Tom On day 8 of our Japan Travels, we literally ate our way through the entire day at Nagoya! We started our day at 730am with a sumptuous breakfast at Komeda’s Coffee…
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At most breakfast coffee joints in Japan, there are usually breakfast sets that comes with bread/toast/confectionery plus a coffee at a discounted rate. At Komeda’s Coffee, the toast set was 400 yen each…
For the choice of topping for the toast, you can choose from red bean (popular choice), egg mayo or hard boiled egg. You can also choose have an additional egg for only 60 yen. To top off this hearty breakfast, we decided to add on a croissant pancake for 600 yen, complete with a huge topping of ice cream. Definitely a great start to the day wouldn’t you think? 😛
Next, we headed to Matsumoto Kiyoshi Drug Store to do some shopping. According to extensive research done by Kate, buying cosmetic products here can bring you savings of about 40%. Here, Kate bought Kose products and after tax deduction were 40ish% cheaper than buying in Singapore. As mentioned in the previous post in Takayama, tax free requires a tax-free form to be filled up along with a photocopied passport. The items would then be sealed in a transparent tax free bag and the tax would be refunded on the spot – either through a cash refund or simply by charging the tax-deducted price. With our cosmetics shopping done, we headed to Takashimaya @ Nagoya Train Station and visited the Totoro store…
These huge figures were right at the entrance of the Totoro store and many visitors take turns to take pictures with them. Across the Totoro store is a huge Disney Store as well. Thereafter, we also took a walk around inside Takashimaya itself. We noticed that EVERYONE WAS SO FASHIONABLY DRESSED! Even the aunties were dressed in simple colours and drapped with an elegant cardigan. The other thing that we noticed was how the sales staff would check Kate out (quickly of course) from top to bottom before greeting her. -_-”
Main Junction at Nagoya Station
Across from the Nagoya train station is the mega electronics store – Bic Camera. Initially, we thought we could replace our current camera (any sponsors out there?) here. However, the canon model that we checked out was about $900 compared to $700 in Singapore. Though it was Nippon made (made in Japan), we were not entirely sure if we wanted to pay an additional $200 for it and decided to shop further. That turned out to be a good decision as we eventually found another electronics chain that was slightly cheaper than SG.
For lunch, we checked out the basement food court at Lucent Tower. Apparently, all of the must-eat delicacies of Nagoya can be found here (think unagi rice, kishimen and oyakodon), a similar concept to the Malaysia Food Street @ Sentosa…
The Kishimen (680 yen) was flavourful but the highlight for us was definitely the oyakodon (1285 yen). The chicken was tender and the eggs were so tasty. Also, there were so many eggs used! From our guesstimation, we counted at least 4 eggs. That was also probably what made the entire dish so rich and moist, yet retaining the flavours of the egg and chicken. We gave the unagi rice a miss because we had tried it during our stopover at Narita airport and also because it was quite expensive at over 3000 yen.
After the hearty lunch, we headed to central park to do more shopping. Tom bought a card holder at Muji for 600 yen which turned out to be a good buy. Due to the thick material, a credit card and ez link card can be placed on the slots on either side and yet be able to be read by the card reader without interference from the other card. We also noticed that Tokyu Hands is much popular these days with Muji taking B1 and B2 of the Annex building while Tokyu Hands occupies level 5 to 8.
Continuing with shopping, we walked down Central Park, took a couple of shots at Nagoya Tower and jumped right into the Onitsuka Tiger here. Having checked out the model and prices at the Onitsuka Tiger at Harajuku Tokyo, we knew which ones we wanted to try on here. We told the staff and she attended to us immediately in a very jovial and lively manner. She also offered to tie our laces for us, which she did at such lightning speed. Talk about 生活达人…
If you produce your passport at Onitsuka Tiger, you’ll get an additional 5% off, on top of the 8% tax refund. For the three pairs that we bought, that turned out to be substantial savings…
As we walked past the Matsuzakaya shopping mall, we witnessed something, perhaps unique to Japan. There was a live performance featuring a girl pop of three girls in typical Japanese school uniform. What surprised us was not that, but the sea of guys singing and dancing to the song. The moves were even synchronized! Yes, SEA OF GUYS. Unfortunately, we were stopped by the security just as we were about to film this unbelievable sight.
