Job Discussion Forums

[einsenundnullen]

Hello everyone,

There are some posts here about places to live in Chiba and several folks had useful info. I was wondering if anyone has similar info about different parts of Nagoya. Any places that are especially nice (nice to me just means a park or two, maybe some greenery along the streets, and a Mister Donuts and good ramen shop, heh) or especially not nice (primarily industrial, tremendously bad public transit, excess pachinko parlors or "fashion clubs")?

Looking at a map, it appears some areas are laid out on a grid pattern, and some are more random. Based on what I've seen in other areas (around Chiba City, coincidentally), it seems to me that the narrow, curving streets make for a nice neighborhood, but I haven't actually lived in that. Does that have any negative side effects e.g. bus service is less frequent, more expensive, etc?

Any suggestions would be helpful as I've only been through the city, not actually out of the stations and into it.

Thanks,
Chris

[Shaman]

Hi einsenundnullen.

I lived in Nagoya 3 yrs ago (near Aratama Bashi). While I can't remember the city wards like the back of my hand, I do remember that I found the area near Higsahiyama subway to be nice. You have Hisashiyama koen (park) there and the zoo. I went there often to unwind. What's more, you're only a couple of subway stops from the heart of downtown (Sakae area). You might try a search for "Nagoya International Centre" as well. I don't know what they offer as far as online info, but it's worth a try.

Hope this helps.

Shaman

[grampus]

Hi,

Generally the East is nicer and the West and South to be avoided.

Naka-ku is where the fun is. Mizuho-ku, Showa-ku, Moriyama-ku, Higashiyama-ku and meito-ku are all nice places to live. Midori is too but a little awkward to get into town.

Tsurumai has a park(ok) and is centrally located. Osu in Naka ku is the old town but no parks.

Minato, Nakagawa should be avioded in my opinion.

[einsenundnullen]

Thanks for the tips!

Chris

[BenJ]

it's all one big claustrophobic suburb

[grampus]

If you find Nagoya claustrophobic then where on earth are you from?

[BenJ]

Brisbane

you?

[markle]

[BenJ]

yep, population is now a whopping 2 million, same as Nagoya incidentally, but the area dwarfs Nagoya. I like my wide open spaces interspersed with trees. Nagoya/Japan strikes me as nothing less than an endless urban block.

[Shaman]

I'm from London (the lesser one - in Canada). The land area is about the same, but with a population of only 330,000. I can kinda relate to what BenJ says - Nagoya is a bit congested. But... it's much more spacious than Tokyo.

Shaman

[markle]

Brissie's hit 2 mill now?
Anyhow I've just spent 5 years in Bangkok 10 million in an area about the size of inner Brisbane so Nagoya doesn't sound too scary.

[BenJ]

sure it's all relative and I'm very spoilt when it comes to person to area ratios

I guess what I really meant originally that Nagoya is more like an endless suburb rather than a big city like Osaka or Tokyo. The fact that it's hard to get away from suburbia in any direction is what makes me feel hemmed in.

[grampus]

I disagree though Ben. You can be in the countryside in about 45 mins if you have a car. I've been to some beautiful cabins in the mountains and they took abt an hour and a half to get to.

I have to been to Brisbane too and whilst i can see where you are coming from it still takes a little while to get from the inner city to some countryside.

[Wolf]

The area around Higashiyama Koen seemed like one of the nicer neighborhoods. A fair warning though; if you rely on the subway, that line is by far the busiest.

I lived in Kita ward for two years. It's not pretty, but is has a Mister Doughnuts or two, affordable Ramen shops, subway access via the Meijo line, a Meitetsu and JR station, convienient shopping,sports clubs,karaoke, dry cleaners, etc. There are also a few hostess clubs, but I didn't find their presence all that obtrusive, even though I don't care much for such places myself. It was a drab place to look at, but a convienient place to live. There is a "park" nearby (Meijo Koen), but it's not ... what I would consider ... a park. Then again, many of Japan's nature spots suffer from similar problems.

[mandrake]

Just outside Nagoya is ok too. Cheaper rent and bigger apartments.
Steer away from the big chains like mini mini and you can find a lot of local estate agents who have a whole range of apartments to offer.

Certainly Yagoto, Motoyama, Irinaka are all fantastic areas for the upwardly mobile. But be prepared to pay higher rent or live in a shoe box size room.

Fushimi, just between Nagoya station and Sakae because it is near the nightlife is a good choice if you are that way minded. There are a few parks around there, but be prepared to share the green spaces with a lot of homeless people who inhabit Nagoya.

60,000 yen will find you a nice 1R in these areas as opposed to a 2LDK just outside Nagoya within about a thirty minute commute.

Quite a few people choose Kanayama as a place to live. Very good for transportation with the Meitetsu, Subway, and JR lines running through there. Lots of places to eat, and a sports centre not too far.

Close to Kanayama is Higashi-betsuin which is also a nice area a little outside of Nagoya. Served by the subway line and the rent is a little cheaper than Kanayama.