Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [189]
Take the bus to the Gifu-kōen Rekishi Hakubutsukan-mae stop.
SHŌHŌ-JI
The main attraction of this orange-and-white temple (264-2760; 8 Daibutsu-chō; admission ¥150; 9am-5pm) is the papier-mâché daibutsu (Great Buddha; 1832), which is nearly 14m tall and is said to have been fashioned over 38 years using about a tonne of paper Sutras. The temple is a short walk southwest of Gifu-kōen. Get off at the Daibutsu-mae bus stop (from Gifu-kōen only).
Sleeping & Eating
Comfort Hotel Gifu (; 267-1311; fax 267-1312; s/tw with breakfast ¥6090/11,550; ) Across from JR Gifu Station, this unpretentious, 219-room business hotel offers LCD TVs with CNN, wireless internet access from rooms and a coin laundry. Breakfast is a simple but plentiful Japanese/continental buffet.
Daiwa Roynet Hotel Gifu (; 212-0055; fax 212-0056; s/d from ¥7500/15,000; ) A posher choice, with a minimalist design, nice linens, and rooms outfitted with LAN cables for your computer. It’s steps from Meitetsu-Gifu Station.
The narrow streets between Nagarabashi-dōri and Kinka-zan-dōri (between the train stations) provide happy hunting for cafes, restaurants and izakaya. For a nightcap, join expats and locals at the wabi-sabi-cool Bier Hall (; 266-8868; 5.30pm-1am, closed 1st & 3rd Sun of month), which specialises in Guinness, pizzas, fried snacks and Thai curry. It’s a few doors behind the clothing shop ‘Bad’.
Shopping
Gifu’s craft tradition includes wagasa (oiled paper parasols/umbrellas) and chōchin (paper lanterns) elegantly painted with landscapes etc, though the number of artisans is a mere fraction of their golden age (600 umbrella-makers then compared to a handful now). Souvenir shops sell mass-produced versions, or the tourist information office has a map of high-quality makers and/or sellers. Expect to pay ¥10,000-plus for a quality wagasa or chōchin. Shops keep irregular hours, so it’s worth phoning ahead to make sure they’re open.
Sakaida Eikichi Honten (; 271-6958) makes and sells wagasa. It’s a 10-minute walk from JR Gifu Station. Turn left from the south exit, and turn right at the second stoplight. Sakaida is at the next corner.
For Gifu chōchin, try Ozeki Chōchin (; 263-0111). From Ken-Sōgōchōsha-mae bus stop, walk east. It’s by the temple Higashi Betsuin.
Getting There & Around
From Nagoya, take the JR Tōkaidō line (tokkyū, ¥1180, 20 minutes; futsū, ¥450, 30 minutes) to Gifu or the Meitetsu line to Meitetsu-Gifu (¥540, 35 minutes). Meitetsu trains also serve Inuyama (¥440, 35 minutes).
Buses to sights (¥200) depart from stops 11 and 12 of the bus terminal by JR Gifu Station’s Nagara exit, stopping at Meitetsu-Gifu en route. However, ask before boarding as not all buses make all stops.
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GUJŌ-HACHIMAN
0575 / pop 16,000
Nestled in the mountains at the confluence of several rivers, Gujō-Hachiman is a small, pleasant town famed for its Gujō Odori, Japan’s third-largest folk dance festival, and as the place where all of those plastic food models you see in restaurant windows come from.
The tourist office (; 67-0002; 8.30am-5pm) is by Shin-bashi in the centre of town, about five minutes’ walk from the Jōka-machi Plaza bus terminal.
The festival first: following a tradition dating to the 1590s, townsfolk engage in frenzied dancing on 32 nights between mid-July and early September. Visitor participation is encouraged, especially during tetsuya odori, the four main days of the festival (13 to 16 August), when the dancing goes all night.
At other times of the year the town’s sparkling rivers, narrow lanes and stone bridges make for a relaxing stopover.
Those incredibly realistic food models are one of life’s great mysteries, and here’s your chance to suss them out. In an old machiya (merchant house), Shokuhin Sample Kōbō Sōsakukan (; 67-1870;