[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by Japean

Nyororin... I'm not sure why you think that people hate Nagoya.

I am sorry that you took it personally. I didn't really intend the comment to be directed at you as much as talking to myself, really. There is usually a LOT of hatred directed toward Nagoya in the foreigner/expat community in Japan.

I could have left 15 years ago if I wanted to but I love it here. A great city indeed but lacks the "old traditional face of Japan" that tourists come here for.

But so does 99% of Tokyo. (Unless the old traditional face of Japan is crowdedness and way too many people...) So I really don't think that the majority of visitors to Japan are looking for that "old traditional face" as much as they want to just experience Japan.
Sure, I would advise someone who wants to visit hundreds of temples to head to Kyoto... But when it all comes down to it, unless you are looking to visit specific tourist spots, Nagoya has just as much as anywhere else... And definitely more if you count all of Aichi. (Masses more if you toss in Gifu and Mie, as they are as easy to get to as getting from one side of Tokyo to the other.)

That is why I just simply implied that for a tourist who wants to experience authentic Japanese culture this is not the right place to be since there's not much of authenticity left (the Nagoya castle was completely rebuilt and has an elevator inside).

Then head up to Inuyama, of an authentic castle is what you are after. Or even take a slightly longer train ride up to Hikone to see the castle there. Almost all of the castles in Japan have been rebuilt - there are only a handful that have not.

You mentioned that Nagoya has a lot to offer to tourists - "plenty to see". I have visitors all the time so I really would like to have your "real Japan in Nagoya list" so that I can show them traditional Japan locally.

What *specifically* do you want to show them? I would be more than happy to give you some ideas. But, you know, if Nagoya isn't "real Japan", then I really don't know what would be... Japan of 50 or 100 years ago, even if that is what tourists want to see, no longer exists.

My point is that if you want to take someone to a brand-name tourist spot, then yes - you won't find many because Nagoya doesn't tend to cater to tourists so doesn't have that many (any?) that are known outside Japan. But as far as history goes, you really can't say that the area is lacking. I mean, I live right smack dab in the middle of an old battlefield and can walk to the commemorative stone put up after it... History is not lacking, it just doesn't have huge tourist signs posted around it.
You may be right that you won't find any traditional villages inside Nagoya itself, but you won't find any of those in Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto either.