After some extensive research, we may have found out why. Due to the punishing school/work culture and rising costs of living, there are few avenues of entertainment for guys. In time, the “nerd culture” turned to gaming – something we noticed in arcades in Japan, where many guys play games as individuals. A particular game featuring the management of pop groups became exceptionally popular, eventually resulting in real-life performances of these virtual pop groups. The guys then transited from virtual gaming to real-life support of these groups. Hopefully, Singapore won’t reach this stage at all…
The other thing we discovered was the immense popularity of Kit Kat in Japan. Kit Kat is produced by Nestle which is a Swiss company. So the big question is why are there so many different Kit Kat flavours found only in Japan? Why the immense popularity of Kit Kat in Japan? The reason is because Kit Kat sounds really similar to a Japanese phrase “Kitto Katsu” which means “you will surely win”. This made Kit Kat a really popular gift especially for kids just before their examinations. Today, there are over 300 Kit Kat flavours and even a Kit Kat Chocolatory which produces high class (atas), premium chocolates. These are some of the Kit Kat we bought during this trip, along with other Japanese food souvenirs that you can consider as well…
After a little shopping at Parco, we headed to Yabaton for a mid-day snack…
Yabaton is famous for its pork miso katsu – another Nagoya delicacy. When we reached at 4pm, there was a little queue. While queuing, we had to listen to the Yabaton jingle which repeated the lyrics “miso katsu yabaton” till we can still remember it while writing this post! Beware of the Yabaton Jingle…
Jokes aside, Yabaton Miso Katsu is a MUST EAT in Nagoya. It must have stemmed from the quality of pork that Yabaton chooses. The meat was so tender and each bite had fatty bits that melted in our mouths. This time we chose the miso mix katsu for 1200 yen. You can also go for the set with soup rice and pickles for 1600 yen or just have the katsu itself like we did. Draft beers was 600 yen each. Needless to say, the outer layer of the miso katsu was crispy but with a fluffy crisp. As for the miso, both versions (miso on top and katsu soaked in miso) were delicious. If we really had to choose, the version of miso on top allows you to taste just the original pork katsu itself. Most importantly, it’s the real miso deal as we didn’t feel thirsty after the meal. Overall, a must-visit and must-eat delicacy in Nagoya. They even sell their own merchandise in-store…
We continued our walk past Osu walking street before heading back to Sakae station for a mandatory haircut at QB house…
The price of the haircut at QB house was 1080 yen. There were directional arrows above seats in QB house where you’ll shift once the next patron is done with his/her haircut. At the “last seat”, you’d be called by the hair-stylist to have your hair cut. The only challenge is that they didn’t understand English. Hence, alot of hand gestures were involved when instructing what style we wanted. Still, the result was good and Tom was satisfied!
To end off the evening, we visited Yamachan, a popular local izakaya (Japanese pub) that is famed for its Tebasaki (fried chicken wings). At Yamachan, the unique way of having chicken wings is to bite off the wing tip, hold on to one end and slide the entire portion of meat off the bones. This we did successfully 😉 However, we were not entirely satisfied with the quality of the Tebasaki. In fact, they were quite dry. Reminded us of the bad experience of dining at the original buffalo wings in Anchor Bar Buffalo. All the hype must have probably reduced its quality overtime.
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Book with Agoda Here: Popular Hotels in Nagoya
Book with Klook Here: Popular Activities in Tokyo
We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of all the foods to eat in Nagoya. Stay tuned as we finally get to check out Nagoya Castle on day 9 of our Japan travels!
Related Post
If you have just completed a post from our 12 days of travels in Japan. Find out more about this trip to Japan in the following posts below.
15 Travel Experiences and Things to do in Tokyo Japan!
Top 9 Things to do in Mount Fuji and Kawaguchiko Area!
Top 5 Things to do in Hida Takayama (高山)!
Top 6 Things to do in Nagoya (and food to eat)!
12 Days of Japan Travels: Tokyo Jimbocho and Imperial Palace Gardens Day 1
12 Days of Japan Travels: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Shinjuku Pablo and Shibuya Day 2
12 Days of Japan Travels: Mount Fuji, Lake Kawaguchi, Sanrokuen and Fujizakura Inn Reviews Day 3
12 Days of Japan Travels: Lake Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center & Sightseeing Bus Tour Day 4
Konansou Mount Fuji Hotel Review (湖南庄) : In-Room Onsen and Meals with views of Mount Fuji!
12 Days of Japan Travels: Takayama Morning Markets Jinya-Mae, Miyagawa and Takayama Hidagyu Day 6
12 Days of Japan Travels: Takayama Hidagyu (Hida Beef) and Bus Ride to Nagoya Day 7
Takayama Hidagyu Beef: All You Need To Know!
12 Days of Japan Travels: Eating our way through Nagoya Day 8
12 Days of Japan Travels: Visit Nagoya Castle and Overnight Bus Ride from Nagoya to Tokyo Day 9
12 Days of Japan Travels: Ichiran Ramen & Kamiya Pub Reviews Day 10
12 days of Japan Travels: Tsukiji Fish Market, Ippudo Ramen & Akihabara Tokyo Day 11
12 days of Japan Travels: Ueno Zoo, Ameyoko Shopping Street & Giga Butadon Day 12
Click here for recommended tours and trips in Tokyo!
