Solo Trip Nagoya (August 2023) - Day 3 Meals and Chisun Inn Check-In

Day 3 morning, I had to check out from the hotel and moved about 2 streets away to another hotel nearer to the station. I do this to lessen the impact of staying long term in a sucky hotel, lol. Above was my light breakfast. I love drinking milk and eating these black sugar pudding in Japan. Both are protein, so I take it that it's suitable for breakfast! I checked-out with my luggage quite early, and walked to the next hotel to deposit my luggage, before taking the train to my next attraction. 

When I came back around late afternoon, I was able to check-in to my room at Chisun Inn. Online review shows quite a low score for this place, but I actually love it. It cost around 42sgd a night here, and above was what my room looked like. Pretty cosy. It has a fridge too! 

And the usual toilet. It was pretty warm, so I did a lot of laundry here since the first hotel didn't have a bathroom attached. I let them housekeep the room on alternate days since I'm not a messy person. The housekeeping was mainly to clear the rubbish since I tend to eat my dinner in the room, and also to get fresh towels.  The only thing I didn't like about this hotel was their ice dispenser are always out of ice or spoilt. Sometimes I had to run around few levels before filling up my paper cup. 

I went to the Train Museum that day, but didn't manage to have lunch there as the cafe was always crowded with long queues due to the limited train themed lunch set they sold. It was quite a disaster there. So I tahan-ed till I was back in Nagoya Station, and bought my first sushi bento from Takashimaya. It was delicious but so expensive! 

I also found Fauchon bakery at the same place, and they have this variety set of bread and pastry for just 800Y. Of course I bought it. It was cheaper than dining in a cafe! And This would be my tea and next day's breakfast. I love Fauchon Bakery. I first had it when I was in Korea with my husband and we stumble upon it at Sin Sei Kai mall, which was kinda like Takashimaya.

After spending so much on sushi at Takashimaya, I still wasn't full. So I did some googling and found an Aeon Mall Outlet around 20minutes from my hotel. Needless to say, I walked there in the evening to check it out. Things were so much more affordable there! And they have lots of ready to eat food too. But since it was a long walk, I didn't get any fresh sushi. I got this box of tempura instead, and some flavoured beer. This one was cassis and orange. I have a fascination with cassis after hearing it in a song lyrics titled Even If by Ken Hirai. Even though I didn't understand Japanese when I first heard it, I knew it was a heart breaking song. While writing this blog, I googled the lyrics, and was surprised to finally be able to read the English translation of it.

Here, in case you need to cry a bit, enjoy the song. It's one of the most heart breaking song I love. 

Ref:

Even If (lyrics with English translation)

Solo Trip Nagoya (August 2023) - Hirokoji Dori Festival

Around early evening, I took a walk from Aeon Mall Noritake Garden all the way to the center of town, which was around 20minutes walk or so to Hirokoji Dori. There was a two days Summer Festival there. I know most travel sites don't recommend you visit Japan during June and July due to rain and summer heat, but I think it's the best kept secret, cause summer is where all the Japanese festivals are held, and going to remote town and city was the best place to enjoy them!

Arriving at the street, it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. There was a program sign stating what event was being held at what time. Basically the whole road was closed, and at certain intersection, there were performances set to perform. But there were also performances walking up and down the streets itself. And you could just park yourself somewhere strategic to watch everything. 

Many performers wore traditional costume, and came in all genders, age and sizes. So that is how the Japanese live so long! All the old folks were participating in festivals through out the year. And to do that, I'm sure they also attended regular practise session and socialised with their groups. For the younger performers, it was more like a school or family event. Their families were there to support them while enjoying the festival. It was quite a touching scene to witness. 

There were also cool mystical monsters parading down the street, happy to scare kids and take photos with them. They look like monsters from rice fields.... 

But pretty cool looking all the same. 

Traditional music groups were also performing at certain areas. It was really quite a relaxing atmosphere as it wasn't crowded at all.

I saw the elegant dances with the hats that covered most of their faces. I always though you could only see these dances at certain areas of Japan. But nope. As long as there is a festival, you can see the locals performing their version of this dance. I stayed to watch the parade of performers and street performer till almost 7pm before walking all the way back to the hotel. It was dark by then. I realised that the section I was at was the traditional performance area, and nearer to the Nagoya Station, they have youth performing modern dance too. But I didn't come all the way to Japan to watch modern dances, so I was quite satisfied with where I was,

The beautiful river at night on my way back to Nagoya Station. A salesman with a flyer actually stopped and talk to me here. But I excused myself when the traffic lights turned green for the pedestrian. I leave two videos here for you, on some of the performances I saw on this unforgettable day. 

