Sweet Willie

Good review, thanks.

hhonorman

I have an upcoming stay here and will be arriving to Nagoya via Japan Rail. Do any of you know how I get to the hotel from the train station? In another thread someone stated that the hotel is 15 minutes from the train station or a 3 minute walk from the subway. They didn't specify which subway to take, or which stop is nearest this hotel. Can anyone tell me the best way (other than taxi) to get to this hotel from the train station? I have luggage with wheels so I am comfortable walking a long distance if necessary. Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated.

yasuki

Take a subway (Higashiyama-line) from JR Nagoya station, and get off at the next station (Hushimi or Fushimi). Just 3mins walk from 7th exit at Hushimi station to Hilton Nagoya.

SanDiego1K

yasuki, thank you so much for your help with our Japanese hotel questions. You are helping to fill a void here on FT, and I appreciate your contribution.

monahos

If your luggage is heavy, be warned there are no down, and very few up, escalators in most of notoriously thrifty Nagoya's subway stations.

hhonorman

Thanks for helpful information. ^ We travel light and are able to schlep our bags without too much trouble.

DLSIZE

Just go out east side of JR Nagoya and look for the big white building! That is if you are the adventuous type!

JGR01

I bit on the cheap airfare ORD-NGO.

I did find room at the Hilton Nagoya. Expensive but confirmed.

I have faxed the hotel twice asking for information (pickup or bus) and tour information. I booked an Executive Queen since I am 'nothing' with Hilton.

Any suggestions about the hotel? How can I get them to respond?

JR

Kakjapan

The Nagoya Hilton is a great place. I'd go ahead and phone them directly if you need to talk to them. I've always found them very helpful on the phone. Never faxed or e-mailed them though.

The rates change quite frequently, and now with EXPO in the area opening March 25, the Nagoya area hotels appear to be booked solid, but in reality, many rooms are being held in blocks by travel agencies, and are released close to the day of stay. I had been trying to book online at the Nagoya Hilton for March 24 (eve before EXPO opening ceremony) since early January with no luck. Then about 1 month ago, rooms showed up at 30,000 /night. Then 2 weeks ago, the price dropped to 25,000/night, so I changed the reservation to the lower rate. Now, it seems sold out again. Moral of the story, it doesn't hurt to check often to check rates...unless you prepaid on a NetDirect rate you should be able to change it. Also, in the past, I've gotten a better rate and/or a better room for the asking by telephoning the hotel directly.

To get to the Nagoya Hilton from Centrair, take the train to Nagoya station from the airport. Every 30 minutes, a fast train departs the airport and arrives at Nagoya station in 28 minutes. In between these fast trains are many slower non-express trains that will also get you there, but in more like an hour. The best thing to do would be to just go to the place to buy the tickets (bank of ticket machines just outside the main airport hall, you won't be able to miss it. There will be a few attendants standing around. The usually speak enough English to help you. Tell them you want the train that will get you to Nagoya station soonest...if an express just left, you'll need to wait half an hour for the next one, so then it might be a good idea to take one of the slower trains that depart soon.

Once at Nagoya station, follow the crowd to the exit...again, can't miss it. Go up the stairs and you will see right in front of you a taxi stand. Get a taxi to the Hilton...about 5 minutes, 1000 - 1500 yen, depending on traffic.

Another option to get from the airport to the Hilton is the limousine bus...you would just follow the signs and ask the attendant as for the train. The bus takes about an hour. Thing is, depending on your arrival time, there may or may not be a bus that will bring you to the Hilton. That you would have to check. You could always take a bus to the station, then a taxi to the Hilton. Bus or train out of the airport...either is just fine. Train might be quicker as it can't be stuck in traffic.

The exec floor is great. We've always found that the staff up there go out of their way to make us comfortable and happy. They have known our now 7 year old daughter by name and what she likes to drink and eat since she was a baby. They speak excellent English. Breakfast in the lounge is lovely...good variety, peaceful compared to the restaurant buffet, and a great view of the city. In the lounge you also get free drinks all day, including beer, wine and cocktails, as well as a nice evening display of appetizers from one of the restaurants. On weekends they serve afternoon tea too up and this might be extended to weekdays if they are very busy. Being on the exec floor also gives you free of charge access to the pool and fitness center, which you have to pay for if you aren't Silver or higher. They can also get you seating in the hotel restaurants that otherwise are full, so if you are there at a crowded time, it's worth asking the lounge staff to make your dinner reservations for you. The lobby lounge is nice at night, with a dessert buffet and an Australian couple doing music.

For sightseeing ideas, the JNTO is a good starting point. Nagoya itself isn't a big tourist center, but I do love it as a city. There is EXPO, which if it's interesting to you, you could go to. http://www-1.expo2005.or.jp/en/ From Nagoya you can take the train to just about anywhere. A Japan Rail Pass might be a good buy for you if you plan on travelling around. http://www.japanrailpass.net/ Within a few hours are Kyoto, Nara, Kanazawa, Takayama, Shirakawa-go for starters. Cherry blossom season is coming up soon.

Well, that should get you started!
_

JGR01

Thanks for the response.

My second fax worked.. they tried to e-mail me but copied the address wrong so it bounced.. and let it go at that point.

