Features
Explore the Seki Knife Festival & Mino Paper Lantern Night Walk
Go on a Nagara River Ukai Boat ride - Ancient night time fishing by cormorant birds’ Master
Visit historical old town Takayama and Shirakawago, a World Heritage Site
Learn about and taste the amazing local foods in Mino & Hida Regions
Visit several nationally-acclaimed Mino Pottery Barnes & Museums
Day 1: Friday 10/11/2024 (Nagoya-Seki)
We'll meet at the Starbucks in Nagoya Station. After an hour bus ride from Nagoya to Gifu, our first meal is refreshing handmade soba lunch at Suke Roku, locally renowned soba noodle restaurant. Then Yoko will take you to the local market where we’ll purchase seasonal produces to prepare a few light appetizer to bring for the Ukai boat ride. Ukai is an old finishing method in Japan using cormorant birds, especially to catch the river fish.
Day 2: Saturday 10/12/2024 (Seki & Mino)
The very first day of the Knife festival. We'll start the day by eating at the local cafe, where we can have breakfast for the price of a coffee. After breakfast, enjoy some free time and explore the center of the city where more than 20 knife makers work at the markets and a number of knife-related performances and exhibitions take place. At night, we'll take a train to Mino City (20-minutes) for a paper lantern light festival. (Read more on Hana & Seungbae's blog)
Day 3: Sunday 10/13/2024 (Tajimi, Inuyama & Gifu)
Explore the Mino Pottery Barns & Festival: Mino yaki is the most widely used dishware in Japan. Thousands of years of history created the vast and profound community of manufacturers and supporting pottery and ceramic artists. We’ll follow up with a visit to Inuyama Castle, the oldest existing wooden structure of its kind, and a Kaiseki Dinner in Gifu City.
Day 4: Monday 10/14/2024 (Shirakawago & Takayama)
We’ll take a highway up to North to visit Hida-Takayama’s morning market, where you find fresh produces, pickles to mushroom from mountains. Takayama has been also known for the best wooden carpentry works since 8th century as it’s located in mountainous region, and now known for the best wooden furniture. We also stop by the Japanese folklore village, Shirakawago, appointed as the world heritage site. It is a small community that the central area is within half a mile. Take a pleasant walk from one side of the village to the top of the hill where you can look over the entire village.
Day 5: Tuesday 10/15/2024 (Seki)
After breakfast, we'll help you depart for your next destination. We can arrange for your suitcase or boxes of souvenir to be directly delivered to the Airport.