Solo Trip Nagoya (August 2023) - Day2 Lunch, Aeon Mall, Tsutaya and Sugakiya

 

Done with the museum, I decided to have my lunch there as well. I had katsu curry rice. I ordered it in Japanese, and when they lady asked if I wanted a set, I said ok and she asked me what drinks I want. I was too tired by then to panic, so I just looked at the Japanese drink menu and ordered an apple juice. I was so proud of myself! Day 1 and my Japanese was doing ok! The curry rice was delicious! And their solo seat area overlooked the garden. What a lovely place to have a lovely lunch on my own. I was feeling pretty happy!

After lunch, I walked back to Aeon Mall, the one I visited the day before. Above is the different view. Noritake Garden is just adjacent to it. 

I was here to visit the Tsutaya Bookstore which I've forgotten about yesterday. Isn't it beautiful? It was one of those instagram-able bookstore in Japan! I have been to the Tsutaya Bookstore in Kuala Lumpur before, and I thought this would also be a high-end store. Strangely enough, the books were pretty affordable here. I browsed, but did not buy anything. 

This is the famous staircase that people on instagram like to take photo off. Yay! I was here!

It was also one of the rare time I see Japanese people breaking the rules. The sign obviously says no photo taking, yet everyone just couldn't resist. They were Japanese cause they were all conversing excitedly in Japanese! Lol. My imagine of Japanese fell a knot that day! I recall the other time it fell was during the New Year Eve and New Year Day Sale in Hokkaido! Hahaha. Have I blogged that? 

After the bookstore, I browse the mall a bit, and found a food court. It was hot and I wanted something cold. I found this fast food chain, and I think I I love it, cause they serve my favourite dessert at quite an affordable price. 

350Yen for Anmitsu! I think I ate it twice in this trip from this chain store. More if you count the other times I ate from elsewhere :P  I don't know why, but I love this dessert, mainly due to the kanten jelly, and the black sugar. It's super delicious. And anything else add on to that was just a bonus to me. 

This is what it looked like. I enjoyed it slowly at the food court while charging my phone there. It's so cool that Japanese Food Court for solo seaters have power point for you to charge your phone! Actually it's the same in Lalaport Food Court in Kuala Lumpur too. Super awesome. I stayed at the food court till almost 4pm before I headed out to the next destination. I was headed to a festival in the city! And it only starts in the evening!

Solo Trip Nagoya (August 2023) - Toyota Museum Part 2

 

The second segment of the museum was about cars! Finally, something within my expectation. Above is a photo of the Toyota Way! Their principle, or company motto. I thought it was interesting, so I took a souvenir shot. 

The transition from loom to cars was via a welding demo, how car parts were made from iron and steel. Pretty impressive. I watched it twice! It was mainly automated, with the human guy just transferring the parts from one machine to another to mould or shape them into specific car parts. 

Again, I joint a Japanese tour. I followed all the way to nearly the end before I realised that I was supposed to register for the tour instead of just following them. Cause everyone has a sticker, except me. When I realised that, I just acted like I was an independent visitor :P  The tour started mainly on Toyota's history. 

I love those old memorabilia. 

I don't know if the wooden car there was the first car Toyota made? But it was featured a lot. 

The only good thing about following a guided tour was having someone explaining and demo-ing the things for you. 

 

Looks pretty neat!

The factory area was super big! This was how they used to make car in the olden days, by humans!

This here is the museum, separated in to different segment of how the cars are made now. 

Now, cars are made by machines. I was super impressed with this. The guide actually demonstrate how the machines put the cars together. When he talks, he would show the machines working in slow motion. Once he was done, he showed us how the machines actually worked in real life, and wow! Mind blown! Humans could not compete!

This is what an assembly line looked like, with the cars moving down as the machines work on it. Pretty freaking cool!

There was also an area where they put all the car parts together. Here I learned that the main critical part of the car was actually just the steering wheels and gear. Everything else was just cosmetic. Car wasn't made of expensive things, yet coming from Singapore, you would never wrapped your head around that cause the price of cars in Singapore is insane!

There was a segment where they displayed all the iconic Toyota cars from the past to the present too. I think that would be so cool for car lovers. I'm not a car fan, but even I was impressed.

And for some reason, I spend around 30minutes queueing up for this 3D printed car souvenir that all the little kids where lining up for. It was free, so..... Lol. You have to press some buttons, and the machine will print out the car mould, and when it was ready, you have to assemble it yourself. But the key word was: It's a FREE souvenir :)

Solo Trip Nagoya (August 2023) - Toyota Museum Part 1

So, here is where the education begin. I thought I was visiting a car museum, so why was there a giant loom machine in the entrance of the museum? Ha! Apparently, Toyota started out as making thread, and fabric before they make any cars! So the first part of the museum was showcasing that part of the technology. I like it that they actually change the date daily on that sign. Makes a great photo souvenir!

Before entering the main museum area, there was a small exhibit hall dedicated to Mr Toyoda himself. That's him in the photo above.

Here's more info about him. And yes, his name was Toyoda, not Toyota. And the Toyota Way is actually a very popular book about productivity, improvement and kaizen (continuous improvement).

