Spots in Hida Area

  • Hakusan Shirakawa-go White Road
    Travel / Tourism
    Ishikawa Pref. Hakusanshi Ozou Gifu prefecture Ohno-gun Shirakawa village Hatakeigaya Ma hunting - ground
    This driving course is located about a 10-minute drive from the Shirakawa-go Interchange. It links the towns that make up Kaga Onsen in Ishikawa Prefecture with the world heritage site Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture. Its nickname, “Hakusan Super Forest Road,” was changed in 2015, and the fee was lowered so that even more people could enjoy driving along it. In the middle is Fukube no Otaki waterfall, the most famous spot along the road that splashes it with spraying water after it falls 86 meters.
  • Ogimachi-jo Castle Ruins Observatory
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Pref. Onogunshirakawamura Ogimachi
    A scenic observatory located on high ground overlooking Ogi-machi in Shirakawa-go offering a sweeping view of Shirakawa-go’s collection of traditional Japanese buildings. A shuttle bus travels to the observatory from the south side of the Hakusuien restaurant, perfect for those not used to walking long distances and for surviving the summer heat. When the weather does suit walking, visitors are recommended to stroll the area and take a few pictures of the lovely scenery. On clear days, the sight of the surrounding mountains is beautiful, and the area is enveloped in seasonal, picture postcard-esque scenery, including fresh spring greenery, fall colors, and winter snowscapes. The view is particularly magnificent from January to February when the homes of Shirakawa-go are lit up at night.
  • Inaka Kougei Kan
    rating-image
    4.0
    1 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Hida-shi Kawaicho Tsunogawa 709
    "This craft museum is where you can experience the traditional craft of ""Yukizarashi Sanchu Japanese paper"" in Kawai-cho, Hida City. You can enjoy experiences including papermaking and vegetable dyeing. Sanchu Japanese paper is made by exposing and bleaching ""kozo,"" the raw ingredient for Japanese paper, with snow for a characteristically light and natural color. Called ""Kozo no Yukizarashi,"" it is a traditional technique that has been handed down for close to 800 years in the area. Although it has been handed down as a farmer's winter work, the number of producers has decreased dramatically in recent years. In addition, it is possible to observe the work process by the craftsmen and the actual making of Japanese paper."

    柏木さんというおばあちゃんが毎日山中和紙の作業を行っています。3階には飛騨の古い生活用具が展示されています。 入館料は無料ですよ。

  • Gero Onsen Ideyu Morning Market
    rating-image
    2.0
    2 Reviews
    Shopping
    Gifu Pref. Geroshi Mori 2626
    This morning market is held at the entrance of Gero Onsen Gassho Village in downtown Gero Onsen. In addition to locally harvested vegetables and specialty products like tomato juice, blueberry jam, buna shimeji mushrooms, local sake, and pickled red turnip, you can also buy locally produced miso and konnyaku gelatin. Vegetables are on sale from Friday to Monday. They also sell a variety of Japanese items like chirimen silk scrunchies and pouches, antiques, and Gero specialty items you won't find at ordinary souvenir shops.

    朝市という名前だったので野菜などの並ぶ場所を想像していたのですが、木彫りや染物、土産物だけの市でした。謎のアーミーグッズのお店もありました。店舗数も10店程度、バスも泊まっていて観光客は多いようですが特に訪れるべき場所とは感じませんでした。

  • Takumikan Craft Museum
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Pref. Hidashi Furukawachouichinomachi 10-1
    The Takumikan Craft Museum is a museum in Hida City, Gifu Prefecture that is dedicated to ensuring that traditional crafts that have been passed down since ancient times can continue to be transmitted to future generations. The buildings that house the Museum were built by local carpenters using locally-sourced timber, without using a single nail. Inside the Museum, a wide range of wooden joints and wooden puzzles are on display, as well as a “cloud” displaying the Mon (family crests) of the craftsmen who participated in building the Museum; visitors can view the spectacular technical expertise of these traditional craftsmen from close to. There is a very popular experiential corner where visitors can try their hands at putting together the famous Chidori-goshi (“Double Dovetail Joint”), one of the secret techniques of the Hida artisans. The Takumikan Craft Museum is located around five minutes’ walk from Hida-Furukawa Station on the JR Takayama Line. The admission charge is 300 yen for adults, 100 yen for children.
  • Ichinomachi café
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Gifu Pref. Hidashi Furukawachouichinomachi 1-12
    Ichinomachi café is located in a historic merchant’s house in Hida City, Gifu Prefecture. The fascinating interior décor and mellow jazz background music combine to create a relaxed ambience, making this a great place to drop in for a break while you are wandering around the town. Besides the special coffees which are changed every week, other popular items on the menu include rich curries featuring Hida beef and locally-grown vegetables, and freshly-baked melon bread.
  • Irori restaurant
    rating-image
    4.0
    77 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Gifu Pref. Onogunshirakawamura Ogimachi 374-1
    Irori is a restaurant in a traditional thatched-roof house located in Shirakawa-go village (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Gifu Prefecture. Diners can enjoy traditional local dishes made using mountain herbs and vegetables etc. picked locally in Hida, the Shirakawa-go and Gokayama district, while seated round an Irori (a hearth constructed in a depression in the floor). Popular menu items include the “Hida Beef Cooked on a Ceramic Board–Set Meal” for which diners can specify how well-cooked they want the premium Hida beef to be, the “Grilled Tofu Set Meal” made with the unique local Shirakawa-ko Tofu, and the “Hoba Miso Set Meal” made using Hoba Miso, a famous Hida-Takayama region specialty.

