Rugby World UK – August 2019

Have an unforgettable experience and
learn about the country’s traditional culture
in the middle of the Japanese Alps...

C

The Culture Vulture
Ancient Japan continues to
thrive in Gifu today. Located in
the heart of Japan, the Gifu Prefecture
flourished as a centre for trade and travel

• and to see what life was like 300 years
  ago you can visit Shirakawa-go. The

UNESCO World Heritage Site is a
traditional Japanese village located in
Takayama where you will find farmhouses
with steep, thatched roofs.
Gifu has long been known for its
high-quality Japanese swords and at
swordsmith studios like Asano Kajiya
(asanokajiya.com/en) you can make your
own kitchen knife utilising techniques that
have been passed down for 700 years.
At the Terada Washi Studio (govoyagin.
com/pages/gifu) you can do a workshop
in traditional Japanese papermaking.
Other hands-on activities include
pottery and indigo-dyeing.

F

The Foodie
Make sure you sample Hida
beef, a title given to only the
best-quality Japanese Black cattle
bred in the Hida region of the
prefecture. The meat is known
for its rich flavour.
A speciality in
northern Gifu
is hoba-yaki,
which is
succulent
Hida beef

grilled with fresh

vegetables and a savoury

miso paste on a large

Japanese magnolia leaf.

There are also 50 sake breweries in the

prefecture, using water from the area’s

many rivers, so be sure to check them out.

A

The Adventurer

If you’re interested in taking a

peek into everyday Japanese

life, go on a cycle tour with the Satoyama

Experience (satoyama-experience.com),

where you can ride through rice paddies

and farming villages in the countryside

with an English-speaking tour guide.

To bask in Japan’s majestic nature, head

to Hida Osaka Falls, where you can hike

around a treasure trove of waterfalls and

streams that flow through the forest.

You can also hike up Mount Kinka to get

views of Gifu City and the Nagara River

Gifu

Experience authentic Japan in

this prefecture in central Honshu

RW PromotionTravel

Get there

Take the bullet train

from Tokyo to Nagoya (one

hour, 40 minutes) and from there

it’s a 20-minute train to Gifu. It’s

a two-hour train from Gifu to

Takayama. The nearest airports

are Toyama, Komatsu and

Central Japan

Local fave

Hoba-yaki