When Visiting Ghibli Park, Add Itadaki to Your Nagoya Day Trip

You've mapped out your Ghibli Park day down to the minute — the train times, the timed-entry tickets, the photos you're planning to take. But somewhere between Nagoya Station and the park gates, there's a gap: lunch. You want something genuinely memorable, not just a convenience store stop or a chain restaurant near the station. You've heard Nagoya has incredible food, but Osu district looks like a tangle of streets on Google Maps, and you're not sure you have enough time to navigate it without getting lost.

That moment of hesitation is exactly why I want to write this today. My name is Masayuki Goto, and I'm the founder of Itadaki — the restaurant in Osu, Nagoya, where we serve Japan's original Rare Wagyu Gyudon. I've spent years exploring food scenes around the world, and I know that the best meals on any trip are rarely the ones you stumble into by accident. They're the ones you plan for, just a little. So let me show you, step by step, how to make Itadaki a natural part of your Ghibli Park day — without any confusion, missed turns, or wasted time.

Who This Is For

• ✅ Travelers visiting Ghibli Park (Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park) and spending at least part of a day in Nagoya city
• ✅ Visitors who want a genuinely local lunch experience in Osu but feel uncertain about navigating the district
• ✅ First-time visitors to Nagoya who want practical, step-by-step directions to Itadaki
• ✅ Wagyu enthusiasts who don't want to miss the chance to try ultra-rare Horai Wagyu while in Aichi Prefecture
• ✅ Families or groups who want a relaxed, unhurried lunch with comfortable seating before a big day out

A Ghibli Park Day and a Lunch Worth Remembering: How the Two Fit Together

Ghibli Park is located in Nagakute City, about 30 to 40 minutes from central Nagoya by subway and Linimo (the magnetic levitation line). Most visitors enter through the Aichi Expo 2005 Commemorative Park, and timed-entry tickets typically run from mid-morning onwards. That means a 11:00–12:00 lunch window in central Nagoya fits naturally — either before you head out to the park, or on your way back when you're returning to the city center in the afternoon.

Itadaki opens at 11:00 and serves lunch only, until 15:00 (last order at 14:30). On weekdays, we're open Monday and Tuesday. On weekends, Saturday and Sunday. On public holidays, we open at 09:00. If your Ghibli Park visit falls on one of these days, there's a very real chance you can build a morning that includes both — a rare wagyu lunch in Osu, then a journey out to the park in the early afternoon. Many guests do exactly this, and the timing works more smoothly than you might expect.

One guest described it simply: "Perfect lunch during our Nagoya stay before our Shirakawa-go trip the following day." That same easy-fit logic applies here — Itadaki works as your anchor point before you set off somewhere bigger.

How to Get to Itadaki from Nagoya Station — Step by Step

This is the part that trips people up most, so I want to be as specific as possible. The Osu shopping district genuinely is a maze, and Itadaki is on the 2nd floor of our building — easy to walk past if you don't know what to look for.

Here's the simplest route from Nagoya Station:

1. Take the Higashiyama Subway Line (yellow line) from Nagoya Station toward Fujigaoka.
2. Get off at Sakae Station (2 stops, about 4 minutes).
3. Transfer to the Meijo Subway Line (purple line) at Sakae.
4. Ride one stop to Yabacho Station (about 2 minutes).
5. Exit from Exit 4 and walk straight — Itadaki is a 4-minute walk from the exit.

Total time from Nagoya Station: approximately 10 minutes.

Once you're out of Exit 4, look for the Japanese sign at street level that reads 「元祖レア牛丼 頂」 (pronounced Ganso Rea Gyudon Itadaki). That's us. Take the stairs up to the 2nd floor. If you're navigating by landmark, Osu Kannon Temple and the main Osu Shopping Street entrance are both close by — use them to orient yourself if you feel turned around.

A direct Google Maps link is available on our website, which I'd recommend saving to your phone before you leave your hotel. It removes the guesswork entirely.

You can also reach us on foot from Sakae Station, Kamimaezu Station, or Osu Kannon Station — so if you're staying near any of those areas, you may not even need the subway.

