Tokugawaen: A Great Place to See the Fall Colours in the City

One great thing about fall in Japan besides the relief from the hot, muggy summer and the seasonal foods, are the momiji trees. The Japanese maple is beautiful in autumn when the leaves change to a vibrant red splash of colour. One activity that many Japanese do is take an outing just to enjoy this scene in the crisp outdoor air. Most well-known momiji viewing spots are located a little farther away from the big cities, in the mountains or countryside where there is vast land for trees to grow. However, inside Nagoya, there is a Japanese Garden that can give one a taste of autumn right in the city.

Tokugawaen was actually originally made in the 17th century, for private land. It only became open to the public in the 1940s. When December comes along, the garden, which usually closes late afternoon, is kept open until 8:30pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for two weekends in order to let people see the momiji trees at night under lamps and laterns. This year, wanting to stay in the city, I decided to visit Tokugawaen for my annual momiji viewing. It seemed almost magical with lanterns lining the paths and brightly lit red and green leaves reflecting on the pond below. There aren't many skyscrapers surrounding this garden so it didn't even really feel like I was in the city.

Venue: Tokugawaen 徳川園
Where: a 10-25 minute walk from Ozone Station 大曾根駅 (Meijo Line 名城線), or hop on the city's sightseeing Meguru Bus which stops right at the entrance of the Garden
Website: https://www.tokugawaen.aichi.jp/english/
Admission Fee: 300 yen

Arimatsu, A Historic Area Right in Nagoya City; Discover a Beautiful Traditional Craft

Arimatsu is just a 20 minute (or less) train ride away from Nagoya Station. Follow the signs pointing to the historic area, reading arimatsu meguri or 有松めぐり in Japanese. You'll be led to a street lined with several historic buildings that are designated cultural assets of the Aichi Prefecture. These structures date back over 100 years to the Edo and Meiji periods. The main feature of this town is a traditional tie-dyeing craft that has been passed down for even longer, at least 400 years. Thus the textile craft is called Arimatsu Shibori and is known all over Japan as an art that takes a lifetime for craftsmen/women to master.

Signs pointing the way to the historical street

I highly recommend paying the small entrance fee to see the Arimatsu Narumi Shibori Kaikan (有松・鳴海絞会館). It's a museum where you can learn about the detailed, time-consuming method that the fabrics are dyed. It's actually surprising to see how much effort needs to be put into dying just one piece of cloth. You'll definitely appreciate the beauty of Arimatsu Shibori even more after seeing the display. On the first floor you'll find a collection of Arimatsu Shibori products from different stores on the historic street. These products are for sale and range from small pouches to pillow covers, hand bags to men's and women's tops.

Arimatsu Narumi Shibori Kaikan

For lunch I suggest the hand-made udon noodle restaurant called Jugenmu-jaya. It's a quaint little shop located in one of the century-old buildings. They have an extensive menu of cold and hot udon dishes, including those made in traditional hot pots, curry or miso flavoured broths, and using seasonal ingredients. I had the lunch set (1000 yen) which included a mini size of their signature dish, ume oroshi udon. It's a cold udon that is topped with grated daikon and a pickled plum paste, perfect to satisfy your appetite especially on a hot day. The set also came with a salad, konnyaku with a vinegar-miso sauce, tempura, Japanese pickles and steamed rice. Making handmade udon noodles is also an art in Japanese, and is only done by experts that have had years of experience. This shop's noodles were clearly fresh, as could be felt by the chewiness that hand-made noodles have.

Jugenmu-jaya udon shop

Ume oroshi udon lunch set

RESTAURANT INFORMATION
Area: Arimatsu (a part of the Midori-ku area of Nagoya) 　有松（名古屋市緑区）
Restaurant: Jugenmu-jaya 寿限無茶屋
Map: tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230112/23004627/dtlmap/
Website: mc.ccnw.ne.jp/jyugemu/
Hours: Lunch 11am-3pm (LO 2:30pm), Dinner 5-9pm (LO 8:30pm), closed Wednesdays