Inuyama's Pleasant, Too

If you happen to be in Nagoya and don't mind spending a couple of bucks on the train ticket, you'll be pleased enough to know that the city has its own rustic little suburban village. Just like Tokyo has the nearby Kawagoe, Nagoya has Inuyama to remind it of its past days. You'll find it's a pleasant enough place to spend the day, without being totally dinky and boring.

I had to stand on top of a fence to take this picture.

 What actually puts Inuyama on the map, though, is that it has its very own castle! And despite not being anywhere near as big or as famous as the nearby Nagoya Castle, it is notably one of the most ancient castles in all of Japan, being one of th 4 castles to be designated a national treasure. For the record, the other three are Hikone, Himeji, and Matsumoto. Also, it is just as closed as Nagoya Castle during the 29th to 31st of December. Lesson learned, but going around the area climbing things to try to get good pictures was kind of fun in its own way too.
Asides from the castle and the temple at the foot of its hill, the town has a wonderfully rustic-looking street running down its center, full of little shops selling locally grown vegetables and hand crafted good such as sandals and Japanese-style clothes. It makes for quite a nice stroll.
Though I haven't visited myself, and therefore can't really recommend it with certainty, the town's also known for having an open-air museum full of relocated buildings from the Meiji-era, such as a cathedral from Kyoto or a prison from Kanazawa.
At any rate, if any of that sounds interesting to you at all, maybe drop by Inuyama if you happen to be near the Nagoya area!