The first thing that surprised us when we arrived was the weather: air temperatures of around 35 °C with humidity between 94 and 97 %. Conditions like that are hard to get used to; the seven-hour time difference was a little easier. We came to terms with that after a few days — but never with the heat and the extreme humidity. The Japanese, by the way, also shield themselves from the strong sun with umbrellas and parasols, and carry small towels to wipe their sweaty foreheads.
From the airport we reached the hotel by a combination of train and metro; the journey took a good hour and brought us to one of the largest railway stations in the world. After arriving we had a day off to adjust to the time difference. In weather that was anything but normal for us we — typically for Europeans — went for a walk to Nagoya Castle in the middle of the day, and along the way and at the castle we looked less for sights than for air-conditioned shops to cool down in.
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, with 2.3 million inhabitants. Its central railway station (pictured), with a floor area of 446,000 m², is the largest in the world by floor area; on average it is used by 2 million passengers a day.