About Tokai Region

The Tokai region is located roughly in the center of the southern part of Honshu. It comprises Aichi, Gifu, Mie, and Shizuoka prefectures.

It is located exactly between the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, and the Kansai region, which includes Osaka and Kyoto.

Nagoya is the center of Aichi Prefecture. It is one of the three largest metropolitan areas in Japan along with Tokyo and Osaka. It is both a modern city and a quiet environment blessed with abundant nature and many historical buildings.

Since Nagoya is located in the center of the Japanese archipelago, it takes only 1 h and 40 min by Shinkansen from Nagoya to Tokyo, one of the world’s leading cities, and 40 min by Shinkansen to Kyoto, a city rich in traditional Japanese culture. It is easy to get around the city by bus or subway.

 

Nagoya is famous as a mecca for cosplayers and hosts the World Cosplay Summit every summer. The event attracts cosplayers and 200,000 fans from around the world, and representatives from each country who have made it through the preliminary rounds compete to be the world’s number one cosplayer.

 

You can also experience the world of Ghibli in Nagoya. Ghibli Park is a park that represents the world of Studio Ghibli and was created in consultation with the surrounding forest. Visitors can experience Studio Ghibli’s past works such as “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Spirited Away,” and “KiKi’s Delivery Service.”

Gifu is only about an hour away from Nagoya. In Gifu, one can immerse oneself in magnificent nature, timeless traditions, and a living culture that has been preserved and passed down from generation to generation.

 

If you travel a little further, you can experience the Japanese culture in the World Heritage-listed Shirakawa-go Gassho-Zukuri Village and Hida Takayama, where traditional Japanese streets and buildings still remain.

Mie is home to the Ise Jingu shrine, the pinnacle of Japanese shrines, and is visited by several Japanese and foreign tourists.

Mie is also home to breathtaking coastal scenery, a ninja village, and several other tourist attractions. It can be reached in about an hour and a half from Nagoya.

About an hour from Nagoya by Shinkansen bullet train, Shizuoka Prefecture is represented by Mt. Fuji, which is the highest mountain in Japan and is registered as a World Heritage Site.

You can also experience nature in the Izu area and Lake Hamana.