The city's foremost sightseeing highlight is Nagoya Castle with its two golden dolphins on the roof. It's only a replica, since the original castle was destroyed by American bombing in 1945, but it's still an impressive building with an interesting museum inside.

Among the city's many temples and shrines, the Atsuta Shrine is the most important, as it contains one of the three sacred imperial treasures of Japan. There is a small museum, and the grounds offer a nice environment for an afternoon stroll.

Nagoya is also home to some excellent art museums, including Nagoya City Art Museum and Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which both feature Japanese and non-Japanese artworks, and the Tokugawa Art Museum, an amazing collection of more than 10,000 items of traditional Japanese art.

Much effort has been put into making the city's port attractive to visitors, and the spectacular Port Tower is worth visiting for the views it offers of the harbour. The Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium is very popular and one of Japan's finest.

For those interested in ceramics and local crafts, the Noritake Garden is worth a visit. Higashiyama Zoo, Botanical Gardens and Sky Tower offer a fun day out in a lovely park setting.

Nagoya Station Tourist Information Centre
Nagoya Station
Tel: (052) 541 4301.
Website: www.ncvb.or.jp

There are tourist offices also at Kanayama station (tel: (052) 323 0161) and in the Oasis 21 building in Sakae (tel: (052) 963 5252). The information counter at Nagoya International Centre, Nagoya Kokusai Center Building, 1-47-1 Nagano (tel: (052) 581 0100) is also a good source of information about transport, sightseeing and culture in Nagoya.

There are currently no tourist passes available in Nagoya.