Experiences

Experiences

Recommended Experiences

Symphonies of Steel: Create Your Original Damascus Knife

Symphonies of Steel: Create Your Original Damascus Knife

Central Gifu

Tradition & History

Make your very own knife with your own hands from start to finish, from blade and handle sharpening, assembling, to engraving your name onto your handmade masterpiece. Choose from Gyuto and Santoku Damascus cooking knives, Damascus hunting knives and Damascus folding knives. ​Then, enjoy a visit to the nearby Knife Museum and buy from a wide variety of top quality knives available onsite. To finish, tuck into a delicious meal at a local restaurant where dishes like sushi, tempura, eel, and miso katsu can be prepared to your preferences.

Season
2025/4/1~2026/3/31 (Monday - Friday)
Place
Knife Museum
Reveries of Wedded Bliss: Wedding Photoshoot at Japanese Fairytale Village Shirakawa-go

Reveries of Wedded Bliss: Wedding Photoshoot at Japanese Fairytale Village Shirakawa-go

North Gifu

Life & Culture

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.

Season
2025/4/1~2026/3/31
Place
Hakusankan (Shirakawa-go)
Accommodation in Takayama city


Artisanal Legacy in Motion: Takayama Festival Master Craftsmen and Workshop Tour

Artisanal Legacy in Motion: Takayama Festival Master Craftsmen and Workshop Tour

North Gifu

Tradition & History

Life & Culture

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. 

Season
2025/4/1~2026/3/31
Place
Takayama Festival Float Hall
178 Sakuramachi, Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, 506-0858
Reveries of Wedded Bliss: Wedding Photoshoot at Japanese Traditional Town Takayama

Reveries of Wedded Bliss: Wedding Photoshoot at Japanese Traditional Town Takayama

North Gifu

Life & Culture

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.

Season
2025/4/1~2026/3/31
* Please note that there may be cancellations due to hot or inclement weather.
Place
Takayama City
Crafting in the Heart of Nature: Nokutare Green Woodworking Courses (Regular Course)

Crafting in the Heart of Nature: Nokutare Green Woodworking Courses (Regular Course)

North Gifu

Tradition & History

Life & Culture

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.

Season
2025/4/1~2026/3/31
Place
nokutare
82 Mikkamachi, Kiyomi-cho, Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, 506-0102
Crafting in the Heart of Nature: Nokutare Green Woodworking Courses (Premium Course)

Crafting in the Heart of Nature: Nokutare Green Woodworking Courses (Premium Course)

North Gifu

Tradition & History

Life & Culture

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.

Season
2025/4/1~2026/3/31
Place
nokutare
82 Mikkamachi, Kiyomi-cho, Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, 506-0102
Revival in Tranquility: Exclusive Minoyaki pottery and Green tea retreat

Revival in Tranquility: Exclusive Minoyaki pottery and Green tea retreat

Southeast Gifu

Tradition & History

Enrich your life by embarking on a journey of self-expression and self-discovery through the world of Minoyaki ceramics in the seat of serenity. Heal and restore your mind, body, and soul away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life as you work on your very own clay creations, explore the rich history of the local area and uncover the deep and undeniable connection between soil and soul.

Season
2025/4/1~2026/3/31
Place
THE GROUND MINO(example)
6-2 Honmachi, Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture, 507-0033