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Gifu
City in Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Gifu

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital.

Plan a trip to Gifu→From Tokoname

The city has played an important strategic role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords used the area as a base in their efforts to unify and control Japan. Among them was Oda Nobunaga, who gave the region the name it is known by today. Gifu continued to flourish even after Japan's unification as both an important shukuba along the Edo period Nakasendō and, later, as one of Japan's fashion centers. It has been designated a core city by the national government. The city is a part of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, centered around Nagoya.

Get in

Getting to Gifu

Chubu International Airport (中部国際空港, NGO IATA), Nagoya. The nearest airport to Gifu. Meitetsu trains run directly from the airport to Meitetsu Gifu Station three times per hour at a cost of ¥1310 for an unreserved seat, or ¥1660 for a reserved seat; seat reservations are mandatory on the limited-stop μSKY trains. The trip takes about one hour.

  1. 01
    Nagoya Airport
See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Gifu Castle

    Kinka, and the main attraction is a 360-degree panoramic view from the top floor.

  2. 02
    Gifu City Museum of History

    There are exhibition corners where you can experience history while being introduced to it.

  3. 03
    Nawa Insect Museum
  4. 04
    Katō Eizō-Tōichi Memorial Art Museum
  5. 05
    Gifu Park

    Places of interest in Gifu Park are a statue of Nobunaga, the Oda Nobunaga Palace Ruins, the Kabukimon, the Gifu City Museum of History, and the Nawa Insect Museum.

  6. 06
    Shōhō-ji

    The Gifu Daibutsu (Great Statue of Buddha) is located southwest of Gifu Park in the Colossal Hall of the Great Buddha here at Kinpōzan Shōhō-ji Temple.

Do

Things to do

Ukai (cormorant fishing) occurs every year between May 11th and October 15th on the Nagara River. Gifu City is the only place where this tradition has continued uninterrupted for 1300 years. Silent film actor Charlie Chaplin requested to stop in Gifu for the event on 2 separate visits to Japan, describing it as "Japan's highest art form".

Eat

Where to eat

  1. 01
    El Paso

    Serves the best and widest selection of Mexican food (TexMex) & drinks in Gifu.

  2. 02
    Gishu

    The most popular gyoza restaurant in the city.

  3. 03
    The NEMS

    2-12-2 Kinen-cho (One kilometer east-southeast of Gifu Station, between the Meitetsu and JR tracks).

  4. 04
    Rodeo Roundup

    Akutami-cho (On highway 156, 500 meters north of the post office.).

  5. 05
    Aka Noren

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.