Oasis 21

Landmark

Prefecture

Aichi

Type

Landmark

N/A

0 reviews

Restaurant Train Access Cafe

About This Destination

A landmark complex in Sakae crowned by Spaceship-Aqua: a giant oval glass roof topped with a shallow layer of water that visitors can walk beneath and around for free. Below are shops, restaurants, a bus terminal and a sunken garden.

A glass roof fourteen metres above the ground in central Nagoya, oval, with a shallow layer of water lying on top of it and a walkway running around the rim. That is Spaceship Aqua, and it is free to go up. From the walkway you look down through the water and the glass at the bus terminal and the shops below, and out at the television tower next door.

It opened in 2002 as the roof over a bus station, which is a good description of the whole building: a transport interchange with a landscape on top of it. Underneath are shops, a food court and the terminal itself; at ground level a lawn and a plaza that hosts markets and events most weekends.

Go at dusk. The water surface catches the last of the light and then the roof is lit from below in colours that change through the evening, which is worth ten minutes of anyone's time and costs nothing.

Next door stands the Nagoya TV Tower, built in 1954 as the first television tower in Japan, four years before Tokyo Tower and by the same engineer. It is now an Important Cultural Property with a hotel inside it. The park it stands in, Hisaya-odori, was rebuilt in 2020 into a long strip of lawns and shops, so the whole area works as one walk.

Sakae station is directly underneath. The observation deck closes in the evening and in high wind, and it shuts entirely in bad weather because there is nothing above you but sky.

Location

Prefecture: Aichi

Address: Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

Nearest Station: Sakae Station

Best time to visit: Year-round; most striking after dark when the glass roof and water are illuminated, and comfortable in spring and autumn for the open garden level

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Visitor Information

Credit Cards: Accepted

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get to Oasis 21, and is it free?

Oasis 21 is directly connected to Sakae Station (Higashiyama and Meijo subway lines) and a short walk from Hisaya-odori Station. Walking the Spaceship-Aqua water roof and the garden levels is free; you only pay inside the shops and restaurants. From Nagoya Station it is about 5 minutes to Sakae on the Higashiyama Line (¥210).

When is the best time to visit Oasis 21?

Come around sunset and stay into the evening: the glass roof and water are illuminated in changing colors after dark, and the lit Nagoya TV Tower next door makes a striking backdrop. Daytime visits are good for the open water deck views and the shops below. The water roof can close in strong wind or bad weather, so check on the day if it is your main goal.