Last Updated: May 16, 2024

Gujo-Hachiman

Gifu’s Castle Town with an Epic Bon Dance

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium.

Today we’ll be looking at the former castle town of Gujo-Hachiman. Located in Gifu Prefecture, this riverside hamlet has long been on my to-visit list. Best known for its pristine waterways and its famous summer obon dance festival, the Gujo Odori, Gujo-Hachiman has all of the makings of an amazing hidden gem. What’s more, the area is also conveniently located near Nagoya. This means that it is an easy add-on for tourists looking to take a step off of the beaten path and explore a side of Japan that many visitors skip.

Honestly speaking, the best time to visit Gujo-Hachiman is most definitely during the summer months when the several week-long Gujo Odori is taking place. At the same time though, the town also has ample amounts of attractions that can be enjoyed throughout the year (more on this later). Furthermore, Gujo-Hachiman is also breathtakingly beautiful during the months of autumn. If you’re lucky, you can catch the town’s mountaintop keep floating above a blanket of fog. When set against the fall foliage, this creates an ethereally beautiful scene.

All in all, Gujo-Hachiman is an amazing hidden gem that certainly deserves to be on the bucket lists of more foreign visitors to Japan. Especially for the brave adventurers…