Sightseeing Spots

Historic Townscapes of Shikemichi

Shikemichi is a town of merchants located on the west bank of Horikawa River that goes through the castle town of Nagoya. This town was built in 1610, when the whole town of Kiyosu moved to the site with the construction of Nagoya Castle. "Shikemichi" means an about 7 meter-wide street, and the name is derived from the fact that the street's width was expanded for fire protection and for the commercial activities after an inferno occurred in 1700. Storehouses are built on the stone walls and traditional townhouses stand in a row. The landscape as we know it today was completed in the Genbun era (around 1740). It was designated as a townscape preservation area of Nagoya in 1986. See More

Endoji Shopping Street

Endoji Shopping Street is located approximately midway between Nagoya Station and Nagoya Castle. It has been a bustling district along with Osu and others since ancient times. It developed as a commercial area along Horikawa and Mino Roads after Tokugawa Ieyasu's crossing of Kiyosu, and it also thrived as a temple and shrine town. The traditional atmosphere of Nagoya's downtown still remains, with both long-established stores founded in the Meiji era and unique new shops lining the street. The Endoji Tanabata Festival, held jointly with Endoji Honmachi Shopping Street every July, is a historic festival that dates back to 1956. Additionally, there is a preserved district called Shikemichi nearby, featuring old storehouses and remaining rooftop deities. See More

Aichi Asahi Site Museum

This museum of ancient civilization introduces the Asahi Ruins, the largest Yayoi-period ruins in Japan, located in Aichi Prefecture. The Asahi Ruins are one of the largest settlements in Japan, which existed from the early Yayoi period to the early Kofun period (6th century BC to 4th century AD). The settlement flourished as the center of life and culture in the region and played an important role in connecting the Yayoi cultures of eastern and western Japan. Investigations to date have revealed that the ruins stretch 1.4 km from east to west and 0.8 km from north to south, with an estimated area of 800 thousand to one million square meters. Residences were built on slight elevations on the north and south sides of a valley that flows from northeast to southwest. Graves were built to surround the residential area with large burial areas particularly widespread on the east and west … See More

Kiyosu Castle

In the 12th year of the Ōei era (1405) during the Muromachi period, Spwa Yoshi Shige, who held the position of shugo (military governor) of Owari Province, is said to have built the origins of Kiyosu Castle as a separate enclosure to the shugo's residence located in Shimotsu Castle (Inazawa City). In the first year of the Kōji era (1555), Oda Nobunaga entered Kiyosu Castle from Nakanogano Castle and achieved victory in the Battle of Okehazama in the third year of the Eiroku era (1560). This marked the castle as the starting point for his quest to unify the country. During the early Edo period, the castle town's population reached 60,000 to 70,000 people, earning it the title of "a major castle town in the Kantō region." Kiyosu Castle was also praised as one of the "great castles of the nation." The present-day Kiyosu Castle Tenshukaku (main keep) was built in the first year of the Heise… See More