A combined ticket for the
library, garden, and museum is 1350 yen.
Getting there: Meijo Line, Ozone Station (10 minute walk).

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3. Nagoya City Science Museum
Nagoya City Science Museum was renovated and reopened a
few years ago. It now holds the largest planetarium in theworld! You can enjoy the planetarium while listening to
explanations from museum curators. It is open from9:30-5:00 daily but is very popular so get in early to beat thequeues.
Getting there: Higashiyama Line or Tsurumai Line, Fushimi
Station (Exit 5).

4. Atsuta Jingu
Atsuta Jingu (Atsuta Shrine) is known as thesecond most sacred shrine in Japan. Thisshrine enshrines the sacred sword, one of theThree Sacred Treasures of the Imperial
House. The shrine grounds are large and cool,so it is a pleasant place to take a walk. If you
are lucky, you might be able to see a Japanesestyle wedding here. There is no entrance fee.
Getting there: Meijo Line, Jingu-Nishi Station(Exit 2).

5. AEON Mall
If you want to see real Japanese daily life, go to an
AEON Mall. You can enjoy shopping in a mall with afood court, game arcade, theatre and supermarket.
You can see students hanging out after school, andfamilies enjoying their weekend.
There are ten AEON Malls in Nagoya City. AEON Mall
Atsuta is located in Atsuta District almost in thecentre of Nagoya City.
Getting there: Meijo Line, Kanayama Station (southexit), then take a free shuttle bus to the mall.

91. Eating EtiquetteDon’t stab food with yourchopsticks.

Don’t point at people withyour chopsticks.

Don’t use chopsticks inboth hands like a knife andfork.

When you eat sushi, don’t
separate the topping from therice.

Don’t stand chopsticks up
in your rice.

To call a waiter, raise yourhand and say “sumimasen”.

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2. Public Bath Etiquette

Pay your money in advance.

Get in the bathtub.

Enter the changing room.

Rinse your bodywith tap water.

Take off all your clothes andput them in a vacant basket.

Dry yourself.

Wash your body.

Put on your clothes.

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3. Shrine Etiquette
When you enter a tori gate you should be careful not towalk down the center of the path. That is the path for thegod. Walk on the side instead. When you come to a small
water fountain, you should wash your hands and mouth as
below.

Next, you should pray. First ring the bell once, put money
into the offering box, bow twice, clap twice, and bow one
more time. Now pray.
You can buy amulets or a paper fortune in the shrine. There
are many kinds of amulets, for health, business, study andso on. The fortune written as 大吉 is the best one. The others
are not so great and should be tied to a rope between trees.

124. Temple Etiquette
Five things to be careful of when visiting a temple:
Photographs are usually permitted in the temple
grounds, but are forbidden inside some temple
buildings. Watch for signs.
 It is up to you how many coins you throw into theoffering box, but it is said that throwing 5 yen or 15
yen is good luck.
 You should not eat or drink anything inside thetemple building.
 If you get a paper fortune and do not want to keep it,
you should not throw it away. You will see a place
where people tie their fortune papers.
 When Buddhists visit temples, they burn incense in
incense burners. It is up to you if you want to burnincense or not. If you want to give it a try, make sure
you leave money for the incense.
The price is usually 100 yen.


5. Drinking Etiquette
If you go out for a meal or drinks with Japanese friends,
wait for everyone to receive their drink and say“kanpai!” (cheers!), before you drink. If you are sharing
bottled beer (common practice in Japanese-style bars), it
is polite to fill other people’s classes and wait for themto do the same for you. Avoid filling your own glass!

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1. Starting to Eat in a Restaurant
In some countries it is usual for all
customers’ dishes to arrive at the same time.
However in Japan, restaurants make thedishes as quickly as possible, and they getthem to the table as soon as they are finished.
So please don’t be surprised if your disharrives earlier than other people’s. If yourhost encourages you to eat, please don’t
hesitate. Just say “itadakimasu” and dive in!

2. Toilet Slippers
When you go to the bathroom, youwill often find slippers at the doorof the bathroom. If you find them,
you should take your shoes off andput the toilet slippers on. These
slippers are exclusively for thebathroom though, so do not forget
to take the slippers off and put
your shoes back on when you leave!