There IS a shuttle bus service .. at 1600, 2000 and 2100. My flight gets in at 1540 so I could not logically try and catch the first shuttle. Waiting FOUR hours after a 13+hour trip is not my idea of 'fun'. Neither is taking luggage and 'following the crowd' to the trains. The hotel offered a meet-and-greet taxi service for about $150USD and a 90 minute drive. I opted for that feeling I would certainly breat the 2000 bus and not fear about falling asleep on the train and missing my stop (almost did that in Germany!).

Now am looking forward to my visit!

Thanks again!

Kakjapan

Yes, there is a bus, but only a limited few go to the Hilton, as you've found.

You might want to rethink the meet and greet service...it's a nice service, but the price is huge...you could take a regular taxi for less if you wanted to go the door to door route. It's simple to take the train, honest, and the train is 850 yen and a taxi from the station to the hotel is 1000...that is about $130.00 less than the meet and greet and quicker too.

tayd

My wife and I will be flying into Centrair, Nagoya's new airport next week and we'll be staying at the Hilton Nagoya.

What is the best way to get to the hotel? Bus? Train? Subway? Looking through Centrair's website on access from the airport it seems there are several choices:

1. Take the bus

Bus stop #4 - Hilton Nagoya
JPY 1,1100 (about US$10); 93 minutes via Sakae, Westin Nagoya Castle, Nagoya Kanko Hotel, on Meitetsu Bus line

2. Take the train (and then transfer?)

Take the Meitetsu Airport Line, to the Nagoya transfer station, then ..?? I think it costs about Y620 (based on the info from this site) but I could be wrong.

We will be staying on an award reservation (we're HHonors Silver). Any advice or recommendations with regards to the hotel?

Thanks,
David

JGR01

I am there a couple of weeks after you .. and have been in contact with the hotel.

Yes, the train (express) works well .. but I am not in schlepping my luggage all that way .. and after a long trip (ORD-NGO) have this fear of falling asleep on the train! I understand it is 'only a short cab ride' after the station in town.

The hotel arranged a meet and greet taxi for me . but about $150USD .. and 90 minute trip.

The hotel has shuttle buses at 1000JPY .. tho they run only at 1600, 2000 and 2100 (on the day I arrive). I miss the one by a few minutes and dread the thought of sitting waiting for another one for three MORE hours. I am able to take the one back.

They are slow in responding to faxes .. I think pretty overwhelmed with the Expo and the new airport and all the airline's deals into NGO.

Post when you return so we all know how it went! I had to pay for a Queen Exec since there are so very very few rooms available in the whole city .. figured they would not walk me from a better room.

jeanie

I have never been to Japan before, and I have a stay booked at the Hilton in Nagoya in a few weeks. I have some questions about the hotel, so I followed the e-mail link on the hotel web site. But the hotel does not answer the e-mails that I have sent. Here are some of the items that I have questions about. Could someone here help me?

1. Does the hotel's ATM have English language capabilities and will American debit cards with a Visa/Master Card logo work on the machine? My Japan guide book says that most Japanese ATMs only show Japanese characters and only work with Japanese banks regardless of the presence of the Visa/Master Card logo on the card.

2. What is the best way to travel from the hotel to Expo 2005 in Aichi?

3. What kind of day tours are offered through the concierge? I noticed there is a bullet train between Nagoya and several Japanese cities. Is a guided day trip to Tokyo or Kyoto available?

4. Finally, I did not realize when I booked the trip that it would overlap with 'Golden Week' in Japan. My guide book doesn't say much about it, but does mention that Japanese travel 'en masse' during that time. How crowded will it be? Is this the equivalent of Thanksgiving or the week between Christmas and New Year's in the US?

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me with this. I really appreciate your help.

jinabe

As someone who will be travelling to Japan during the "Golden Week", here are my $.02.

GW is a series of holidays that are lined up from the end of April to the first week of May. Depending on how weekends fill the in-between days, Japanese people get to enjoy a rare 7 to 10 days of off-days (with a couple of annual leaves here and there). This year, it would look like:

4/29 Fri - holiday
4/30 Sat
5/1 Sun

5/3 Tue- holiday
5/4 Wed- holiday
5/5 Thu - holiday

5/7 Sat
5/8 Sun

So, with a couple of annual leaves on Monday and Friday, it's a 10-day free-for-all. You can bet that tourist venues like World Expo will be awfully crowded between 4/29 and 5/8. It is a Japanese national/cultural phenomenon to be in the midst of cowd, so you are going to be immersed in it.

If you are thinking of getting a Japan Rail Pass, I HIGHLY recommend buying a Green Rail Pass, for Ordinary seats are likely to be fully booked because of GW.

A day trip from Nagoya -- Kyoto or Osaka is better, as it takes 1 hour or less to get there by a bullet train. Tokyo, you are looking at 2 hrs. one way.

As for NGO to Hilton, I think there was a thread recently in Mileage Run Forum related to finding a cheap hotel in Nagoya. In it, someone metioned that the simplest way for first-timers to Japan is to take a shuttle bus, which leaves at 1:20p, 4p, 8p, 9p from the airport and takes about 80 minutes and 1100 yen to get to Hilton.

Have a safe trip!