Experience the best of Gifu

Gifu spreads across the Nobi plain beside the Nagara River, with Mount Kinka rising from the north side of the city. In the 1560s the warlord Oda Nobunaga took the castle on its summit and renamed the town Gifu, using it as a base while he extended his rule across central Japan. The present keep is a reconstruction of the 1950s, reached by ropeway or a steep path, and looks over the river and the plain toward Nagoya.

Cormorant fishing, ukai, takes place on the Nagara River on summer evenings, with fishermen working from wooden boats by firelight. In the old riverside district, craftsmen still make paper lanterns and oil-paper umbrellas, two products that Gifu is known for. Seki, to the north-east, has forged swords and knives for centuries, and the washi paper makers of Mino are not far away.

Ayu, the sweetfish of the Nagara, are grilled over charcoal with salt and are the river's signature dish, and the region also produces persimmons, chestnuts and Hida beef. The plain swelters in summer, so the castle hill is a better walk in the cooler months, when autumn colours its trees.