Experiences

Immerse yourself in the grand outdoors of Hida Takayama through this gentle, leisurely summer hike through sparkling clear waters, flowing over massive rocks formed from volcanic activity thousands of years ago. Savor and learn all you can about nature's wonders, stopping for a break to enjoy hand-dripped gourmet coffee and tasty baked goodies personally prepared for you by a professional barista. Look forward to a wholesome lunch of sandwich and soup made from ingredients locally sourced. You will be accompanied by a main guide - an experienced nature guide and member of the Japan Mountain Guides Association with Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) and Leave No Trace (LNT) qualifications, a supporting guide, and a barista, as you journey through the Soredani mountain stream, tucked away in the area between Nyukawa Town and Kamitakara Town in Takayama City. Guides are fluent in English so you can freely chat and banter about along the way. Equipment rental is also available.

Go beneath the surface, right into the heart of the lesser known gems of the Hida Region, from Takayama City, to Hida City, to Shirakawa-go, and finally, Gero City in this special tour, made convenient and very accessible by car. 

Fish for Gifu's renowned ayu (sweetfish) using a 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 while standing in the Nagara River with support from a professional guide. Then, dig in to the freshly caught 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).

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.

Invigorate your senses as you experience the way of life in the mountains of Hida Furukawa, and how it connects and blesses people across generations. Visit the Hida no Takumi Bunkakan (Takumikan Craft Museum) and learn of the exceptional skills and works of the local master craftsmen, walk around the old town of stone temples and great white-walled storehouses with a canal, home to 1,000 brilliant carp of many colors, join a local sake brewery tour, try out a herb-mixing activity and feast on a tasty, healthy meal made with local herbs. This place of hidden treasures is only a 30-minute car ride from popular destination, Takayama. 

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.