Experiences

Take your very own awe-inspiring photo of Gifu Castle atop Mount Kinka with a supersized full moon as a magnificent backdrop, using only a smartphone at a photography course supervised by Gifu's expert photographer, Atsushi Kobayashi! Enjoy lunch and then, a soak in a private rotenburo (open-air bath) while you take in the grand scenery of nearby Gifu Castle and Mount Kinka from a different viewpoint at Hotel Park, a ryokan with an illustrious history of 130 years. Look forward to a special menu highlighting local specialties and Gifu’s history such as the prized salt-grilled sweetfish and sarasa salmon, with dishes inspired by the cuisine that the local fishermen dined on and more! (Optional) There are also riceballs and the Shokado refreshments available for those who prefer a lighter meal. 
 

Walk parts of the historical Nakasendo at Nakatsugawa-juku and go back in time to the Edo period. Then, stop by for a well-deserved break at Ichikawa-guricha in Komanba Town to enjoy some local refreshments like the delicious Kurukinton, a well-known Gifu traditional sweet made from chestnuts. Spend a moment traversing time and taste with a delightful range of Japanese tea and kurikinton here, just like the travelers of old.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Preserve your precious wedding moments into a series of everlasting photos taken in the dreamy Japanese Fairytale Village Shirakawa-go. Choose from Japanese, Western, or other traditional wedding attires. Photo plans can be customized according to your preferences from a one Japanese attire course, to a double Japanese and Western course. The cost displayed is for one set. Additional charges apply from the second set of outfits, so please confirm the number of outits at the time of booking.  There will be five different photoshooting locations in Shirakawa-go featured. A guide will help you uncover the hidden gems of the area, further deepening your experience of your visit. Begin eternal memories of your wedded bliss right here, right now.

Get an exclusive look behind the scenes of the Takayama Festival, one of Japan's three most beautiful festivals in Japan featuring 23 gorgeously elaborate floats, with a history of about 350 years. Repairs and preservation of the floats are done over a three year period by the master craftsmen and carpenters of the Hida region, called the "Hida no Takumi“, highly respected for their skills and expertise, and are still asked to help with repairing items for festivals, stalls, temples, and shrines all over Japan to this very day.​

As part of this tour, participants get to see the gorgeous and elaborate festival floats up close, and have special access to a craftman's workshop not usually open to the public. A specialized guide will lead you to one of the following workshops of your choice and according the craftmen's schedule: shrine and temple construction, Shunkei lacquerware, blacksmithing, Ichii itto carvings. Depending on your choice of workshop, you can take part in the production process and purchase items. 

A picture is worth a thousand words. Preserve your precious wedding moments into a series of everlasting photos taken in the Japanese traditional town of timeless charms, Takayama. Choose from Japanese, Western, or other traditional wedding attires. Photo plans can be customized according to your preferences from a one Japanese attire course, to a double Japanese and Western course. The cost displayed is for one set. Additional charges apply from the second set of outfits, so please confirm the number of outits at the time of booking. Photoshoot locations feature well-known sites in Hida Takayama including the Takayama Historical District, Nakabashi Bridge, and various buildings of the past fashioned from the master craftsmanship of Takayama carpenters. A guide will help you uncover the hidden gems of the area, further deepening your experience of your visit. Begin eternal memories of your wedded bliss right here, right now.

Introducing the world of green woodworking with natural and limitless potential of creativity. Fashion household items like spoons, butterknives, bowls and more from unseasoned wood recently harvested, as you learn about the strong bond between mountains and the people in the Hida region, and how it has shaped their life and work from the days of old. Take in the crisp scent of freshly shaved wood, and find enduring joy in creating a keepsake of your own making right in the heart of nature.

Introducing the world of green woodworking with natural and limitless potential of creativity. Visit the forest nearby the workshop and safely remove wood, then fashion household items like spoons, butterknives, bowls and more from recently harvested wood, as you learn about the strong bond between mountains and the people in the Hida region, and how it has shaped their life and work from the days of old. Take in the crisp scent of freshly shaved unseasoned wood, and find enduring joy in creating a keepsake of your own making right in the heart of nature.

* Lunch is also included in this course.