kNaru0online
Day 1 and 2
Day 3 was Ghibli Park, the main objective of the trip. It was convenient because there was a direct bus from Nagoya Station, where I was staying. The terminal for the Ghibli bus at Nagoya Station even has Ghibli drawings on it, so you shouldn't get lost. Nagoya Station itself is an interwoven mess of trains, subways, bus stops, Shinkansen, etc., so *if* you manage to find the bus terminal... I actually couldn't find the terminal and missed a bus right in front of me ㅠ.
The 'Thump-Thump Elevator' I saw all over the internet. Meh, the inside is just a regular unadorned elevator, so if the queue is long, it’s probably faster to just walk down the path next to it.
I finally got to the Grand Warehouse, and as a longtime Ghibli fan, it was so good. They decorated it nicely, featuring Totoro, Arrietty, and even *Tales from Earthsea*, the villain that supposedly ruined Ghibli (lol). I especially liked the no-photos exhibit on the food featured in Ghibli anime.
But outside the Grand Warehouse... uhh... the exhibit for Princess Mononoke, my first Ghibli movie and my kindergarten first love—is this seriously all they have? If you aren't a hardcore Ghibli fan, there isn't much to see or do outside the Grand Warehouse, so choose wisely. Even the Grand Warehouse feels kind of small to live up to the name. 'That's it?' was my thought.
Since Ghibli Park finished sooner than I thought, I quickly scrapped my original plan to go to the zoo and changed it to the Nagoya Port Aquarium.
The dolphin show and the orcas were all good, but what really hit the spot was...
The sardine show I caught during the last slot at 4 PM was genuinely spectacular. I sat right in the front row like a total noob, but it would have been better to sit slightly off-center to take in the whole scene. You absolutely have to see this in person; it was truly dope.
After this, I hit up Yabaton, did some weeb shopping at Osu Shopping Street, and finished off the last night.
Day 4, the final day, was reserved for Inuyama Castle and Meiji Mura. Inuyama Castle was a definite, and I debated between Little World and Meiji Mura, but I figured Little World was for kids, so Meiji Mura it was. So I thought I got on the morning train headed for Inuyama, but...
Aak! Nagoya Station! Aak! Where the hell is Kōnomiya! I ended up taking the Limited Express by mistake, got dragged all the way to Kōnomiya, and had to take another express back, totally blowing an hour of travel time. Eh, luckily, that didn't matter much in the end, lol.
Now I get why everyone screws up at Nagoya Station. Seriously, pay attention to the color of the line you’re standing in ㅋㅋ
After that whole snafu (찐빠), I finally arrived. The castle town below Inuyama Castle was just like any other—nothing much to see, honestly. The castle itself was small, but the old, creaking wooden floors made it better than Nagoya Castle. I’m the kind of person who prefers Himeji to Osaka Castle, so that checks out. Next, I headed to nearby Meiji Mura. I went back to Inuyama Station and hurried over on the bus, which runs every 30 minutes. Since it was a weekday, it was chill, but I guess you need to line up early on weekends. Even though it was Monday, the seated spots on the bus were mostly full. Meiji Mura scenery below.
Do you know Natsuiro Matsuri, the pure idol born in Aichi Prefecture?
Seriously, hit up Meiji Mura.
Back to Korea now.
Aak! Jin Air! Thanks to Jin Air for extending my trip by about 2 hours, I got to spend extra time doing some serious weeb shopping on the west side of Nagoya Station before finally heading home. The End.
"Everyone agrees that the Sardine show was fire, but the Mononoke exhibit was severely lacking. Also, 'Aak! Nagoya!' is a universal feeling when dealing with those trains."
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