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Gifu

Scenic Shirakawa-go and Gero's hot springs

About Gifu
Hilltop view over Shirakawa-go (Photo: Tom Roseveare / JT)

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Subzero Forest Ice Festival 2025

Subzero Forest Ice Festival 2025

Mid Feb

The Subzero Forest Ice Festival in Takayama is held on the second Saturday of February every year, and it combines icicles and lights..

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About Gifu

Okinawa Nagasaki Fukuoka Saga Kumamoto Kagoshima Miyazaki Oita Ehime Kochi Tokushima Kagawa Yamaguchi Hiroshima Okayama Tottori Shimane Hyogo Kyoto Osaka Wakayama Nara Shiga Mie Fukui Ishikawa Toyama Gifu Aichi Nagano Shizuoka Niigata Yamanashi Kanagawa Tokyo Saitama Gunma Tochigi Chiba Ibaraki Fukushima Miyagi Yamagata Iwate Akita Aomori Hokkaido
Region Chubu
Island Honshu
Capital Gifu City
Population 2,080,773
Area 10,621.29 km²

Located in the center of Honshu, Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県, Gifu-ken) has the distinction of being the place that changed modern Japanese history forever - the Battle of Sekigahara took place in 1600 in the Gifu town of the same name.

Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged victorious, he and his successors ruled Japan for the next 268 years virtually unchallenged, Japan closed its doors to foreign trade, and Edo (present day Tokyo) became the major city of the country. Sekigahara aside, Gifu still has more than plenty to offer.

Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage Site, is beautiful all year round but especially breathtaking in the winter, while Gero Onsen is also a popular destination. Can’t make it to Kyoto? Try visiting Takayama, affectionately nicknamed “Little Kyoto.” Kuri-kinton, a chestnut sweet, is the local delicacy, but if you have room to splurge definitely have some Hida beef!

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