Despite the hustle and bustle, Nagoya is still more laidback than Tokyo or Osaka and it has a few decent attractions, the most interesting of which is the grand Tokugawa Art Museum , housing belongings of the powerful family who once ruled Japan, and the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology , an appropriate tribute to Nagoya's industrial heritage. The city's most hyped attractions - the castle Nagoya-jo and the sacred shrine Atsuta-jingu - are hardly outstanding examples of their kind, but they're worth checking out if you have the time.

West of Nagoya, the Kiso-gawa forms the border between Aichi-ken and Gifu-ken, and the ancient night spectacle of ukai , cormorant fishing is still practised in Inuyama . This small castle town, where you'll find the classical Jo-an teahouse in a beautiful traditional garden, is also the jumping-off point for the vast outdoor architectural museum, Meiji Mura . Across the river in Gifu-ken, the capital Gifu serves up a similar combination of castle, parks and ukai , and is well-known for its production of lanterns and umbrellas made of paper. Further into the mountains, along the Nagara River, Gujo Hachiman is a refreshing city of clean rivers and traditional houses, with a summer dance festival that is perhaps the best in Japan.