Experiences

Step right through the doors of Hida Takayama Gyoza Sohonzan into a realm of delicious culinary possibilities! Create your ultimate, mouth-watering gyoza (Japanese dumplings) with this cooking lesson filled with expertise, humor, and cheer from gyoza expert, Chef Suzuki, using ingredients sourced from Takayama. From the classic, with fillings like Hida beef and Hida pork, to vegetable gyoza, and special variations like the rose-shaped gyoza dubbed by the media as "too pretty to eat", there's an almost endless variety of gyoza offered in this popular gyoza specialty restaurant. International tourists in snaking queues outside this restaurant are a common sight. Skip the wait, sign up for the cooking lesson of a lifetime and experience the local Japanese culture for yourself, from the art of preparing your edible masterpiece to savoring tasty food with fun-filled company, one delectable gyoza at a time.

Come see the cutting-edge expertise, the time-honored tradition, and the enduring legacy behind the foundations of one of the world's three major cutlery centers - Seki City, the City of Blades, with a lineup of exciting activities with plenty of opportunities for hands-on experience. Start with an introduction to the history of blacksmithing in Seki and viewing of Japanese swords at the Seki Swordsmith Museum before enjoying a delicious unagidon (eel rice bowl) lunch - a source of strength and stamina for the local swordsmiths. Then, try your hand at making nerikiri, a type of traditional Japanese sweet supervised by a well-loved and long-established local confectionery store, Seki-shi Toraya. Enjoy your delightful creations with green tea in the tea room of the Kominka Aiseki. You have the option of doing so dressed in kimono. Finally, discover spiritual balance at Seki Zenko-ji Temple, where you can choose between Zazen meditation or shabutsu (tracing an image of Buddha) as your activity of choice. Manji (swastika)-shaped kaidan meguri and kanetsuki (ringing the temple bell) are also available.

Navigate the delicious, diverse and delightful world of Japanese cuisine in this fun-filled hands-on cooking class, with popular Flying Chef Shuji Ozeki as your trusty guide, accompanying you at every step with his remarkable culinary skills, warmth, and humor. Learn of "ichiju sansai" (one bowl of soup and three dishes) - the basics of Japanese cooking through recipes in English. Then, dive right into preparing delectable dishes made from a variety of bountiful, seasonal Gifu ingredients. After your cooking lesson, stop by Seki Terrace, a store showcasing an astonishing variety of items of superb quality made in Seki, one of the world's three major cutlery production areas - from kitchen knives, to scissors, nail clippers, razors, and much more. A sharp knife of superior quality is a key to enhancing the flavor and texture of your food, so why not look for one to buy here, or learn to sharpen knives the traditional way through a hands-on lessons? 
For the PM course, your visit to Seki Terrace will be before your cooking class.

Step into the shoes of a sake brewer! Get an exclusive taste of the magic that goes into the sake brewing process and how it differs to that of beer and wine with the help of a knowledgeable kurabito (brewery worker). With guidance from them, put rice through steps like polishing, steaming, molding, pressing, and more until it transforms into the liquid ambrosia recognized and valued worldwide for its sublime tastes. A local guide will also be with you to ensure that nothing gets lost in translation, making the very most of your sake brewery experience. There are slight variations in course content depending on the season. This course takes place during the sake brewing season from October to March.

Take the road less traveled - dotted with fresh, gushing springs and paved in epic history blending seamlessly into the present here in Ogaki. Stroll around this city of deep, understated beauty, which flourished as both a post town and a castle town on the Tokaido Highway during the Edo period, and you‘ll be quick to find vestiges of a bygone era sketched into its visage - from the boats ambling down in its river canals, to the sturdy remains of an old lighthouse and port, and the large storehouses that house elaborate festival floats. One can also easily find numerous, famous sites of natural spring water around the area, living up to its name, the “City of Water” from days of old. Delight in the fresh verdure of the cherry trees lining the banks of the Suimon River, the sight of the iconic red Sumiyoshi Bridge, the soughing of the lone weeping willow gently swaying in the wind as ducks and black carp swim idly by while you follow the footsteps of unparalleled haiku poet, Matsuo Basho at the final stop of his major journey on foot, and a setting from his masterpiece - Oku no Hosomichi, (often translated as The Narrow Road to the Deep North).

