My next destination in Japan was Nagoya. As I started off my going to Shirakawa Park, which was a nice place to sit down for a bit, and there were a few museums around it, but I didn’t feel like visiting any of them so soon enough I left Shirakawa and went ahead to Tsuruma Park.
This park was bigger and naturally attracted more people. It is a great place to spend a few hours strolling around, having a picnic, reading a book, or doing any kind of relaxing activity. The vibe of the place was quite calming by itself, and on top of that, the sun was finally out and about, warming everyone after a few cold days.
I walked around without any goal other just taking a look around and relax for a little bit. Between the trees and the flowerbeds there were some sculptures, ponds, and pagodas that added some more interest to the place, and it was nice to see it all put together so nicely.
After I walked around for a while I went on to have solve food and went over to the Mirai Tower. Making my way over there I wasn’t fully sure what to expect, but when I turned a corner and saw it from a distance, my first thought was that it looks like a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower. I was a bit disappointed though, that while it was lit up, the light seemed to be quite weak and not very impressive.
The closer I got to the tower, the less I was impressed by it. It certainly had presence, but I guess I was expecting something more, something that was missing and I couldn’t quite figure out if it was just the lights on the outside, or if there was something else.
Nevertheless, I paid the 1,500 yen for the ticket that will allow me to go into the observation deck and got inside the building. First I took one elevator to the third floor, as high as it would go, where there was a small observation point. But as that was not the center of attention, I got into another elevator, which took me all the way to the observation deck, at a height of 90 meters.
This time the view was more impressive. Being able to see the city as it lights up after dark is quite nice. However, for me it was just that. Nice, but nothing more than that. The windows were covered in projections of leaves and snow, which I thought was getting in the way of being able to see the sights outside.
Above the observation deck was the sky deck, which I got to by taking the stairs, and was an open area with a fence all around it. It did have a better view, but I could only look at the same points of interest for so long, and eventually I took the stairs and both elevators back down to ground level and left the building.
I found myself more impressed on the way to the Tower, rather than actually going in, and I certainly didn’t think the price I paid was justified. It is still a nice place to stop on the way, but not worth a special trip.