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3. Tipping & Paying
You don’t need to give a tip to the waiter inJapanese restaurants. Even if you give a tip,
most of the waiters cannot receive them, sothey may return it to you!
You may also be confused about paying. In
many countries, waiters come to you and you
can pay at the table. However, in Japan, you
usually have to go to the register. If you wait atyour seat, you could be waiting for a long time!

4. Cellphones on Trains
Don’t talk on your cellphone on the
train! In Japan, there are rules against
using cellphones on trains and buses. You
can use your phone to send emails, use
the internet, and other such quiet
activities, but should not use it to talk.

5. TaxisThis might sound strange, but don’t open the taxi
door! In Japan, all taxis are fitted with automatic
doors operated by the driver. If you hail a taxi,
the door will automatically open as the taxi
driver pulls up, and he will open the door for you
after you pay upon arrival at your destination.

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1. Karaoke
Karaoke means “empty orchestra”
in Japanese and is a place where
you can enjoy singing with yourfriends or family in a private room.
Nowadays karaoke is a typical way
to relax for many Japanese people.
Most karaoke places in Nagoya areopen 24 hours, so you can enjoy itwhenever you want to.

2. Subway Line
Trains in Japan are famous for being very
punctual. They are also quite safe, and you will
see many people sleeping on the train without
concern for their bags, or apparently for their
stop! Most Japanese people simply seem to wakeup at the station they want to get off at. It isquite amazing!
Trains are very crowded in the morning andevening rush hours. Tokyo is famed for this, but
Nagoya is no exception. The station staff
sometimes have to squeeze passengers into thetrain by force. Is is worth a rush-hour trip on the
Higashiyama Line subway to experience
firsthand the sensation of being packed in likesardines!

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3. Purikura
Purikura refers to a photo sticker as well as its
booth. You can take photos alone or with friends
and decorate them on a screen installed in thebooth afterwards. Recent purikura technology isvery advanced, and allows you to enhance yourown features as you desire. You can have bigger
eyes and whiter skin. Purikura is popular among
young people. You can try it for a moderate priceat any game arcade.

4. Neko Cafés
Neko cafés are cat cafés. Cats roam freely around thecafé and customers are free to pet them. Cats are said tohelp people relax! You can find many neko cafés in
Nagoya.

5. Slurping Noodles
When Japanese people eat noodles (except spaghetti),
they usually make quite a bit of noise! Slurping
noodles is not rude in Japan, and people even say it is asign of appreciation! For some, it is difficult to enjoy
slurping because of the sound, but if you want to try,
you can slurp noodles in any noodle (especially ramen
and soba) restaurant while you are in Japan!

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1. Lolita
Lolita fashion was originally based on Victorian era
fashion in Europe. The style is for girls, and uses a lotof lace and frills, together with ribbon, rose, or crossaccessories. Lolita fashion makes girls look young,cutesy and often doll-like. There are many kinds of
Lolita fashion, including Ama (sweet)-Loli and Goth
(gothic)-Loli. Alice-in-Wonderland is a popular
inspiration for many Lolita girls.

2. Harajuku
The pioneer of Harajuku fashion is Karry Pamyu Pamyu, afamous Japanese singer. Fans started to imitate her
outfits, leading to the creation of the Harajuku fashionstyle. Vivid or pastel colored clothing are popular, worn
together with cutesy accessories. A kawaii (cute) look is
the goal, and many outfits resemble children’s clothes!

3. Visual-kei
Visual-kei fans aspire to be wild and cool, in imitation of
popular rock singers. They wear metal accessories such as
chains and crosses, and often rip their clothes on purpose.
The main colour of the style is black.
Visual-kei bands famous for this style of fashion include“Golden Bomber” and “Nightmare”. Members of thesegroups wear heavy make-up, even males.

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4. Cosplay
Cosplay is short for Costume-play. People who enjoy
cosplay are called cosplayers, and they imitatecharacters from animations or manga (comics) thatthey like. Cosplayers often spend a lot of money on
their costumes and like to gather to display theircostumes and take photographs together. Here in
Nagoya you can see many cosplayers in Tsurumai Park
most Sundays when the weather is fine.

