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Sakae

Whether it's shopping, dining, entertainment or nightlife you want, Sakae is definitely the place to go. Nagoya's downtown district bustles with activity both day and night, whether it's morning shoppers or salarymen out for a bit of fun after they finish work. The area is bounded on the north by Nagoya TV Tower and the south by Wakamiya Odori, on the east by Route 41 and the west by Honmachi-dori. The city's three main avenues - Sakura-dori, Hirokoji-dori and Nishiki-dori - run through Sakae, from east to west.

Sakae subway station lies on the Higashiyama and Meijo subway lines. The latter has two additional stations in the area: Hisaya-Odori, which is also on the Sakura-dori line, and Yaba-cho. Buses run to the Sakae Bus Terminal in Oasis 21, the bizarre floating pond structure that has spent the past few years enthraling and bemusing all comers. Buses for Centrair airport leave from here, while tourist information is available at the Nagoya Convention and Visitors Bureau counter in the basement.

There are numerous hotels in the area, including Nagoya Tokyu Hotel, Hotel Precede, the Nagoya International Hotel and the Creston Hotel.

The Aichi Arts Center is home to the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, which hosts temporary exhibitions alongside an impressive permanent collection, and the Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater. There is an art library on the first floor, a video library with viewing booths in the second-level basement, and two theater spaces.

The Sakae area is paradise for shoppers. A large underground shopping mall lurks beneath the surface while, above ground, there are numerous chain outlets, boutiques and department stores. Mitsukoshi and Maruei offer standard selections of goods, including clothing, cosmetics, food and electronic products. Skyle, Maruei's conjoined twin, is worth checking out for the enormous 100 Yen shop on its 7th floor. Matsuzakaya, spread across three buildings, provides more of the same, alongside traditional Japanese produce and an in-house art gallery.

Just next door, Parco more closely resembles a large mall, and includes a cinema and concert venue. La Chic has numerous fashionable clothing and accessory stores, while Sunshine Sakae throws a Ferris wheel and a whole floor's worth of ramen restaurants into the mix. In Nadya Park, LOFT offers a range of modern giftware and household goods. You can find similar fare at Tokyu Hands in the Annex Building, near the TV Tower, which also sells imported items and DIY products.

Foreign books and magazines can be bought at Maruzen Bookstore, Mana House, Kinokuniya, in the same building as LOFT, and Asahiya, in La Chic. If you're just after magazines, also try Tower Records, in Parco, and HMV, opposite Mitsukoshi. For imported foods and drinks, go to Meidi-ya or Yamaya, in the basement of Melsa (opposite the Chunichi building).

There is no shortage of banks in the area. Citibank offers English-language assistance and a wide range of financial services, including fund transfers, currency exchange, deposit and savings accounts, as, increasingly, do Shinsei, MUFJ and SMBC.

Pakmail provides a number of mailing, shipping, packing and moving services, and can handle almost any item you need to send or receive.

You won't have to look far to find somewhere to eat or drink in Sakae. Along with the assortment of eateries housed in the area's department stores and hotels, the streets are littered with restaurants, bars and cafes. For Japanese fare, Sakurakan, behind Maruei, is an affordable and friendly izakaya with retro decor. Foreign cuisine offerings are vast, from the Outback Steakhouse, to the popular Indus - located in the Princess Garden Hotel and alongside Central Park - and Akbar Indian restaurants, to the Indonesian Sama Sama. Yummy is a Hawaiian-style BBQ eatery located in Parco, while Adejo supplies an all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbeque feast. Other popular haunts include the Tiger Cafe, a 1930s-style French cafe, the Italian Il Nodo, and Sawasdee Sumiyoshi, a popular Thai restaurant.

Get the drinks in at The 59's Cafe and Diner and MyBar - international watering holes and eateries that stay open late - or the popular Australian pub Red Rock.

For live music, go to Gary's, whose house bands supply lavish servings of hip-hop, R&B, soul and funk; the nearby Urbana Latina complements its fusion cuisine with live Brazilian grooves. International and homegrown rock acts frequently grace Club Quattro in Parco, while Nagoya Blue Note attracts big-name jazz, blues and soul artists.

Sakae is also the first port of call for many of Nagoya's clubbers. The Sumiyoshi area is a hive of activity at night, with clubs like iD Cafe, Flavor and C.R.E.A.M. drawing in the crowds. Ozon & Spiral, next to Parco, offers an authentically Japanese-style clubbing experience. In the grimy backstreets to the east, meanwhile, you'll find the Marumi Kanko building, home to The Underground, Club Daughter and Club JB's, which peddle everything from hip-hop to dub, drum & bass and techno.