The very first machine demo was actually of the giant loom at the entrance. And guess what, everything was in Japanese. I think not many tourist visit Nagoya. I couldn't understand 100%, but seeing the demo was pretty impressive it self! After that, I entered the factory warehouse area.....

I thought the display was really well thought out. Starting in chronological order. Remember Sleeping Beauty and the needle? I finally saw the real thing! With a demo too! It still amaze me how thread can be formed from cotton just by weaving it in this wooden machine. I mean, I did learn and see everything about it in this museum, but I am still fascinated by it. There were some Chinese tourist from China that was visiting, and boy were they a bit rough. And interestingly, the staff at the museum was also quite rough in handling them, probably from experience. 

I thought it would be boring, me just walking around looking at machines but with not much understanding of them. But then I saw there were staff explaining how things works, ah but in Japanese, to some of the visitors. So I decided to follow them. It was kinda like a tour, but in Japanese. But at least I saw the demo, and how the machine works as the staff would usually demo it after explanation. I did rough understand what was being said maybe 40% of the time. So it was good enough. I decided to follow the Japanese tour all the way, even at the 2nd segment of the museum. 

It was amazing when technology slowly evolved into mechanical. The speed of the thread being weaved was amazing!

This was how big the museum was! You could hardly see the other end! And it was filled with all these machines that made thread and fabric. The tour did helped me understand the evolution and how thread was make. Ha! I was already learning something new!

After the thread was made, next came the machine that made fabric. From the wooden hand operated machine, to the high tech mechanical giant! Progress was amazing!

Here is the modern machine that can even make patterns on the fabric, and in different colours! 

Ending here with a special gift fro VW Germany to Toyota found inside the Toyoda Exhibit. I wonder why there wasn't anything from Daimler? Lol. Were they not friendly competitor? 

Solo Trip Nagoya (August 2023) - Komeda Breakfast and Toyota Museum

 

The official first morning in Nagoya! I was gonna visit Toyota Museum. It was within walking distance from where I stayed, so I walked there, choosing to go through the residential areas instead of the main road. I felt strangely at home in my surroundings. Above is the site of the Toyota Museum. It was still early, so I went for breakfast first. 

There was a Komeda Coffee nearby, and it was high on my retro cafe to visit. I don't even know why! Day 2 in Nagoya and I've already visited 2 out of my 3 retro cafe!

I went in, not really know what to expect. You know how you walk into a restaurant and expect it to behave the same as the restaurant at home? Ya. I forgot I was in a different country. Do I order at the counter? Is there a machine? Do I sit down first? It wasn't crowded, and a lady waitress shouted welcome and said I can sit anywhere, in Japanese! I sat at the solo tables facing the wall, and when she came to serve me my ice water, I told her what I wanted, in Japanese! So far so good! I wonder if the fatigue would wear in soon. It usually wear in after a week or so, and I would switch to English and play tourist again. I was going to be here for two weeks, and my goal was to use my Japanese as much as possible. 

I ordered the Ogura Toast set. They have a light version without the egg and yogurt. I love that they have their own glass, their own towel, and their own coffee cups! This was call the Morning Set, and it was a thing in Nagoya. It basically meant that during morning hours, you can purchase a cup of coffee, and they serve you breakfast for free. The coffee was like 500Y though. Still, it was supposed to be super value for money.....hahahahaha

Ah.... I got pretty addicted to coffee in Japan. At home, I would normally drink my coffee black, using a single drip coffee, to make about 300ml of coffee, which I would drink it as two cups. So it was kinda diluted. Here, each cup was concentrated black coffee, thick and smooth. It was so freaking high for me! Wait till I get to my last hotel where they serve free coffee at the lobby! Hahahaha. I practically drink it once or twice a day!

After breakfast, I took a short walk to the museum. Above is the bus stop to alight if you are taking the bus. Who needs a bus? I got legs! I can walk everywhere! And boy did I walk everywhere in Nagoya!

The front gate of the museum. Why was I here again? I don't even drive or own a car! Well, it's because Toyota Museum is the most famous museum in Nagoya, and also because I have a history of working in Daimler, and I've visited the Mercedes Truck office in Brazil when I was working there. I wanted to see how a different car company museum would be life. You know, compare notes!

Inside the museum ground area, I saw there was also a research institute housed here. Cool! I felt like I was in a modern research center! The museum inside actually consist of two area, and I will write two parts for them individually cause they were surprisingly interesting to me! This post is just a summary. 

One of the cool things to see at the museum, was actually the robot musician! A whole band! Or more elegantly, a whole orchestra! Sadly, the above robots was on maintenance and did not perform at all on that day. Still, they looked so cool!

The violinist  robot however, did performed at fixed interval. And he was quite a hit with the visitor! I managed to catch a performance in between the two segment of the museum :)

Here's me and the violinist! Encore! Encore! Bravo!