Nagoya skipping

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Nagoya skipping is a slang term for events and tourists avoiding Nagoya, a big city in Japan’s Chubu region.

It started in the 1980s and became famous in 1992 when a Shinkansen train service (Nozomi) ran through Tokyo to Osaka without stopping at Nagoya Station for about five years. The idea spread to describe other problems, including foreign tourists avoiding the area.

One big example was the Nozomi 301 service. It left Tokyo at 6:00 a.m. and skipped Nagoya and Kyoto to help businessmen reach Osaka by 9:00 a.m. The early trains had speed limits (about 170 km/h) to protect the track after maintenance. If they stopped at Nagoya and Kyoto, the trip wouldn’t fit the schedule. People in Nagoya complained, saying the issue hit their pride. The Nozomi 301 service was merged with Nozomi 1 and was ended in 1997, stopping at those stations.

The term has also been used when foreign tourists avoid the Chubu area. Some visitors call Nagoya “boring.” A 2016 survey even named Nagoya the most boring city among eight big cities, with Nagoya ranking last in many categories. The nearby Chubu Centrair International Airport has struggled to attract as many foreign visitors as Haneda or Kansai airports.

Today the term is still used for concerts too. In 2023, Osaka and Tokyo hosted about 51% of live concerts in Japan, while Nagoya hosted only about 7%. Poor access around Nagoya Station and a reputation for being less willing to spend on concerts are blamed for the lack of big events there.