Gifu Prefecture offers tourist attractions such as Ibukiyama, Gero Onsen, and Tsujido; sightseeing events such as the Gujo Odori Dance, Air Festival, and Harukoma; and local delicacies such as mizu-manju, botan-nabe, and sweetfish sweets.
Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture in the central region of Japan, with the Hida Mountains in the north and the Nobi Plain in the south, a land of many ups and downs. Six rivers flow through the prefecture, the Jinzu River, the Sho River, the Kiso River, the Yahagigawa River, the Kuzuryu River, and the Shonai River, each of which has a separate basin.
The Hida mountain range in the north has a higher percentage of forest than other mountains, reaching 92.5%, making it a truly green prefecture. The Hida Mountains in the north are more heavily forested than other mountains, at 92.5%, making it a truly green prefecture. The 600-meter-high mountains surrounding the basin make it a land of distinct seasons, with warm summers and cold winters.
Gifu Prefecture has a number of famous tourist spots, including Shirakawa-go, which is registered as a World Heritage site. Shirakawa-go is a village in the Hida region, one of Japan's heaviest snowfall areas, with rows of gassho-houses with sharply angled thatched roofs for sericulture.
The sharply angled roofs minimize wind resistance and allow the roofs to dry quickly, and the landscape and technology of such buildings were registered as a World Cultural Heritage in 1995.
Many people have probably seen the beautiful scenery of Shirakawa-go in snowy landscapes in photos and videos. Shirakawa-go has been awarded three stars in the Michelin travel guide and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Gifu Prefecture.
Gifu Prefecture is also home to several limestone caves, including the Otaki Cave, which is said to be over 200 million years old, and the Hida Grand Limestone Cave, which was discovered in 1965. The Otaki Cave is a 700-meter long limestone cave where visitors can enjoy a variety of stalactites.
The Hida Daishongnyudo Cave is one of the largest limestone caves in Japan, with a length of 800 meters. The cool and cool cave is a popular tourist spot, especially in summer.
The Hida region is famous for its agricultural products produced by the abundant nature and delicious water, which should be enjoyed along with your trip. Hida beef produced in the Hida region is a must-try for meat lovers, as the beef is suitable for both steak and shabu-shabu.
Gifu Prefecture, with its delicious water, meets the requirements for producing delicious sake, and there is a wide variety of locally brewed sake available. In Shirakawa-go, a World Cultural Heritage site, doburoku, a mellow, fragrant sake, is produced, and events such as the Doburoku Festival are held there.
Gero Onsen was called one of the "Three Famous Hot Springs" in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) along with Kusatsu Onsen and Arima Onsen as Hida no Yushima (Gero Onsen's name at that time was Yushima),Since the Edo period, it has been called one of the "Three Famous Springs of Japan" (the three most...»
Built between the end of the Edo period and the end of the Meiji period (1868-1912), this is a village of gassho-zukuri, a style unique to heavy snowfall areas, where the original Japanese landscape of mountains, rivers, fields, and wooden houses can still be seen. This is a precious area where gas...»
This mountain castle on Mt. Kinka, 329 meters above sea level, has a history dating back to the Kamakura period, when Oda Nobunaga moved his headquarters from Komaki Mountain to Gifu Castle in 1567 and improved it. Today, the stonewalls of the ruins of the rice warehouse, drum tower, and Ninomaru-m...»
Gero Onsen Machi is a bustling hot spring resort area along the Hida River, centered on the Gero Ohashi Bridge, where you can walk around and enjoy the sights, inns, restaurants, and souvenir stores. You can enjoy strolling around the hot spring town with its fountain ponds, hand and foot baths, an...»
Kosaka-cho, Gero City, located at the foot of Mt. Ontake, is famous as one of the towns with the largest number of waterfalls in Japan, with 220 waterfalls with a drop of over 5 meters, including "Neo Falls". The guided tours of unexplored waterfalls by local guides are popular with beginners and ex...»
This nameless pond is located near Nemichi Shrine in Itadori, Seki-shi, Gifu Prefecture. The pond is called "Monet's Pond" because the water lilies floating on the surface of the pond filled with crystal clear blue water look like those in French painter Claude Monet's famous painting "Waterlilies" ...»
It is one of the largest freshwater aquariums in the world. Here, visitors are introduced to river ecosystems from around the world, beginning with the headwaters of the Nagara River. The four-story building houses more than 22,000 living creatures and plants of about 250 species and features detai...»
This park, located in the center of Gifu City at the foot of Mt. Kinka, is said to have been the residence of Doso Saito, lord of Gifu Castle in the Warring States Period, and Nobunaga Oda. Kinkasan, the park is surrounded by the great nature of Mt. Kinkasan and is home to many facilities including ...»
The Takayama Matsuri consists of two festivals: the Sanno Matsuri in the spring and the Hachiman Matsuri in the fall. The people of Hida have long been skilled in architecture and sculpture, and are known as "Hida artisans." The Takayama Festival showcases the stalls that these artisans have painsta...»
Gero Onsen Gassho-mura (Gero Onsen Gassho Village) is a museum consisting of 10 gassho-zukuri buildings that were relocated from Shirakawa-go and other areas, including the "Former Oto Family Residence," a nationally designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property. In the village, visitors can ...»
It is said that Rinkichiro Kinoshita built this castle in one night, and it was the starting point of the Taikoh's success story. The castle tower-shaped historical museum with pure gold ornamentation stands on the ruins of this castle, where you can meet the young Hideyoshi as he unfolds the path t...»
The pagoda was built by Hojo Masako, a nun general in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), and is the oldest pagoda in the prefecture. The front part of the main hall is a stage, similar to that of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, and is also known as "Mino Kiyomizu" (Mino Kiyomizu)....»