Oasis 21 - Found in Sakae, you can walk up to the roof and get a decent view from the city. The shops are all underground. The roof is covered in water which is supposed to help cool theshops during the summer. There's plenty of restaurants for lunch and you can even sit on the grass around the other side and set up a picnic.
Nagoya Castle - Nice piece of Nagoya history. It is currently being restored as well. You can see and learn a lot about Japanese culture as you walk through and around the castle. It's only ¥100 and kids 4 and under are free. There is also a few gardens and tea rooms surrounding the Castle. So much lovely scenery to view! We were able to take our yearly family photo at the Castle. It was a lot of fun and gave a great background.
The shops in this mall are definitely your high end with Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Cartier, and even Valentino. I haven't bought anything but it is SO nice to look at. :)
Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium - A great place for the entire family! Lots of aquatic life and fun thing to see. The dolphin show was my favorite. When we went they had just received an Orca and were still in training. From what I've heard, the Orca now has a show too. :) C.J.loved it all!
Joy Joy Bowling and Arcade - One place we've gone to on numerous occasions. C.J. loves bowling and of course playing the arcades after. This place is located close to our apartment. Found on the 3rd floor of a sports building. You have bowling on the left and the arcade is to the right. You rent your shoes and pay per game. We usually spend about ¥4200 for the 3 of us. The arcade games are all ¥100 and up. We all have a great time here and it is always a nice family night out. The only downside is there is no food served here so you either eat before you bowl or after. 
Freshness Burger - I LOVE this place. It's a small little joint located in Sakae near Yaba-cho. Burgers are made fresh to order and they make a wonderful freshly squeezed lemonade that I order every time I go. They have about 10 different styles of burgers and even hot dogs to try. Super yummy and very cheesy! 
Nagoya City Science Museum - Another place the kid loves! Full of buttons and knobs and pulleys - All kinds of kid approved fun! There is a tornado simulator and a full model scale of the city. There is also a section wear the kids get to use all kinds of water toys that simulate rain, pressure, and clouds. They even have a dinosaur exhibit with lots of fun facts and collections.
Shinmaiko Marine Land Park - This is a man-made "beach" but after stepping foot on it, it is more like a lake than a beach. Still a decent way to spend time in the sun and on the water. There are nets put up so no one is allowed that far out and of course to keep the fish away. There's snack bars, restrooms, changing rooms, and showers. You can even buy floats if you'd like. On the far left of the beach you can take a dolphin watch tour as well. 
Nagashima Spaland - Another one of C.J.'s favorite places to go! This is definitely a place for the family. Their kid section is amazing! Slides, pools, and lots of play areas - the kids have a great time! There is lots of adult slides as well and two separate lazy rivers. We usually spend most of our time in the enclosed kid area because that's where C.J. gets to do whatever he wants. There are no age restrictions (kids) or height requirements. At the entrance of the water park there is an amusement park as well with tons of fun rides for all ages. You can pay for a "passport" which gives you access to the amusement park and the water park or you can pay for just the water park or just the amusement park. Price for the water park is ¥1400 for adults and about ¥1000 for kids. Paying this gives you access to every slide and everywhere in the water park. The only thing with the amusement park is if you pay the entry fee (about ¥1600) you still have to pay per ride so it's better just to get the passport. 
JR Central Towers - Another place to get a great view of the city! There's about 50 or so floors here but if you go up to the 20th there's a viewing center there for tourists. The windows are large so that you can view basically the entire city. There are some awesome shops on the first floor including: Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Louboutin, and others. They have a large selection of restaurants on the 12th and 13th floors. There are doctors' offices found in these towers as well. 
The Kitchen Salvatore Cuomo - Found in the restaurants of the JR Towers, this neat little Italian kitchen is excellent. C.J. and I had lunch there and were able to share an appetizer, pizza, salad, and a main entree all for ¥4300. A little pricey but I think it was definitely worth it. To the left is a buffalo cheese pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and to the right is the entree, which was a delicious baked fish with a pineapple and tomato chunky salsa. It is a charming restaurant with lots of Italian decor including cooking books available for purchase. 
Cancale Bistro & Beer Cafe - Another restaurant found in the Towers, they have a collection of beers from all over the world. A little "fancier" than some of the restaurants; We ordered a few items from the menu since it was our first visit, we wanted to try what they had. Everything was extremely delicious - we weren't disappointed. Their beer menu is quite a selection and is listed by country. I ordered a Timmerman's raspberry flavored beer that was awesome! 
Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens - Larger than what we expected, we spent 6 hours here. It is considered a "sister zoo" to the Los Angeles Zoo. It was about 6 stops from our apartment on the Higashiyama line. They have a lot of animals which is something we liked and they were in plain sight which is even better. (We've been to a few zoos where all the animals are hiding in their cages or in the shade away from windows where you can't see anything.) At the entrance we got to see the zoologists feed the elephants - C.J. was super happy! We also got to see one of the largest hippos we've ever seen! At the section with the amphibians, we were able to visit the Sky Tower which took us up 100 meters and we were able to get an amazing view of the entire city! It really was breathtaking. We walked through a lot and found a little roller coaster towards the monkey cages and Erick and C.J. were able to ride it. He commented on how "awesome" it was. After that we found our way to the monorail that took us to the other side of the park where the Botanical Gardens are located. They have a lot of interesting plant life and we took a few pictures in the large green house. They even had a rose garden with all different types of roses - very pretty. We headed back to the monorail to take us back to the entrance. This was a good day - We were all exhausted by the time we returned to the apartment but so worth the trip for C.J.To say the least, Japan has definitely been an experience but I am very much looking forward to Italy and the next chapter in our lives.
