I was born in Nagoya.
But honestly…
I barely know my own hometown.
For almost 3 years, I’ve been learning Filipino culture by following people.
One conversation leads to another.
One clue leads to another.
That took me through carinderias, barangays, churches, festivals, and communities across Cebu.
So this time, I tried the same approach in Nagoya.
In my last quest, I came across something that caught my curiosity:
More Filipinos gather around Ikeda Park at night.
At first, I thought it might just be a coincidence.
But then one question started bothering me:
Why here?
And why at night?
So I started asking people.
A Japanese man told me:
“Around this time, they start showing up.”
Then I talked to a couple of Filipinas I met there.
They told me about their work in Japan and their families.
It didn't really answer my question.
But somehow, it made me even more curious about this place.
I joked:
“Looks like there are a lot of punks here.” 😂
The two Filipinas laughed and said:
“Yeah, it’s kinda like Makati.”
“Manila is the same, right?”
Then the conversation took a turn I wasn't expecting.
I asked:
“Where else do Filipinos gather aside from here?”
“How about church?”
One of them immediately said:
“You know Nunoike? Nunoike Church.”
“...Nunoike Church?”
"Yeah, Sunday in the morning. Six o'clock."
That caught my attention.
Because suddenly, this wasn't really a story about a park anymore.
It was a clue.
A new place.
A new community I still don't understand.
I was supposed to follow that clue this Sunday.
But I have a family event.
a bench at Ikeda Park at night" data-pos="">
So the mystery survives a little longer.
I went home with more questions than answers.
Which, honestly, is probably why I want to come back.
The next clue seems to be a church.
To be continued…?
The Japanese man gave me the timing. The two Filipinas gave me their work, their families, and a joke about Makati. None of it answered why here.
But by the end, I wasn't holding an explanation. I was holding a name — Nunoike Church — and a time. Sunday. Six in the morning.
I was born in this city, and I still needed two Filipinas to tell me where to go next. In Cebu, that's how it always worked: one person points, and I follow. It works the same way in Nagoya.
The answer wasn't about the park at all — it was a clue pointing to a church on Sunday morning and a community I still don't understand.
| Date | September 17, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Location | Ikeda Park, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan |
| Event Type | Street Conversations / Community Clue Search |
| Access Method | Walk-up conversations with a Japanese man and two Filipinas in Ikeda Park |
| Food Featured | None |
| Cost to Attend | Free (Cycling around) |
| Rarity | 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ — An evening gathering pattern with no clear explanation yet |
| Bayanihan Index | 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜ — Two Filipinas willing to talk and point me toward a next place |
I still don't know why this park or why night, nor whether the church at six on Sunday morning belongs to the same community I met here.