✓ Key Takeaways

• From Nagoya Station: Higashiyama Line to Sakae → transfer to Meijo Line → Yabacho Station Exit 4 → 4-minute walk. Around 10 minutes total.
• Look for the sign 「元祖レア牛丼 頂」 at street level and take the stairs to the 2nd floor — don't walk past it.
• Itadaki is open for lunch only (11:00–15:00 on Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue, 09:00–15:00 on public holidays). Plan your Ghibli Park timing accordingly.

Why Osu Is Worth the Extra 10 Minutes

I've traveled to a lot of cities, and the neighborhoods that stay with you are rarely the famous ones. They're the ones where something unexpected happens — a street that opens up into a temple courtyard, a shop you've never seen anything like, a meal you didn't plan for that becomes the story you tell when you get home.

Osu is that kind of neighborhood in Nagoya. It's where 400-year-old merchant streets meet cosplay shops, where Osu Kannon Temple stands at one end of an arcade lined with vintage clothing and anime figures. It's also where Itadaki exists — a restaurant that was born out of a very specific question I kept asking myself during the pandemic: Why has every Japanese donburi — katsudon, oyakodon, kaisendon — been elevated into a premium dining experience, except gyudon?

That question became Itadaki. We opened in April 2022, sourcing every single ingredient from Aichi Prefecture — including Horai Wagyu, produced by just 3 farms in Japan with only 300 heads raised annually. It's one of the rarest wagyu in the country, and part of what makes it so distinctive is the feeding method: the cattle are raised on sake lees from Horaisen Sora, a celebrated local brewery. You won't find that story behind a bowl of gyudon anywhere else.

If you're curious about how a Ghibli Park day flows when you add a genuine Nagoya food discovery to the mix, this account of a family's Itadaki lunch before their Ghibli Park visit gives a good sense of the rhythm.

"The lunch was the highlight of my Nagoya trip — I'm telling all my friends about it."

— Guest review

Arriving at the Right Time: What to Know Before You Go

One thing I want to be honest with you about: Horai Wagyu is strictly limited to 10 bowls per day. That's not a marketing line — it's a direct result of how rare this beef actually is. If enjoying Horai Wagyu is your priority, I'd strongly recommend making a reservation through Tabelog Online in advance. When you do, copy and paste this phrase into the notes field: 鳳来牛希望 — this tells us you'd like Horai Wagyu.

If you're planning a walk-in visit, arriving right at 11:00 when we open gives you the best chance of securing a Horai Wagyu bowl without a reservation. Our other signature offering — Mikawa Beef Rare Gyudon — is always available for walk-in guests, prepared with the same proprietary two-stage cooking technique that delivers a rare-style texture while fully meeting Japan's food safety standards.

We have 18 seats total, all with comfortable sofa-style seating — including a table for 5 that works well for families. There's no need to rush your meal. This is a lunch designed to be enjoyed slowly, in five deliberate steps that come with the dish itself. Our menu is printed in English, and a visual step-by-step guide walks you through exactly how to experience the bowl from first bite to last.

For visitors with young children: families are absolutely welcome, and parents have used our sofa seats for bottle feeding and letting little ones rest. Please note that Itadaki is on the 2nd floor, accessible by staircase — strollers can be brought in, and staff may be able to assist depending on how busy we are, though we can't guarantee availability.

If your Nagoya day extends beyond Ghibli Park and Osu — perhaps to Atsuta Shrine or toward the Shirakawa-go and Takayama direction — you might also find useful planning notes in this article on fitting Itadaki into a Nagoya day that includes Takayama, which covers the logistics of combining multiple destinations.

Make It the Lunch That Stays With You

I started Itadaki because I believe a gyudon — Japan's most humble bowl — deserves the same respect as any other great Japanese dish. Every ingredient on the table comes from Aichi Prefecture: the Aichi no Kaori rice, the Atsumi Ichō-zuke pickles, the shiso leaves from Toyohashi, the Nagoya Cochin egg from Yamada Poultry Farm. When you sit down here, you're not just eating wagyu. You're tasting a particular corner of Japan, shaped by particular farmers, carried here by a particular idea about what a bowl of rice and beef can be.

Ghibli Park is a world built on the idea that ordinary things can hold extraordinary wonder. I like to think Itadaki starts from the same place — just with a beef bowl instead of a castle in the sky.

For our complete menu, access details, and store information, visit our official page at https://itadaki8.com/english/