If you love Toyota cars or visiting factories, you need at least a night in Nagoya Japan

  • Terumi
  • April 4, 2019
  • Comments Off on If you love Toyota cars or visiting factories, you need at least a night in Nagoya Japan
If you have 24 hours in Nagoya you have time to visit the Toyota Kaikan Museum and Plant Tour and the Toyota Commemorative Museum with kids
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A few years ago, my husband ended up in Nagoya Japan for work to see a Toyota Factory at the Toyota Kaikan Museum and Plant Tour and he wouldn’t stop talking about it-apparently it was the most amazing factory he had ever seen.  For many people this would have been a comparison of maybe one factory in a handful of factories, but visiting factories is something we have done FOREVER so we’ve seen factories all around the world.  Our family loves learning how things are made and when we were able to fit a day in Nagoya into our itinerary on our most recent trip, we knew we needed to bring the kids to a Toyota Factory so they could see it for themselves.  We have also been able to test drive Toyota cars in Seattle for the blog, most recently the electric BZ4X, but we’ve also driven the Sequoia, and the 4Runner and my current car is a Toyota Hybrid Highlander too.

Checking out the exhibits at the Toyota Kaikan Museum in Nagoya before the plant tour of the Toyota Factory with kids

Before you go to Nagoya check the Toyota Factory Schedule on the Toyota Kaikan Museum and Plant Tour Website

I learned this with the Ghibli museum-in Japan you have to book many things ahead of when you visit. The Toyota Factory is the same.  Tickets here are free, but there are quite a few rules and you have to have to make sure you designate a tour organizer and that person needs their passport.  It is also not very easy to get to the Toyota Kaikan Museum and Plant Tour because it is not actually in Nagoya-if you have a car that is probably the most simple way, but we ended up taking the train from Nagoya station and it takes over an hour to get there.  There is a detailed explanation on how to get to the factory on the Toyota Kaikan Museum and Plant Tour Website and it gives you options by car, various trains and buses so you can figure out your best route.

Hanging out in the Toyota Kaikan Museum before visiting a Toyota Factory on the Plant Tour

How much time do I need for the Toyota Factory Tour?

The Kaikan museum opens at 9:30am (when I last looked it up make sure you check the actual website to confirm) so depending on your plant tour time, you still might want to arrive for opening just so that you have plenty of time to spare-you must be on time for your Plant Tour or you will not be able to join in because you travel as a tour group to a place off-site.  There are restrooms and places to buy snacks and drinks-you can only bring water on the plant tour but there are areas where you can leave some of your things and lots of opportunities to go to the restroom.  We arrived for 9:30am and our plant tour was at 11 am and we still wanted to see a few things at the museum after our tour.  The plant tour took about an hour and a half but it could have taken longer if there was traffic-we went by a private tour bus to see a nearby factory and then at the factory we went to two different areas.

Can I take pictures at the Toyota Kaikan Museum?

We took a ton of pictures at the Kaikan museum but we were not allowed to take pictures on the plant tour. This is where we saw cars actually being put together and where we went into real working factories.  I’m not sure how many places in the world you can actually see cars being put together as a guest, but it was so incredible to see this in real life and it made me think about how many things I use on a daily basis that I can’t make myself and I realize I take a lot of things for granted.

Trying out a Sakuraful Frappucino at the Toyota Kaikan Museum at the Toyota Factory near Nagoya Japan

Is there a place to eat when you visit the Toyota Kaikan Museum and Plant Tour?

There is a Starbucks in the bottom of the Kaikan museum where we ate snacks and coffee.  Since we visited the museum in spring, we were able to try the Starbucks Sakuraful menu for the cherry blossom season that we can’t get in the USA.  We tried a sakura latte and a sakura frappucino.  Both were fun photogenic drinks and I love trying unique desserts, coffee and treats when we go on vacation.  There was also a restaurant next to the Starbucks too but it seemed busy and a little spendy.  I was disappointed that they did not serve Toyota curry at this museum-I saw it being served at the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Technology and Industry and thought it would be at the Kaikan Museum too.

What about the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Technology and Industry in Nagoya?

watching the car building process with kids at the Toyota Commemorative Museum in Nagoya Japan Learning how to switch gears at the Toyota Commemorative Museum with kids in Nagoya Japan

If you don’t have time to get to the Kaikan Museum and Plant Tour you definitely want to see the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Technology and Industry and if you are in Nagoya you need to see this anyways for sure.  The Toyota Commemorative Museum of Technology and Industry is a short walk from the train station and it is tells the history of Toyota from a textile manufacturing factory to how Toyota became a maker of cars-it even has a model of the first car Toyota ever made.  This museum is humongous and there are so many machines on display-there are even machines demo-ing what they do in the Toyota factory and this is where you can take photos and videos and ask questions about what the machines are all doing.  My guys were thrilled when they were given a few cloths from a textile demonstration.  The kids’ area in this museum is also really fun and my guys could have played here for a while-even the hubby and I got involved in some of the activities and our family had such a great time.  Next time I would probably try eating the Toyota curry in the cafeteria here to see what it tastes like-they have it in the souvenir shops and I didn’t realize it wasn’t in the factory and we didn’t have time to come back.

Sample of the Weaving machines can do at the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Technology and Industry on a visit to Nagoya with kids kids having fun at the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Technology and Industry in the wind tunnel in Nagoya Japan driving cars at the Toyota Commemorative Museum in Nagoya Japan with kids

The Hilton Nagoya is great for a family trip to Japan

We stayed at the Hilton Nagoya because we booked pretty last minute and the Marriott hotel at the Nagoya train station that I was hoping to book was already totally full.  Because we have gold status with Hilton, our room at the Hilton Nagoya came with the most incredible breakfast so that was such a win-it was nice to see some local specialties like Tsukumen noodles and a toast with beans and cream featured at this breakfast too.  We were also very close to a Hanamaru Udon so that was an easy dinner with kids while we were in Nagoya as well.  Our kids were 10 years old when we visited and I think if we had younger kids we would have wanted to stay closer to the train station or we would have also taken more taxis to get around.  But for this trip the Hilton Nagoya turned out to be a great hotel.

breakfast buffet at the Hilton Nagoya in Japan even has popsicles View of Nagoya from our room at the Hilton Nagoya Hotel Eating udon at Hanamaru udon in Nagoya Japan with kids

A Toyota Corolla Hatchback and Toyota Sequoia experience closer to home

Back in Seattle I recently was loaned two very different Toyota vehicles to try at home.  I drove a 2019 Toyota Corolla hatchback around the city for a week (during one of our crazy freak snowstorms) and it was such a fun car to drive.  I liked that it was sporty and small and not super expensive-and since parking can be tight in Seattle I didn’t have any problems ever finding a spot for this pretty compact car.  I also drove around a Toyota Sequoia TRD Sport in March and it was the biggest vehicle I’ve ever driven.  The boys loved the roominess of this SUV and they didn’t want me to give it back.  This would be a perfect vehicle for soccer season because I could help drive more of the team and all their equipment for sure and I think over time I would get used to the size-I really liked the power and the feel of the ride.
24 hours in Nagoya Japan with kids and visiting the Toyota Kaikan Museum and Toyota Commemorative Museum

Have you ever been to the Toyota Factory in Nagoya or seen a car being made in a factory?  Would seeing your car being made make you feel safer when you drive?  If you are heading on a trip to Japan I have tips for planning a trip to Japan with kids too.

(PS. As stated above, I received a week rental of a Toyota Corolla hatchback and a Toyota Sequoia for the purpose of review and the opinions in my blog as always are my own.)