NAGOYA

Finnair's newest destination in Japan is Nagoya.

Finnair's Nagoya flight is Europe's fastest connection
Nagoya is Finnair's third destination in Japan and its ninth in Asia. The new flights started on 3rd June with three flights a week. Due to excellent transit connections, Finnair offers the fastest link between Nagoya and around 30 major European cities.

Finnair is the only airline operating from Northern Europe to Japan's three most important cities, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

Finnair fly to Nagoya on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The flights depart from Helsinki at 5.15 in the afternoon and arrive at their destination at 8.55 the following morning. From Nagoya the flights depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 10.50 a.m. and arrive in Helsinki at 3.10 p.m. the same day.

The route represents about 20 per cent of flight capacity between Nagoya and Europe. Four-fifths of the passengers on the route will be Japanese.

Finnair has been flying to Japan since 1983, i.e. for 23 years. Japanese-speaking cabin staff have served on the flights from the very beginning.

Hot baths in the vicinity of runways
Nagoya has always been an important transit route and crossroads. Now it is aspiring to become a new gateway for traffic to and from Japan.

Nagoya's Centrair Airport, which opened at the turn of the millennium, is proud to be Japan's best, newest and most efficient airport. The airport is similar in size to Helsinki-Vantaa and particularly user-friendly, because both international and domestic flights depart from the same building. At Tokyo and Osaka, for example, those wishing to connect with a domestic flight must change airports.

They are 24 connecting flights from Nagoya to various Japanese cities and many Asian destinations. There are also daily flights from the city to Oceania, namely Hawaii, Saipan, Guam and Australia.

Centrair Airport has been built on the sea off Nagoya in a similar way to Osaka's Kansai Airport. It is situated 35 kilometres away from the city centre. By motorway the journey takes 40 minutes and by train 28 minutes. The railway terminal is located right next to the airport. From there the distance to the furthest gate is only 400 metres, within not a single stairway step in between.

From the airport there is also a hourly ferry link to the coastal towns of Toba Tsu (1 hr 40 min) and Isa Shrine (40 min). At peak hours the ferries depart every 30 minutes.

The airport has an unusually high number of services and reasonably-priced shops for flight passengers. A speciality of the airport is its Japanese hot baths in the vicinity of the runaways.

Nagoya, city of the samurai, is situated between mountains and sea
Nagoya is Japan's fourth largest city. It is located at the centre of the country, on the east coast between Tokyo and Osaka. To the north of the city rise the Japanese Alps and the coast is dotted with beautiful fishing villages. In the surrounding region are numerous natural sights, national parks and hot springs.

Nagoya is a city of the samurai and Japanese culture. The city was home to the great shogun heroes of Japanese history, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa leyasu, who unified the country. In the Nagoya dialect, the saying "to try on one's sumo belt" still means today "to prepare oneself".

Nagoya has a population of two million and in terms of income level it is one of the richest in Japan as well as being one of the smartest cities. The people of Nagoya are said to be more traditional than Osaka or Tokyo people, but also more easy-going. It's also said that the Nagoyans are slow to adopt new things, but having accepted them, develop them further.

The city is compact and full of cafés, small bars, excellent restaurants and places to shop. Getting around is a pleasant experience for visitors, because the city has a clear layout and broad streets. The main sights are Nagoya Castle, whose symbols are a roof decorated with golden dolphins, and the Atsuta Shrine. Nagoya is also known for its Toyota cars, ceramics and the textile industry.

The city's symbols and landmarks are the main railway station's JR Central Towers and the fifty-year-old Osu TV tower, which has the same significance to the people of Nagoya as the Eiffel Tower does to Parisians.

Travelling by train from Tokyo to Nagoya takes less than two hours and from Osaka to Nagoya less than one hour.

Nagoya in sounds and pictures (WMV 3039 kb)