    We took a bus from Takayama and had lunch at Shirakawa-go. It was very delicious. It is also a restaurant I want to visit. is.

  • Gandate Canyon
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Gero-shi Osakacho Ochiai
    A 40-minute drive from Gero Station on the JR Takayama Main Line. This picturesque canyon follows a mountain stream for 17 kilometers. Its lava (andesite) columnar joint walls and boulders were formed some 54 thousand years ago by the magma which flowed from an eruption of Mt. Ontake. The surrounding area is maintained as Gandate Park and facilities include observatories, a shop, and parking area. Mitsudaki Waterfall, located inside the park, can be reached via a 600-meter-long walkway. The canyon has been designated a Natural Monument by the prefecture and is a renowned destination for viewing fall foliage which has been selected for inclusion in a list of the 33 Selected Hida and Mino colored leaves. Visitors can enjoy a different atmosphere in spring when fresh verdure fills the area.
  • Japanese Sake Brewery TENRYOU
    rating-image
    4.5
    3 Reviews
    Shopping
    Gifu Gero-shi Hagiwaracho Hagiwara 1289-1
    A 15-minute drive from Gero Station on the JR Takayama Main Line. This long standing brewery makes sake and shochu with choice rice, water, and people. The brewery's Tenryo sake is lovingly crafted by the chief brewer using Hidahomare, a local specialty rice ideal for sake making; and underground spring water from the Hida Mountains. Instilled with the spirt of brewery founder Hinoya Sahei, this sake is the embodiment of Hida. The brewery's novel products like the sparkling sweet sake Sumasuma are also popular. Visitors can tour the brewery year round for free, and also enjoy sake tasting (advance reservation required).

    We were there before their renovation. The Manager speaks English and gave us a box full of tokens to try their free flow sake. Check the availability for their next brewery tour after renovation.