Try your hand at traditional crafts like mizu-manju (sweet water mochi) making and masu (wooden box) making, with steps inspired by techniques used in tasks like water transportation and sake brewing from the past, cultivated by the region’s abundance in water. Experience it all for yourself here, where folk tales are born of, that speak of the intimate connection between the lives of the local people and the sustenance afforded by water. Let your worries drift away as you soak in the goodness of life here at the Water Capital, rivers undulating like poetry in motion.

Chop, simmer, and boil your way to making tasty seasonal culinary delights in the local way using ingredients such as Hida beef, Hida vegetables and seafood from the Hokuriku region, with a huge Japanese machiya (townhouse) built 200 years ago in an old merchant town as a very special setting. Tour the townhouse and and observe its elegant architectural styles and furnishings, featuring prized Takayama crafts such as Shunkei lacquerware and Shibukusa-yaki ware. Listen to stories of the rich history behind these traditional crafts while you are served food piping hot on fine tableware lovingly passed down from many generations prior. Enjoy friendly chats and banter with the owners of the townhouse as they share tales about Japanese traditions and the local history as everyone digs into the delicious meals prepared together, just like a Japanese home party - truly a priceless moment of connection to be had on your Japan travels.

Welcome to the tasty culinary world of Hida Takayama! Featuring the mouth-wateringly rich and earthy flavors cultivated deep in the heart of the mountains, prepared using the very best of nature's bounty. Start with a refreshing serving of complimentary Hida apple juice, before cooking and making delicious regional dishes and onigiri (riceballs) with the guidance of a local cook, using fresh ingredients from the Hida region and other areas in Gifu Prefecture. While certain ingredients may be sourced from other prefectures depending on seasonal and weather conditions, the unique flavors of the regional dishes will be maintained. End your cooking and dining session with dessert, featuring tochimochi - traditional sweets made from Japanese horse chestnuts and ricecakes. As you finish your course, hear of tales behind the history and setting of how the bitter Japanese horse chestnut found its place on the dining table of Japanese households, along with other stories highlighting the natural features of Hida, as well as its illustrious past. If requested beforehand, Hida beef can be swapped out for substitutes like Hida pork and buri (Japanese yellowtail) from Toyama. This fish has been long enjoyed as a delicacy in the area along the Etchu Highway - so much so it's also called the Buri Highway. 

Fish for Gifu's renowned ayu (sweetfish), and one of Japan's finest, using a traditional method tried and tested by time! Presenting the tomozuri (live decoy fishing) style, which you will be introduced to through training videos in a lesson before putting it to practice fishing using live sweetfish as bait in the Nagara River with support from a professional guide. While tomozuri usually requires expensive specialized fishing gear, you will have free rental of the necessary equipment. Then, dig in to the freshly caught wild sweetfish, salted and grilled. Enjoy its mouth-watering taste and compare it to that of the locally farmed ayu. Ayu rice will also be served. Discover the goodness of "Ayu of the Nagara River System," a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).

Invigorate your senses as you experience the way of life in Hida Furukawa - a fascinating and beautiful hidden gem without the throngs of tourists, only about a 30-minute car ride from Hida Takayama. Enjoy this day tour at a leisurely pace with travels by car accompanied by an English-speaking guide and a schedule chock-full of local specialties. Visit the Hida no Takumi Bunkakan (Takumikan Craft Museum) and learn of the exceptional local master craftsmen and their works, walk around the old town of great white-walled storehouses with a canal home to 1,000 brilliant carp of many colors, have a taste of a variety of sake brands exclusive to this tour from an award-winning local sake brewery, try out a herb-mixing activity and feast on a tasty, healthy meal made with local medicinal herbs. Hida City is considered a treasure trove of medicinal herbs with more than 245 varieties growing in the wild. Unsurprising, given that 90% of its expansive area consists of forests filled with nature's goodness. Herbs rich in minerals, though not classified as pharmaceuticals, are carefully selected and cooked into nourishing, delicious dishes. Learn of the wisdom behind life lived in harmony with nature here in the mountains of Japan as you create new, unforgettable memories of your stay in Gifu.