Friday 20 June 2014

EXPO 2005 AICHI COMMEMORATIVE PARK, AICHI, JAPAN

愛・地球博記念公園 . 아이・치큐하쿠 기념공원 . 爱知世博纪念公园


Today, we left Kyoto for Nagoya.
I was excited to meet Aunty Chihiro in Nagoya again!
 
Back to Kyoto Station for breakfast
Breakfast @ Café Du Monde カフェデュモンド and Mister Donut ミスタードーナツ, Level 2

We were taking the 11.33am Hikari shinkansen ひかり新幹線, so we had some time for shopping at Kyoto Station.
 

Mom bought lots of Kanbanyashi tea 上林直営小売店 from JR Istean 京都伊勢丹
 
Finally, time to board the shinkansen for Nagoya!
I was so excited because it was my first time taking a shinkansen!
 
Finding our way to Platform 11
Shinkansen regular one-way (KYO-NGO) ticket prices - Adult 5070円 / Child 2530円
37 mins later, we reached Nagoya
Bye bye super fast train!

After we checked into our hotel near Nagoya station 名古屋駅, we had lunch first before taking another train ride.
 
Grandma had saba set 650円, Mom had kitsune udon 350円, I had katsu tamago teishoku 690円
 
Mom said we were going to the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park 愛・地球博記念公園, also known as the Moricoro Park モリコロパーク, which was a special and memorable place for Mom because she was working at the Expo for about 4 months in 2005. I asked Mom if she lived in Nagoya before I was born, and what an Expo was...
 
From Nagoya station, take the Higashiyama line 東山線 to...
...The last station - Fujigaoka Station 藤が丘駅 (30 mins) and go to Exit 3 ...
... Down the steps to the Linimo リニモ station
Linimo train stops and fares (numbers below are child fares)
This MAGLEV train has no driver
At the Expo Aichi Commemorative Park Station 愛・地球博記念公園駅 14 mins later
Head to Exit 5, where you will see this panel
View of the park from Exit 5

It was a very hot day today, and Mom said we would take the FREE park shuttle bus 園内無料バス to tour the park, as well as go to our destination later.
 
Next to the Linimo station was the Global Citizen Centre 地球市民交流センター Gymnasium

Buying Yakult first for the hot day; 2 bottles for 90円


Waiting for the park shuttle bus in the shade, near the convenience store
Looking out at the large park
Shuttle bus bus stand circled in red

Shuttle bus timing and route can be found here
 
At 2.50pm, the bus moved off with 5 passengers inside, including us.
 
Ice skating rink アイススケート場
Expo Museum 愛・地球博記念館
Unfortunately, not enough time to pop in for a visit
Flower Square Lounge 花の広場休憩所
Ferris Wheel 大観覧車
Amusement rides at the Ferris Wheel
I was so hoping to go to the Children's Plaza - Water Area こどものひろば-水のエリア,
but Mom said she did not bring any change of clothes
 
Ice Skating Rink アイススケート場 and Heated Swimming Pool 温水プール

Kaede Pond かえで池
And this is our stop about 20 mins later - Japanese Garden 日本庭園

Continue to read about our visit to the Satsuki and Mei's House サツキとメイの家 in the park!
 
 
 
Mom's Notes
  • Check the Shinkansen time schedule here
  • Note that separate train tickets need to be bought to take the Linimo, and IC cards like Manaca マナカ, Toica トイカ, one-day rail passes cannot be used here. Linimo has its own one-day train pass (Adult 800円 / Child 400円) and the train schedules can be found here
  • Taking the shuttle bus is the best way to move around the large park, or otherwise, a bicycle can be rented at the cycling station near the park entrance
  • Commentary is provided onboard the shuttle bus, but in Japanese
  • With lots of possible activities in the park, a day-trip would be more fulfilling, and during summer, bring along lots of water, slap on sunscreen and a hat as the sun and the heat was really scorching and there were few shady areas to take a respite from the heat
  • I was told the park gets very crowded during the weekends and school holidays, so please take that into consideration when planning a visit there
  • Click through for the park map (Japanese) or park map (English; somewhat fuzzy)
  • To learn more about the World Expo that took place in Nagoya in 2005, click here (English) or here (Japanese)
 
 
     Address:    〒480-1342 愛知県長久手市茨ケ廻間乙1533-1
     Tel:           0561-64-1130
     Directions: As above. Or, take the Meitetsu Bus 名鉄バス and alight at the Expo 2005
                     Aichi Commemorative Park Station 愛・地球博記念公園駅
     Opening Hours:  Apr-Oct 8am - 7pm
                             Nov-Mar 8am - 6.30pm
                             Click here for the timings of the other facilities in the park
     Admission to the park is free. Fees apply for some facilities within the park.
 
 

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