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Gifu
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On the other side of the Kiso-gawa from Inuyama is Gifu-ken, with its capital,
GIFU
, 20km further west. The city pretty much repeats the formula of
ukai
on a meandering river overlooked by a hilltop castle, but is otherwise a bigger and more modern place, rebuilt after the double whammy of an earthquake in 1891 and blanket bombings during World War II. The city is also renowned for its production of
paper umbrellas
and lanterns and it's possible to visit a couple of workshops, although you might not always be able to see the craftspeople at work.
The Meitestu Shin-Gifu Station is 200m north of Gifu's JR Station, on the main road leading to the Nagara-gawa, around 2km further north. This is where the ukai displays run each year from May 11 to October 15. You'll have to bring your own picnic for the boat, the cormorant fishing lasts only thirty minutes and, at ?3300, it's more expensive than in Inuyama, which may persuade you to view the whole thing for free from the riverside. If the water is low, you'll be able to walk out across the rocky river bed for a better view of the proceedings. If you do want to go on the boats, book first at the boat office (tel 0582/62-0140; English spoken) beside the Nagara-bashi. To reach this bridge it's best to take bus #11 (?200) from either of the stations. The small white castle of Gifu-jo (daily 9am-5pm; ?200), perched atop Kinka-zan, is the city's main daytime attraction and is in Gifu-koen, the park around the densely forested hillock looming over the Nagara-gawa. The castle itself is an unremarkable recreation, but the reason for going up to it on the cable car (daily 9am-5pm; ?600 one way, ?1050 return) is for the panoramic view of the river winding its way past the humpbacked outcrops on Gifu's surrounding plains. The park is reached on the same bus that goes out to the Nagara-bashi. While you're out here, pop into Shoho-ji , a temple opposite the park, housing an imposing 13.7metre-tall sculpture of Buddha made of lacquered bamboo.
Around 1km south of Gifu-koen, at 1-18 Koguma-cho, is Ozeki Shoten, a company which produces traditional
paper lanterns
that sell for around ?20,000 with a stand. The workshops here are closed to the public, but in the shop (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm) you'll find a display outlining the process. To see craftsmen at work, head for the paper umbrella company, Sakaida Honten, 27 Kano-Naka Hiroe (Mon-Sat 7am-noon & 2-5pm). If you ask nicely, the assistants will show you a range of the colourful umbrellas, which start at ?3000 and rise to ?100,000 for the giant red parasols often seen outside the most traditional of ryokan. The shop is less than ten minutes on foot south of the JR station, but tricky to locate; get the assistants at Gifu tourist information to draw you a map. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Japan,
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