Centrally located on Honshu, Japan’s main island, Aichi Prefecture is known to locals as the ‘heart’ of Japan. Overflowing with rustic charm, a colourful past and distinctive crafts, it’s an ideal destination for mature travellers wanting to enjoy a calmer and slower pace. 

Situated 260km from Tokyo and 170km from Kyoto, Aichi is often overlooked by many travellers. However, meaning ‘Love Knowledge’, this melting pot where Japanese charm meets innovation and technology is the ideal region to slow down, rest, relax and rejuvenate after spending time in Japan’s major cities.

One of the country’s most diverse destinations, Aichi Prefecture offers a perfect mix of coastal and inland attractions all year round. With easy access on the Shinkansen train route from Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto using a Japan Rail Pass, it’s well worth adding to your bucket list and spending a few days exploring this region.

Spring and autumn are colourful, but summer provides an array of delights, including the lively southern coastal beaches around Mikawa Bay, frequented by locals. Relax and rejuvenate your soul in any of the four outdoor hot springs in the quaint resort of Gamagori Onsen, with views over the bay. Or dig the sands for clams and enjoy various festivals and fireworks displays, including the Mikawa Isshiki Lantern Festival with six- to 10-metre-high paper lanterns lighting up the Suwa Shrine grounds.

Stroll along the 387m bridge to Takeshima Island, a designated Natural National Monument with five small shrines, including ‘the god of marriage’ Yaotomi Shrine. 

Surrounded by thick forest in the foothills of Mt Sangane and overlooking the ocean, a 10-minute taxi ride from Gamagori Onsen, discover Katahara’s Hodagaike Pond, the ‘Home Place of the Hydrangeas’ with some 50,000 bushes around the pond. In June and July, tiny fireflies also put on a brilliant but brief, natural light show amongst the surrounding blooms.

Take a trip to Sakushima Island, one of three islands in Mikawa Bay. The 11km island has 300 people and over 20 displays of modern art scattered throughout it. Enjoy its natural tranquillity while taking in its artistic atmosphere by either foot or bicycle. 

Discover steep, green hills, swift rivers and deep valleys around Oku-Mikawa district on Aichi’s western border. A one-hour train ride from Toyohashi City and an easy stop on your way back to Tokyo, it’s home to traditional farming communities, offering mature travellers an increasingly rare experience of an older, slower, more relaxed Japan. 

One of Aichi’s best-kept secrets is Yuya Onsen. A tiny, quiet hot springs town. Here, hotels line the banks of the Itajiki River and into the mountains, all offering shared and private onsens in guestrooms. Or, for a small taste of how people lived in feudal Japan, stay at a historic Ryokan.

An easy 20-minute walk from JR Midoriko Station in the northeast, dammed Lake Midori offers superb trails amongst the surrounding lush green forest in summer, glowing oranges and reds in autumn and sparkling cherry blossoms in spring. Small temples and shrines also dot its shores. A renowned crucian carp destination, an annual fishing tournament is held in early summer. 

In the northwest overlooking the Kiso River, is Inuyama Castle, one of the oldest in Japan. Its surrounding 400 cherry blossom trees make a spectacular sight in April. Take a sightseeing boat ride for an alternative view. Also, partake in Inuyama Festival at this time. See splendid floats covered in lanterns, Karakuri puppet performances serenaded by flutes and Japanese taiko drums. After sunset, the floats weave their way through the blooming cherry blossom trees and town.

Also, visit Meiji-mura while here. The village opened in 1965 and is home to historic architectural buildings from Japan's 1868–1912 Meiji era, plus early examples of Western and Japanese paired architecture, many saved after World War II from all over Japan. See displays of Japanese life at the time and enjoy traditional foods from the Meiji period such as Japanese curry rice and beef croquettes at cafes and restaurants.

Want a winter wonderland without the crowds? Head to Chausuyama Highlands and a beautiful ski resort on Aichi’s northern border. The light snow hiking trails have views of the rim.

February is the coldest month, but it doesn’t stop thousands of men clad in only ‘fundoshi’ undergarments from participating in the 1,200-year-old Hadaka Festival at Owari Okunitama Shrine in Inazawa City. Onlookers can enjoy delicious festival food while watching the quirky festival as participants get hyped up to dispel evil and disease and bring in good luck for the coming year.

If all that bare skin doesn’t tickle your fancy, Nishio City’s annual Toba Fire Festival might add some spark. See five-metre-tall towers burning brightly against the dark winter sky within the grounds of Toba Shinmeisha Shrine.

Participants known as ‘God men’ compete by jumping into the flames to save sacred items to offer at the shrine’s altar and predict the year’s weather and if the harvest will be bountiful or not.

Nishio City is Japan’s prominent matcha green tea production area. In springtime, the tea buds are harvested and prepared. Throughout the city, you’ll find matcha powder, and freshly made delicious matcha green tea desserts to enjoy with your sencha green tea.

Enjoy everything matcha from mouth-watering parfaits to mochi rice cakes and sponge cakes filled with matcha cream (Japanese Oban-yaki). Many factories offer guided tours where you can learn how to grind green tea leaves using a stone mill, and then brew your own matcha tea. And if you are there during the harvesting season, some factories include tea leaf picking on their tours.

At Nishio City History Park, the former Konoe House belonging to a powerful noble family back in the Heian Period (794-1185) has been restored. Overlooking the Nishio Castle ruins, Japanese gardens and the park’s many cherry blossoms, its tearoom offers matcha green tea with Japanese sweets. 

