Nagoya Station 名古屋名駅
Record Tower
The Guinness Book of Records has proclaimed it the "largest station in the world"... But what goes on in the 400,000 m2 and the two cylindrical towers of the huge Nagoya Station?
It was in 1999 that the "twin towers" of Nagoya Station - often shortened to Meieki (名駅) in Japanese - emerged from the ground, two cylindrical towers fifty floors high, that soon became a city within a city with nearly 200,000 people passing through them each day. The Office Tower hosts offices and administrations, while the Hotel Tower houses the guest rooms of the Marriott Hotel.
It's an ultra-contemporary building which, theoretically, is all about business... And yet, there is a lot more to do in the mighty Nagoya Station.
- A place to meet
In the middle of the main floor there is a large golden clock: a helpful reference point for travelers and to meet up with friends. You can't miss it, it sits on top of a golden pole planted in a bed of colorful flowers.
- Going green
In the Towers Garden there is lovely park to the left of the main entrance. Although it is surrounded with concrete, there are benches, trees and flowers.
- Reach for the sky
And observe the city bustling below your feet. Three options are available: Sky Street, a corridor made entirely of glass that connects the two towers at the 15th floor (free to access), the café-observatory on the 51st floor of the Office Tower, or the lounge-restaurant on the same floor of the Hotel Tower.
- Go shopping
On 13 floors, in the aisles of the huge Takashimaya department store! You can also find Meitetsu and Passe department stores on the floors above the station, as well as Unimall and Sun Road in the underground area.
- Read a book
On the 11th floor, you can have a look around the shelves of the Sansei-do bookstore, which has a beautiful English department - and delve into a book in one of the chairs that line the bay window.
- Taste the local specialties
For example tebasaki (spicy, grilled chicken wings), miso nikomi udon (wheat noodles in a rich red miso broth) and hitsumabushi (a special Nagoya way of eating grilled eel and rice in several steps: alone, with vegetables, and finally with green tea as ochazuke) in the numerous restaurants located in the two towers.