Nagoya in 24 Hours Part 1 - A night at the (Meitetsu) Inn

Full disclaimer ... the next few posts are much delayed from July of 2017 -- my accident in September absolutely put a stop to my blogging so I am hoping to catch up now.  

I did a quick trip to Tokyo last summer, flying in not to Narita or Haneda but to Nagoya, a city 

over an hour away by bullet train from Tokyo.  

I had never been to Nagoya and with a 24 hour layover before I zoomed off to Tokyo, I hoped to scratch a tiny bit of the surface ... enjoy a local specialty or two, see a temple or a shrine, buy a few souvenirs.   The clock started to count down the hours,  the minute I set foot in the city.
The pressure was on!

For convenience , I decided to stay around Nagoya Station.  Like any major train station in Japan,
it is a massive block of restaurants, office buildings, department stores and all kinds of shops.  

I had booked a room at the Meitetsu Inn Nagoyaeki Shinkansenguchi.  Meitetsu is the private 

railway company of Nagoya and they have hotels all around the city and even a couple in Tokyo.

There are three Meitetsu hotels in the perimeter of Nagoya Station and the one I chose was a
5 minute walk to the shinkansen terminal. 

The hotel is quite impressive,  strikingly modern with a sleek and stylish facade. 

The spare and uncluttered entrance hallway has a few benches for guests and visitors. 

The lobby design is contemporary and minimalist.  Touches of blue break the overall beige and
cream interiors.

I was given a room on the 7th floor.  The streamlined look is carried all throughout the hotel.

Meitetsu Inn is a business hotel and as these go in Japan, the standard rooms are comfortable but definitely compact. The absence of a closet saves space and clothes are hung on the bar in the hallway.

The room may be small but the welcoming touches are all there -- including a comfortable pair of room slippers.

The three sided folding mirror above the small desk is a practical touch.

A small drawer holds the coffee maker, plain white ceramic mugs and the complimentary tea and coffee bags.

For guests traveling without their devices,  Meitetsu Inn has an in-room tablet that you can use 

to access the hotel's free wifi.  Again, such a functional and convenient room amenity. 

I almost did not see the tiny refrigerator as it was cleverly disguised as a drawer.   It can hold  

a few bottles of soda or water (and yes, a candy bar or two!).

My room is called a "small double".  The bed is bigger than a twin bed but slightly smaller than a double bed --  two people would be a tight fit.  The flat screen t.v mounted on the wall makes for 

comfortable horizontal viewing. 

But what I really liked about this room was the floor to ceiling window located right at the foot of the bed.

This is the view from my bed.   Nagoya is the third largest city in Japan and the cityscape is quite dense with buildings as far as my eye could see.

The view was much better at night when all the lights turned on and Nagoya transformed into a brilliant city scene.  As I lay in bed,  it seemed that the entire city was literally at my feet!

I love Japanese bathrooms -- small in scale but everything fits and everything you need is in place.  

It was a pleasant surprise to see this traditional style bath normally found in Japanese homes.   

You sit on the stool and clean yourself thoroughly before enjoying a long relaxing soak in the hot bathwater.   I was impressed as the bath amenities were premium, high end Japanese brands.

The next morning,  I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. (the better to get an early start on sightseeing).  

After a cup of refreshing matcha,  I was ready to head out and see Nagoya.

There was no one in the elevator so time to indulge in a selfie!

The hotel does not have a dining area but guests can have breakfast and meals throughout the day 

at Tonkatsu Matsuya which is right at the ground floor. 

You can choose from the menu and buy a ticket at the vending machine.  Hand your ticket at the counter and take a seat -- someone will bring your food to your table.

There were not too many people at 6:30 in the morning, my fellow diners were all hotel guests too. 

The door at the leftmost is the connecting door to the hotel lobby. 

I chose the western breakfast set -- good strong coffee, buttered toast, scrambled eggs, 

a sausage, the usual cabbage slaw plus  a small scoop of potato salad.  All this for just 500 yen!  

Enough to keep me going till the next meal.  

Thank you Meitetsu Inn for the hospitality and the warm introduction to Nagoya.   I will be back!

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