Love Japanese ceramics? Seaside Tokoname has been manufacturing ceramics since the end of the Heian period, and it’s the oldest of Japan’s six ancient kiln towns. See many of the historic 3000 kilns on a walking course through ceramic lined alleyways and private galleries.

At Tokoname-ware store, purchase locally made pieces, take a pottery workshop or try the products firsthand at a café. At day's end, find a restaurant or bar and enjoy some warm sake from a resident artist’s ‘tokkuri’ ceramic sake bottle. 

Another familiar ceramic name, Noritake, began in Nagoya in 1904. Noritake Garden, established on the factory’s original grounds, is now a museum and park where you’ll learn the history, see antique pieces, and view today’s creations in progress. The park’s sculptures and artworks are interspersed between cherry trees, making for a colourful splash in spring.

In the heart of Nagoya City, Aichi’s capital and Japan’s fourth-largest city, discover Nagoya Castle, a restored 17th-century fortress. The castle grounds are home to the ‘Ni-no-Maru Garden’, known for its traditional tea ceremony house and spectacular autumn scenery. Don’t miss the newly reopened Honmaru Palace’s displays of extravagant traditional ornaments and painted doors. 

As well as fine ceramics, Aichi Prefecture is Japan’s biggest producer of transport machinery, raw materials and textiles. 

In the south-eastern suburbs of Nagoya City, you’ll find the small town of Arimatsu. Its narrow main street was originally the great Tokaido Road, linking Japan’s old capital, Kyoto, and Edo, now Tokyo. The old houses, shops, and warehouses lining the street have not changed since the samurai. Since the early 1600s, local artisans have created Arimatsu Narumi Shibori here. This intricate, time consuming traditional tie-dyeing technique results in stunning, complex patterned fabrics that are still sold in these old stores. You can also purchase a traditional Japanese Yukata (summer kimono) and wander the picturesque historic streets.

Automobile giant Toyota’s headquarters is also based in Nagoya City. Car buffs will discover all the carmakers' history and innovation from their textile beginnings to cars and high-tech robots at Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, the Toyota Kuragaike Commemorative Hall, and see the evolution of the world’s automobiles (not all Toyota’s) at the Toyota Automobile Museum.

Whether you love cars or not - the Toyota Kaikan Museum will leave you in awe of the manufacturing process, from new models to safety and environmental technology. See Toyota’s cars of the future, hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on display. Book a plant tour to ensure yourself a spot. 

Train lovers can also rejoice at the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park museum. From ancient steam trains to the newest Shinkansen, this museum is where you can get up close and personal with the exhibits and view Japan’s most significant contributions to the global transportation industry.

Aichi is also central to Japan’s aviation industry. Get an insight into it at the MRJ Museum. Learn about the Mitsubishi Space Jet – Japan’s first jet airliner, plus an array of state-of-the-art technology developed by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries group. An exclusive MRJ Final Assembly Hangar tour shows how the planes were designed, produced, and tested. Book beforehand as places are limited. Afterwards, check out the nearby Aichi Museum of Flight showcasing Japan’s aerospace industry.

For over 60 years, Aichi has led all Boeing programs in Japan. From the Sky Deck observation area overlooking the runway at Aichi’s International Airport, Centrair, see one of Boeing’s rarest planes, the Dreamlifter freighter. It's used for transporting the Boeing 787 Dreamliner parts to Boeing's United States factory. With only four of these monsters globally, this is the only place to see it in Japan. 

Foodies can delight in Aichi's extensive gourmet delicacies. Some must-tries include Hitsumabushi, teriyaki-grilled eel chopped and served on rice with freshly grated wasabi and green onions or even with a unique stock poured over it. Grilled eel is a Japanese delicacy that you’ll likely be hooked on afterwards, too.

Another classic Japanese dish is ‘Tonkatsu’, panko-battered deep-fried pork cutlets topped with Aichi’s signature sweet red miso sauce. Known for its nutritional value, this fermented soy-bean paste can become a guilty pleasure, especially when mixing dashi broth and other seasonings with it to accompany the crunchy fried pork cutlets perfectly. 

Aichi’s famous ‘miso-nikomi udon’ is excellent for warming you up. This thick, chewy noodle dish is cooked in a ceramic pot with red miso-paste and topped with a soft-boiled egg also helps cleanse the palate.

For fresh octopus and pufferfish cuisine, take a boat ride to Himakajima Island. Along with seeing many restaurants making dried octopus, enjoy it boiled, deep-fried, or pressed into fresh-made rice crackers. The island is a prominent farmer of pufferfish. The peak season is winter. Prepared by certified chefs, pufferfish can be enjoyed raw as sashimi or cooked in a hotpot with vegetables. The chefs are also skilled in creating artistic platters with the fish.

There’s a thriving brewing industry around Aichi, from traditional Japanese sake to experimental lagers and whisky. For over 100 years, Maruichi Sake Brewery has been making sake on the Chita Peninsula. Enjoy their Hoshi-Izumi sake chilled after a long day of exploring.

For something new, try Aichi’s Morita Kinshachi Beer Co’s beer infused with the famous red-miso paste, or Kinshachi Nagoya Akamiso, a full-bodied, flavoursome lager, the perfect companion to Aichi’s famous Tebasaki chicken wings — deep-fried and dipped in a marinade made with soy sauce, sake and ginger — you’ll never eat KFC again after trying these! Chicken wings are a national dish around Aichi with many bars and restaurants adding their own touch to the classic recipe.

Many also joke that people from Aichi put red-miso on anything. And they could be right. It’s served all day long as an accompaniment to almost any dish. So, if you’d like to remember your time in Aichi, take a bottle of red-miso home with you too.

Header image: © Sarin Kunthong