While we didn't make it inside Nagoya Castle, just wandering the grounds gave us a pretty good idea of why this place is such a big deal. We're told the golden shachihoko (those mythical fish-tiger creatures) on the roof are impressive - they're basically Nagoya's mascots at this point.

For a castle that took some heavy hits during the war, it's still a stunning sight. Fun fact: this was the first castle in Japan to get National Treasure status, and you can see why - it's massive! The keep has the biggest floor space of any in Japan, which makes for some great photo ops even from the outside.

The restoration work they're doing shows how much the city values this piece of history. Even if you're just doing what we did - strolling the grounds and admiring from the outside - it's worth the trip.