  • Souvenir Shop Yamakawa
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Gero-shi Koden 1163-1
    Located at the western end of the Gero Ohashi Bridge, this is Gero Onsen's largest souvenir shop. You can recognize it by its 2.4-meter-tall blue eyed beckoning cat, known as James Gorohei Jr. Lots of tourists take photos with it. The shop offers a wide selection of unique Gero Onsen souvenirs. These include slow boiled onsen-tamago eggs in dashi broth, Hida beef rice balls, and boxed lunches with lots of Hida beef, and the Inochi-no-Ichi local rice brand that's been declared the tastiest in Japan. The adjacent sake shop sees a lot of visitors and features the 12 breweries of the Hida area.
  • Meijiya Soba-ten
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Gifu Gero-shi Koden 1348-8
    A soba restaurant right in front of Gero Station. Their nihachi-soba noodles (80/20 buckwheat/udon flour mix) are hand-made daily from carefully selected domestic buckwheat that they stone-grind themselves. The noodles have a mild aroma and taste great going down. They also sell Sasa-zushi, a Gero Onsen specialty, consisting of bite-sized sushi wrapped in a bamboo leaf. They offer three varieties: sea bream, salmon, and mackerel. With just a hint of the bamboo leaf's fragrance, try one and you may want more. You can also get other items you'd expect to find at a soba shop, like soba miso, stewed Hida beef, skewered rice dumplings in a sweet soy glaze, and goheimochi rice cakes on a stick.
  • Furuko-no-Kobai (Red plum blossoms)
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Gero-shi Osakacho Nagase
    A plum tree that's been designated as a natural monument by Gifu Prefecture. A rare double-blossomed red variety, it's one of the few large trees in the prefecture. Nine-meter-tall and with a trunk three meters in circumference, it's estimated to be 700 years old. It has been damaged several times over the years, and one of the branches has been repaired. The site gets packed with photographers with their tripods when it is in full bloom in mid-April and it's even more beautiful with its blossoms against snow-capped Mt. Ontake. It's just off the Osaka River's bike path, so lots of people stop by to view it while out for a ride or a hike.
  • Hida-Osaka Fureai-no-mori
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Gero-shi Osakacho Yuya 273-1
    The Fureai-no-mori campground is surrounded by a rich natural environment of green forests with a clear stream full of fish nearby. Lots of people visit from Japan's urban areas seeking to get in touch with nature. They offer an array of hands-on-programs geared towards kids with a theme of laughing, building, and playing with children. Some of these include glasswork, Baumkuchen cake making, and parquetry.
  • Ontake Panorama Line
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Gero-shi Osakacho Ochiai
    A scenic portion of Gifu's Prefectural Route 441 that runs between the turnoff for the Suzuran Highland and Nigorigo Onsen. It's a great road to take in the great outdoors and the pure mountain air. It's also been selected as one of the Top 33 Spots for Autumn Leaves in Hida and Mino, the best time to see it is at the beginning of October when the poison ivy growing up the larch trees turn a brilliant red. In spring, Mt. Ontake's snow-capped peak and the young green leaves contrast beautifully along the route. The Ohira Observatory on the way will give you a panoramic view that includes what's left of Japan's longest lava flow from a Mt. Ontake eruption.
  • Tanokami no Ashiyu Footbath
    Accommodations / Hot Spring
    Gifu Gero-shi Mori
    This footbath is an easy way to enjoy Gero Onsen, one of Japan's top three hot springs along with Arima Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture and Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma Prefecture. Popular with locals and tourists alike, it's in a fine location about a 17-minute walk from Gero Station in the park next to the Gero City Hall. The name is associated with the Tanokami Festival held at the local Mori Hachiman Shrine. There's a hot spring fountain in front of it. Made of stone from Mt. Ontake and the nearby Ogawa River, it's good for hand baths.
  • Yu-no-machi Ujo Park
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Gifu Gero-shi Mori
    A park at the upstream of the Atanodani River. It's close to Gero Onsen, one of Japan's top three hot spring towns. The park's name comes from a folk song by the poet Ujo Noguchi who visited the area in the early Showa period. The Atanodani River flows from the mountains around Gero Onsen right through downtown. The promenade along the river is great for a walk after your bath while taking in the natural surroundings. You can swim in the river in summer to add another layer of fun to your time in the hot spring town.
  • Geruma no Ashiyu Footbath
    Accommodations / Hot Spring
    Gifu Gero-shi Mori 2519-1
    "A hot spring footbath with germanium in the water, unlike the rest of Gero Onsen. This area was originally called ""Shimodomari"" as Japanese reading, but later called ""Geru"" as Chinese reading, and finally is called ""Gero"". Located a bit away from central Gero near Kaiseki Yado and Suihouen, it has an off-the-beaten-track feel. It's a great place to unwind while gazing at Gero Onsen Gassho Village, the 10 gassho-style houses that have been relocated from Shirakawa-go."
  • Sagi no Ashiyu Footbath
    Accommodations / Hot Spring
    Gifu Gero-shi Yunoshima
    This was Gero Onsen's first footbath. The name derives from a 700-year-old legend of a white crane (sagi) that descended on the spot, letting the villagers know where the hot spring welled up. The cypress wood footbath is across from Kaeru Shrine, on a street lined with restaurants and old-style inns. The clean facility can accommodate five people sitting side-by-side, relaxing and easing their fatigue away. It's just a simple bath, bench, and a roof, but as it's right next to the central parking lot, someone always seems to be there.
  • Gero Onsen-jinja Shrine
    Travel / Tourism
    Gifu Gero-shi Yunoshima
    There's a high probability you'll pass this shrine during your visit to Gero Onsen as it's in the center of town. It's on the first floor of Gero Onsen Ryokan Kaikan on the corner of Shirasagi Bridge, just across from Gero Ohashi Bridge. It was built to give thanks for Gero's history and hot springs, and to pray for its continued development. An annual festival held on October 8th also offers thanks for the hot springs and features tourists parading through the town wearing traditional samurai garb. The shrine is a branch of Yudonosan Honmiya Shrine, honoring one of the three Dewasanzan peaks in Yamagata Prefecture.
  • Owariya Confectioners
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Gifu Gero-shi Yunoshima 124-1
    This shop manufactures and sells Gero Onsen's famous Tochinomi Senbei rice crackers. Made with chestnut and wheat flour produced in Gifu Prefecture, the shop has used the same recipe since its founding more than 50 years ago. The crackers are slightly hard and deliver a light aroma of chestnuts when bitten. They're the ideal Gero souvenir. Other rice crackers include a tasty lightly baked low-sugar version and their kayanomi senbei, a Western version with a blend of butter and Japanese nutmeg (kaya). They're available at various inns and souvenir shops throughout Gero City, as well as at their main factory.

Gifu Areas

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Tucked away in the very center of Japan, Gifu prefecture houses mountains, old towns, and one of Japan’s greatest hot springs, Gero Onsen. A tour of the prefecture’s traditional architecture will take you from the mountain-enveloped wooden streets of Takayama to the mountain village of Shirakawago, where visitors can explore 250-year-old thatched roofed houses known as gassho-zukuri.

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