Nagoya's history goes back 400 years. The city was created in the aftermath of the Battle of Sekigahara. Uniting Japan through his victory at the battle, Tokugawa Ieyasu commenced construction of Nagoya Castle in 1610, and in the years that followed the residents of the former town of Kiyosu moved to the area surrounding the new castle.

Under the leading family of the three Tokugawa clans, Nagoya developed as a centre for culture, manufacture and trade.

With 2.2 million inhabitants, Nagoya is today the fourth-largest city in Japan. One of the country's major transport hubs, situated halfway between east and west along the main transport lines running from Tokyo via Kyoto and Osaka to Hiroshima and further west, Nagoya also has Japan's leading port for international trade as well as its own state-of-the-art airport, half-an-hour from the city centre.

For centuries a centre for porcelain, ceramics and lacquer-ware production, in modern times Nagoya has been among Japan's most important manufacturing and industrial cities. Toyota Motor Corporation, one of the world's leading car makers, was established in Nagoya, and it still runs a technology and industry museum in the city, while the manufacturing of cars has moved out to Toyota City to the east of Nagoya.

Nagoya is not all about industry, transport and trade, however. It has a thriving cultural scene and a vibrant nightlife, and there is a wealth of museums in the city, including some excellent art museums.

In addition, it also has something to offer nature lovers, in particular the Fujimae-higata wetland area near the port, which is Japan's largest stopover site for migratory birds and hence a great site for bird spotting. There are also plenty of green spaces in Nagoya, and the city is working to become even greener.

While Japan's environmental record is poor in many places, Nagoya has initiated a number of comprehensive green projects with the stated ambition of becoming Japan's eco-capital of the future.