Nagoya

Nagoya is Japan's fourth-largest city, an industrial capital on the Pacific coast midway between Tokyo and Kyoto on the Tokaido Shinkansen. It is a working city rather than a showpiece, and that is its charm; its food and museums serve locals first and travelers second.

The castle carries golden shachihoko, tiger-headed fish, on its roofline, while Atsuta Shrine holds some of Shinto's deepest history in a quiet urban forest. Browse the Osu arcade's mix of temples and secondhand shops, and families and rail fans add the SCMaglev and Railway Park near the port.

Eat like a local: miso katsu and hitsumabushi, grilled eel eaten in stages, anchor a cuisine Nagoyans defend fiercely. Every shinkansen stops here, so Nagoya works as a one-night wedge between Tokyo and Kansai, with Inuyama's original castle an easy side trip.