[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by JohnBraden

I've looked into Nagoya a bit. I'd sure like to make a stop to see the castle. I could do it as a day trip from Tokyo as it's only a couple of hours each way. What do you recommend? I'm not there for shopping, as I can buy anything there elsewhere, really.

Actual *Nagoya* castle is a disappointment, in my opinion. At least from a historic view. It`s great to take pictures of from the outside, but it was destroyed in the war... They rebuilt it, but the only "castle" bit is the outside shell. The inside is a concrete and steel building.
For the Nagoya area, Inuyama castle takes the cake.

Do you recommend the Arimatsu area?

Arimatsu has suffered the fate of "I used to live right by it", so I can`t really say whether it would be a good thing for a tourist. When there is a festival going on, it is great for getting Japanese tie-dye.

How about the Osu area?

Think a slightly smaller version of Akiba when it comes to shopping, but they have some really neat festivals.

Is it possible for you to name a few interesting points? Perhaps you can change my mind about it just being a stop on the Tokaido Shinkansen!

I think the big problems with foreign tourism in Nagoya is that the "famous" spots - like those you listed - aren`t really all that spectacular.
Things I would suggest seeing;

Atsuta Jingu
The area around Yagoto (with it`s museums, temples, and the massive cemetary parks)
Tokugawa En
The Aquarium (One of, if not the best in Japan)

If you`re interested in that sort of thing - the Nagoya TV tower is the oldest TV tower in Japan, built before Tokyo Tower.
Oh, and of course the Toyota museum.

There are tons of smaller things - I could go on and on - but it really depends on what you`re interested in. The whole area has a massive amount of history, but if you don`t know who the historical figures something is associated with are... they would be less than exciting, I`m sure.

The biggest problem is that things aren`t packed into a very small area, so you can`t just hop off at a station, walk for a bit and see a lot in one go.

Would you recommend the day bus pass or the bus/train pass? Which mode of transport would be more useful? Also, is the TIC at JR Nagoya Eki?

JR is pretty useless in Nagoya - the subway and Meitetsu is the way to go. I have no clue about buses as I never use them - with Meitetsu and the subway you can usually get almost everywhere without a bus.
I`d recommend getting a Manaca pass for travel.

I'll be in country for the Tagata Shrine Hounen Matsuri, which is the festival you mentioned, but I'll be in Osaka that day and I'll be headed west, not east. I don't think I'd want to be around for that either!

I`ve never gone to it, but in every picture it seems like at least half the people attending are foreigners there to point and giggle. I`ll pass.