Meijo Park is easy to enjoy in the daytime.
You can visit the sewer museum, walk in the park and look at the huge IG Arena. NEX PLAZA, a small museum about the Nagoya Expressway, is also nearby.
The trouble starts in the late afternoon, after about 4:30 p.m.
When you think "I want to see one more place," public sights begin to close one after another.
The short answer: after 4:30 p.m., don't try to squeeze in another museum near Meijo Park. Go to Sakae, where more places stay open into the evening.
In 2026, the easiest place to head for is The Landmark Nagoya Sakae.
The top of the tower is not completely closed to the public. It is not a free observation deck, but you can go up to the hotel bar on the 40th floor as an ordinary customer.
1. The sewer museum closes at 4:30 p.m.
Metawater Sewerage Science Museum Nagoya is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Entry is free.[1]
If you see all the exhibits, you walk out just when "Where next?" becomes hard to answer.
In the daytime, it is easy to link the places around the park.
But from 4:30 p.m., the time left is short. Your trip turns into a race against closing time.
2. NEX PLAZA is open until 5 p.m., but the traffic control room is already closed to visitors
NEX PLAZA is nearby. Its exhibits explain how the Nagoya Expressway works. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.[2]
You can see the first-floor exhibition freely, with no reservation.[3]
The traffic control room is different. You need to book ahead, and you cannot visit from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. or after 4:00 p.m.[3]
So at 4:30 p.m.:
- First-floor exhibition: still possible
- Guided tour: needs a reservation in advance
- Traffic control room: too late
- The whole facility: closes at 5:00 p.m.
If you are already next to it and want to see it for 20 minutes, that works.
But if you have to travel there and may arrive after it closes, it is no longer a way to pass the time. It is a time attack.
3. At 4:30, switch from "public facility mode" to "Sakae mode"
The easiest way is to take the Meijo Line subway to Sakae.
Sakae has shops, cinemas, restaurants, hotels and night-view spots close together. Many stay open after 5 p.m.
And in 2026, a big new building joined the area, right at Sakae Station.
It is The Landmark Nagoya Sakae.
According to Mitsubishi Estate, it has 41 floors above ground and 4 below, and is about 211 m tall. It was completed on March 31, 2026. The shops and the cinema complex opened on June 11.[4]
While the public facilities at Meijo Park are closing, a 211 m new building in Sakae is just starting its evening.
The city changes gear in a very obvious way.
4. How far up can an ordinary visitor go?
The lower floors of The Landmark Nagoya Sakae are open to everyone.
The shopping area HAERA covers the 2nd basement floor to the 4th floor. It opened on June 11, 2026 with 65 shops. Shops and services are normally open 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Restaurants stay open until 11:00 p.m. at the latest.[5]
TOHO Cinemas Nagoya Sakae is on floors 5 to 9. It has 10 screens and 1,655 seats, and it opened on the same day, June 11.[6]
Up to here, you can go in like at any normal mall or cinema.
Above that, the use of the building changes.
Mitsubishi Estate's description of the building:
- Floors 10 and 11: banquet and meeting rooms of Conrad Nagoya
- Floor 12: sky lobby for the offices
- Floors 12 to 30: offices
- Floors 31 to 40: Conrad Nagoya hotel
So this is not a building where anyone can walk up to the 41st floor for free.
The usual free walking route stops at the 9th floor.
5. But the 40th floor is not completely closed
This is the interesting part.
Conrad Nagoya takes floors 31 to 40, and the 40th floor has a rooftop bar called House of Mon.[4][7]
The official House of Mon page says that from September 1, hotel guests can book depending on free seats. It does not take reservations from guests who are not staying at the hotel. They are seated in the order they arrive.[7]
So you do not have to stay at the hotel.
But you do not go up as a free sightseer. You go up as a bar customer.
Think of it like a game:
free route on the lower floors → it ends → the hotel customer route opens on the 40th floor
6. How much is one drink on the 40th floor?
On the official drink menu of House of Mon, a draft Asahi Super Dry beer costs 1,500 yen.[8]
The listed price includes 10% tax and a 15% service charge.[8]
According to the official page, it is open from 5:00 p.m. to midnight and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The dress code is smart casual. Children under 10 cannot enter, and people under 20 can stay only until 8:00 p.m.[7]
So if you meet the conditions and there is a free seat, this day is possible:
Look at the manhole displays at the sewer museum
→ it closes at 4:30 p.m.
→ go to Sakae
→ visit the new 211 m tower
→ drink a 1,500 yen beer on the 40th floor
A few hours earlier you were looking at underground sewage. At the end, you are drinking beer in the sky.
What a swing.
7. You may want to compare 1,500 yen with an observation deck ticket, but it is a bar
When you hear that you can go up to the 40th floor, you may think of it as a replacement for an observation deck.
It is true that if you only want a view, "go somewhere high and have a drink" is one choice.
But House of Mon is a bar, not a viewing facility.
If it is full, you cannot get in. There are rules such as the dress code. It is also not a place where you look at the view and leave without ordering anything.
So the right way to say it is not:
"If you pay 1,500 yen, you can buy a ticket to the 40th floor."
It is:
"A draft beer at the 40th-floor bar costs 1,500 yen, and guests who are not staying at the hotel can use it in order of arrival."
Still, it can feel like an elevator to the sky with a beer included.
8. Conclusion: at Meijo Park in the evening, change the mode of your day instead of waiting
The area around Meijo Park is great in the daytime for learning, walking and public facilities.
But after 4:30 p.m., the sewer museum is closed, NEX PLAZA is open only until 5:00 p.m., and the traffic control room is already closed to visitors.
If you force in "just one more place" at this hour, you end up fighting the clock.
If you switch to Sakae, shops, cinemas, restaurants and hotels are still open into the night.
In 2026, The Landmark Nagoya Sakae is new, and even its lower floors are fun to explore. If you want to go somewhere high, there is also a paid way up to the House of Mon bar on the 40th floor.
4:30 p.m. at Meijo Park is not the end of your trip. The public-facility part of the day ends, and the Sakae night part begins.
References (8)
- Nagoya City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau, facility information for Metawater Sewerage Science Museum Nagoya: open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., free entry water.city.nagoya.jp
- Nagoya Expressway Public Corporation, NEX PLAZA: open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m nagoya-expressway.or.jp
- Nagoya Expressway Public Corporation, guided tours: first-floor exhibition is free to visit without a reservation, the traffic control room needs a reservation, no visits after 4:00 p.m nagoya-expressway.or.jp
- Mitsubishi Estate, The Landmark Nagoya Sakae: 41 floors above ground, 4 below, about 211 m, completed March 31, 2026, and how the floors are used mec.co.jp
- PARCO, HAERA: 2nd basement floor to 4th floor, 65 shops, opened June 11, 2026, opening hours parco.co.jp
- TOHO Cinemas, TOHO Cinemas Nagoya Sakae: 10 screens, 1,655 seats, opened June 11, 2026 tohotheater.jp
- Conrad Nagoya, House of Mon: 40th floor, 5:00 p.m. to midnight, closing days, guests not staying at the hotel are seated in order of arrival, dress code and age rules conrad-nagoya.hiltonjapan.co.jp
- Conrad Nagoya, House of Mon drink menu: Asahi Super Dry draft beer 1,500 yen, listed prices include 10% tax and 15% service charge cms.hiltonjapan.co.jp
