Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine February 2019 | Page 78

Travel | Nagoya 76 1 Shinkansen bullet trains sleek in and out of Nagoya Station. Darting back and forth, to Tokyo one way and Osaka the other, they’re as quick as greased lightning. Soon, the trip to Nagoya will be even quicker for international travellers, when Garuda Indonesia starts direct flights from Jakarta to the region’s Chubu Centrair International Airport in March. 1 A marvellous view of Nagoya skyline at night with the gigantic Nagoya TV Tower. Nagoya’s airport-to-city express trains take about 30 minutes, a fraction of the two, three or more hours it takes to get from Japan’s other major airports (Kansai via Osaka and Tokyo’s two international hubs, Haneda and Narita). That means there’ll be more time to do the frivolous fun stuff in this energetic city – starting with a vertigo-inducing glass- walled lift ride up 40-something floors to the top of Japan’s fifth tallest building (conveniently adjacent to the main train station). 2 Meitetsu Limited Express travels on the Toyohashi Line in Japan. Planes, Trains and Automobiles Commuters and trains may resemble dots and dashes far below, but the big city can be understood a little better thanks to the 360° panorama from the Midland Square observatory. It’s called Sky Promenade, and from the top of the 247m-high tower, the sharp-eyed can see beyond the fringes of the city – out to sea, and inland to hills and mountains – and that’s quite a way considering Greater Nagoya (aka ‘Chukyo’ or ‘middle capital’) is the third largest metropolis in Japan. Nagoya is the kind of place that’s easily measured against other cities. Fifth tallest… third largest…first ever. The city is the engine Nagoya is the kind of place that’s easily measured against other cities. Fifth tallest…third largest…first ever. 2