❖ Nagoya Castle / Honmaru Palace

09:30 - 11:00 (1:30 h)

The day begins at Nagoya Castle, built on the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu and completed in 1612 as the seat of the Owari branch of his family. Its centrepiece is the Honmaru Palace, the samurai residence that stood here for centuries, was lost to fire in 1945, and was rebuilt over nearly a decade with traditional materials and reopened in 2018. Stepping inside transports you back to Japan's feudal era: opulent rooms adorned with intricate gold-leaf designs and traditional motifs, and the sliding doors and delicate woodwork painted by masters of the Kano school, all showing the grandeur and architectural brilliance of the samurai period. Your guide walks you through the historical exhibits and the castle's significance in Japanese history.

❖ Lunch

11:30 - 12:30 (1:00 h)

Midday is set aside for you to indulge in Nagoya's own cuisine. The city has a proud repertoire of regional specialities, known collectively as Nagoya-meshi, from rich hatcho-miso dishes to charcoal-grilled eel, and you sit down at a restaurant to savour the flavours and traditional dishes that are unique to the region.

❖ Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology

12:50 - 14:30 (1:40 h)

After lunch comes the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, which tells the story of how Toyota, one of Japan's best-known automobile manufacturers, began. The museum stands in the original red-brick buildings of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works and opened in 1994, on the centenary of founder Sakichi Toyoda's birth. Its two great pavilions trace the brand's origins from the textile machinery he invented through to the cutting-edge automotive innovations of today: you follow the evolution of Toyota's vehicles, the breakthrough technologies and sustainable practices behind them, and step up to the interactive displays that reveal the manufacturing processes that made Toyota a global leader in the automotive industry.

❖ Noritake Garden

14:40 - 15:30 (50 min)

The tour ends at Noritake Garden, the parkland the ceramics maker Noritake opened in 2001 on the grounds of its first factory, a century after the company's founding in 1904. You stroll through the gardens among the preserved red-brick kilns, trace the history of this celebrated brand, and look over displays of intricately designed ceramics that run from delicate tableware to finely worked art pieces. In the Craft Center you can join the interactive workshops and try your hand at painting your own porcelain masterpiece on white bone china. A cafe on the grounds serves tea, with panoramic views, before you are returned to your ship or hotel.