World Heritage Shirakawa-go
World Heritage Shirakawa-go
Gassho-zukuri, the largest of the Ogimachi Gassho-zukuri villages. The village prospered during the Edo period (1603-1867), when it served as a daimyo (feudal lord) and a watchtower official, and traded in flaming glass, an important source of cash income in Shirakawa-go. Today, the house is still used as a residence, and the first and second floors are open to the public. There is a sunken hearth room and a Buddhist room, and daily utensils, folk tools, farming tools, and red lacquer tableware used for weddings and celebratory occasions are on display.
Gifu Castle
Gifu Castle
Gifu Castle, located on the summit of Mt. Kinka and perched on top of a rocky hill, was known as an impregnable castle, and it was said that "He who controls Mino controls the whole country.
During the Warring States Period, the castle was also the residence of Saito Dosan, the hero of the novel "Kunitori Monogatari" (The Tale of the Thief of the Country). Later, Nobunaga Oda conquered the castle and became its lord, and is said to have changed the name of the place to "Gifu" and "Inabayama Castle" to "Gifu Castle. However, in August 1600, during the prelude to the Battle of Sekigahara, Oda Nobunaga's grandson, Hidenobu, sided with the Western Army, and the castle was attacked by the Eastern Army and fell after a fierce battle. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the general of the eastern forces, left Edo on September 1 and stayed at Gifu Castle on September 13, two days before the Battle of Sekigahara.Hida Limestone Cave
Hida Limestone Cave
Among the approximately 80 tourist limestone caves in Japan, this cave is the highest in Japan, located 900 meters above sea level. It is also known for its large number of rare bent bell milky stones called "helictites. Since this area was an ocean 250 million years ago, limestone was formed from coral in the ocean and dissolved in rainwater over a long period of time, gradually accumulating and creating limestone caves. Please enjoy the marvelous art of limestone caves created by nature over a vast period of time.
Cormorant fishing
Cormorant fishing
Kinkasan, which evokes the romance of the Warring States period, and Gifu Castle towering atop the mountain, the cormorants and cormorants work in unison to create an ethereal world in which the present is forgotten and time is slipped back to a thousand years ago.
The history of cormorant fishing can be traced back more than 1,300 years, and it has been protected by the powers that be of the time, such as Nobunaga Oda, who gave cormorants the title of "cormorant fisherman," and Ieyasu Tokugawa, who had ayu sushi presented to Edo, a city in Japan where cormorant fishermen were very popular. It is said that in 1615, Ieyasu, Hidetada, and their son, Hidetada, visited Gifu on their way back from the Osaka Summer Campaign and watched the cormorant fishing.
Basho Matsuo wrote a haiku poem, "Omoshiro te yamatte yatte kanashiki (The cormorant boats are so beautiful)," and the famous actor Charles Chaplin is said to have visited twice to see the cormorants and praised them as wonderful. The cormorant fishing season is held every night from May 11 to October 15 every year, except for the mid-autumn moon and when the water level is high.
Nagara Hotspring
Nagara Hotspring
This hot spring resort is famous for its 1300-year-old "cormorant fishing" (held annually from May 11 to October 15). It has been selected as one of the "100 Best Hot Springs in Japan" by Kanko Keizai Shimbun for five consecutive years. The iron spring water is rich in iron and radon, and has a copper-colored cloudy water. The clear Nagara River that flows through the center of the resort has been selected as one of the 100 best waters.
Yoro Water Fall
Yoro Water Fall
Yoro Falls is famous for the tale of the filial son, "A filial woodcutter drew water from a spring into a gourd and gave it to his father, who drank it and became young again. The waterfall has long been visited by writers and artists, and was even depicted by Katsushika Hokusai in his ukiyoe woodblock prints. In addition to the magnificent sight of the waterfall, the surrounding nature is also attractive. In spring, cherry blossoms bloom and turn the entire park pink, and in fall, the entire mountain is covered in autumn leaves, creating a magnificent gradation of colors.