5. Gyaru/oGyaru/o tend to be junior high or high school students
who have dyed bright blonde hair and wear their clothes
to make them stand out in some way. When they wear
their school uniforms, girls like to shorten their skirts andwear loose socks. Boys usually wear their pants so lowthat you can see almost half of their underwear. There arealso some adult Gyaru/o in their 20s. Gyaru (female) liketo wear heavy make-up, especially black eyeliner. You canfind this fashion everywhere in Japan, particularly ingame centres because many Gyaru/o love taking purikura(see p.17) there.

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1. Kon-nichi-wa こんにちは
Kon-nichi-wa means “hello” in Japanese.
There are other greetings depending on thetime of the day, but you can use konnichiwa
anytime.

2. Su-mi-ma-sen すみません
When you want to say “excuse me”, you
can say “su-mi-ma-sen”. You can also say
this word to apologise.

3. Arigato ありがとう
When you want to say “thankyou”, use this phrase. To make it
more polite, add “go-zai-mas”
after you say “arigato”.

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4. O-ne-guy-shi-mas おねがいしますThis is a very common and extremely versatile phrase. It is
impossible to translate exactly, but is very polite withnuances of both “please” and “thank you”, and people will
help you if you say this phrase!
When you order in a restaurant, you can say “coffee,
o-ne-guy-shi-mas” or if you say “Nagoya Station,o-ne-guy-shi-mas” in a taxi, the driver will gladly take you
there.
You can also use this phrase when you meet someone forthe first time to express how happy you are to meet,
usually in its longer form: “yoroshiku-oh-ne-guy-shi-mas”.

5. ～wa doko desuka? ～はどこですか？
You can use this phrase to ask the locationof something. It just means “where is ~?”So if you want to know where the toilet is,just ask “toire (toilet) wa doko desuka?”21

1. Koshoji Temple Fair
One of the largest temple fairs in
Nagoya, attracting as many as 100
booths. Open on the 5th and 13th ofeach month.
Getting there: Meijo Line, Yagoto
Station (Exit 1).

2. Shichigosan Festival
Each year in Japan on November 15th wecelebrate children’s healthy growth. Boys
who are three and five years old, and girls
who are three and seven, dress up in kimono
and visit shrines with their families to prayfor healthy growth. Children are given candy
called chi-to-se-a-me which means long life.
Atsuta Shrine is a popular place to visit on
this day. (See p.9 for Atsuta Shrine details.)

3. Higashibetsuin Temple Fair
This fair opens on the 15th of every month,from about 9:00-3:00. Check out the large
temple while you are there.
Getting there: Meijo Line, Higashibetsuin
Station (Exit 4).

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4. Horaiji-san
The official Horaiji-san autumn festival is held on
November 23rd, but you can enjoy the beautiful
autumn scenery here from the middle of November.
Horaiji-san is a long way from Nagoya, but themomiji (Japanese Maples) here are famed for their
yellow, orange, red, gold, and brown leaves. It is also
a great place for hiking.
Getting there: JR Iida Line, Honnagashino Station,then take a bus to the Horaiji stop. Or, JR Iida Line,
Yuya-onsen Station, then take a taxi (15 minutes).
For great autumn foliage nearer the city, you can try
Shirotori Park, but leaves here may not turn until
later in the month.
Getting there: Meijo Line, Jingu-Nishi Station (Exit4).

5. Osu Temple Fair
Open from early morning on the 18th
& 28th of each month, this fair attracts
a large number of antique sellers.
Getting there: Tsurumai Line, Osu
Station (Exit 2).

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Contributors
Hidaka, M.
Ito, R.
Morohashi, M.
Okumura, H.
Tahara, A.

EditorSakamoto, F. (Aichi Prefectural University)

5 things you need to know about
Aichi-Nagoya
2014 年 10 月 1 日発行

発行：愛知県立大学 iCoToBa（多言語学習センター）〒480−1198 愛知県長久手市茨ヶ廻間 1522－3 E 棟 2 階
E-mail: icotoba@for.aichi-pu.ac.jp
http://www.for.aichi-pu.ac.jp/icotoba/

本教材は、愛知県立大学グローバル人材育成推進事業の成果の一部として刊行された。

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