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Gifu

Scenic Shirakawa-go and Gero's hot springs

About Gifu
Photo: Tom Roseveare / JT

Top Attractions in Gifu

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Gifu Top 10

  1. Fairytale Winter Tour: Shirakawa-Go
    1

    Fairytale Winter Tour: Shirakawa-Go

    Activities
  2. Sunomata, The One Night Castle
    2

    Sunomata, The One Night Castle

    Culture
  3. Gujo Odori
    3

    Gujo Odori

    Gujo
  4. Sekigahara Battlefield
    4

    Sekigahara Battlefield

    Culture
  5. Summertime in Shirakawago
    5

    Summertime in Shirakawago

    Culture
  6. The Battle of Sekigahara
    6

    The Battle of Sekigahara

    Culture
  7. Traditional Shirakawa-go
    7

    Traditional Shirakawa-go

    Culture
  8. Shirakawa-go's Yamamoto-ya
    8

    Shirakawa-go's Yamamoto-ya

    Accommodation
  9. Gujo Hachiman Castle
    9

    Gujo Hachiman Castle

    Gujo
  10. Magome-juku
    10

    Magome-juku

    Nakatsugawa

Upcoming Gifu Events

Slug Festival
Culture

Slug Festival

Early Aug

A festival in rural Nakatsugawa dedicated to a monk and a mystery of nature on the anniversary of a death connected to forbidden..

7 Free
Gujo Odori
Culture

Gujo Odori

Mid Jul - Early Sep

Gujo Odori is Japan's largest and one of the most famous dance festivals lasting thirty-two nights, three of which have dancing..

1 Free
Suimu Shrine Festival
Culture

Suimu Shrine Festival

Late Sep

Suimu Shrine Festival has those of unlucky ages fight to push out the bad spirits that plague those ages.

4 Free
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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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