Gifu City Itinerary: Explore the City Associated with Warring States Commander Oda Nobunaga

Many of the places featured in this article are concentrated around Gifu Park, making it easy to explore the area efficiently.

Buses are the main way to get around the city. Buses toward Nagarabashi, which serve Gifu Park, run especially frequently, so waits are generally short during the day. Buses toward Nagarabashi are available from both JR Gifu Station and Meitetsu Gifu Station.

Gifu Park is also only about 15 minutes by car from JR Gifu Station and Meitetsu Gifu Station, making taxis another practical option.

Gifu-ride, a bike-sharing service, is particularly useful for exploring compact Gifu City. Bikes can be rented and returned freely at 29 cycle ports around the city as of August 2026, with most available 24 hours a day. The 24-hour flat-rate Day Plan, starting at ¥600, offers good value for sightseeing. You must download the app to use the service.

As soon as you arrive at JR Gifu Station, the gateway to Gifu City, a gleaming golden statue of Oda Nobunaga welcomes you.
The monument stands approximately 8 meters tall including its pedestal, while the statue itself is about 3 meters high and covered with three layers of gold leaf. Wearing a cape, Nobunaga holds a firearm said to have been introduced through Tanegashima, an island in present-day Kagoshima Prefecture, in his right hand and a Western-style helmet in his left. The figure perfectly reflects Nobunaga's image as an early adopter of Western culture. Begin your trip by greeting him.

Head to Gifu Castle Rakuichi, which opened in Gifu Park, the base for your sightseeing, in April 2025.
Inspired by Nobunaga's rakuichi-rakuza free-market policy, the facility is lined with shops offering flavors distinctive to Gifu, including Hida beef dishes, candied fruit, and soft-serve ice cream.
Pick up a tempting sweet and explore Gifu Park while soaking up the lively atmosphere of a castle town.

Explore Gifu Park, which spreads out at the foot of Mount Kinka, crowned by Gifu Castle. The park is a popular place for residents and visitors to relax.
This was once the site of the residences of Saito Dosan, the Warring States commander who was Nobunaga's father-in-law, and Nobunaga himself when they ruled Gifu Castle. Archaeological excavations continue here today.

Before ascending to Gifu Castle on the summit of Mount Kinka, visit the Gifu City Museum of History for a deeper understanding of its history.

The museum also has extensive displays about the Warring States period, when Nobunaga lived and which is the theme of this trip. One highlight is the reconstruction of Gifu's castle town under Nobunaga's rakuichi-rakuza policy. This policy revitalized the local economy by liberalizing commerce. It demonstrates that Nobunaga's charisma extended beyond military power to politics and governance.

Other exhibits, including armor, helmets, weapons, and illustrated scrolls, offer a visual introduction to Nobunaga and the Warring States period. The immersive Tenka Bird's-Eye Picture Scroll exhibit is especially notable for synchronizing video with a diorama.

Ride the ropeway, which takes about 4 minutes to connect Gifu Park, once home to Nobunaga's residence, with the summit of Mount Kinka and Gifu Castle. You are now approaching Nobunaga's military stronghold.

The gondola provides sweeping views of forested Mount Kinka, the Nagara River, and the Gifu cityscape. In addition to Gifu Castle, the summit has a restaurant and Gifu Kinkazan Squirrel Village, where visitors can interact with squirrels.

Before visiting Gifu Castle, have lunch at Le Pont de Ciel, a restaurant near the summit station. Its dining area offers panoramic views of Gifu City.

The menu features many dishes made with local ingredients, including internationally renowned Hida beef and branded pork from Gifu Prefecture. Most are prepared by hand. The restaurant also uses many locally produced ingredients beyond the main components, including miso, soy sauce, and other seasonings, providing a taste of Gifu's rich culinary culture.

History enthusiasts will appreciate the many dishes named after Warring States lords. One of the most popular is the Hida Beef Yakiniku Rice Box, made with lean A5-grade beef. This indulgent dish showcases the rich flavor of Hida beef.

After lunch, try a Mount Kinka Churro from Terrace Court 329. This original churro is shaped like the Japanese character for “kin,” meaning “gold,” from Kinkazan. Photograph it with the scenery from the observatory or summit for a memorable travel snapshot.

Gifu Castle towers about a 10-minute walk from the Mount Kinka Ropeway summit station and restaurant.

Formerly known as Inabayama Castle, it was also the stronghold of Saito Dosan. In 1567, Nobunaga captured the castle and brought the surrounding region under his control. He then renamed the area, previously called Inokuchi, “Gifu.” In other words, it was Nobunaga himself who gave Gifu its name.
As you admire the exterior of the castle keep, reflect on Nobunaga's ambition to unify Japan.

After taking the ropeway back down the mountain, visit Shohoji Temple to see the Great Buddha of Gifu, counted among Japan's three great Buddha statues and the country's largest dry-lacquer Buddha. It is about a 5-minute walk from the lower station.

The Great Buddha of Gifu was completed in 1832, 250 years after Nobunaga's death, following 38 years of work. Nobunaga's residence and Gifu Castle's keep had already been lost by this period, and the Great Buddha Hall subsequently constructed here is thought to have been exceptionally tall for its time.

Next, visit Gifu Zenkoji Temple. From the Gifu Park/Gifu Castle bus stop, take a Gifu Bus bound for JR Gifu for about 3 minutes, get off at Inaba-dori, and walk 5 minutes.
Gifu Zenkoji Temple was established after Nobunaga, having become lord of Gifu Castle, moved the Zenkoji Nyorai Buddha image to Gifu. Takeda Shingen, the commander who ruled Kai in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture, had previously transferred it from Zenkoji Temple in Shinshu, present-day Nagano Prefecture, to Kofu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The story of this sacred image, moved repeatedly yet carefully protected by successive rulers, is particularly intriguing.

Be sure to visit Sofukuji Temple, which Nobunaga placed under his protection as his family temple when he moved to Gifu in 1567.
From the Inaba-dori bus stop, take the counterclockwise Gifu Bus City Loop for about 10 minutes, get off at Nagaragawa Convention Center North Entrance, and walk approximately 3 minutes.

After Nobunaga and his son Nobutada were killed by Akechi Mitsuhide in the Honnoji Incident, their personal effects were sent to this temple.
The Memorial Tablet Hall and the Tomb of Oda Nobunaga and His Son can be viewed in the garden. Take a quiet moment to pay your respects.

No account of Gifu City is complete without mentioning cormorant fishing on the Nagara River. Passed down for more than 1,300 years, it is one of Japan's representative traditional cultural practices.

Cormorant fishing is a traditional method in which trained cormorants are skillfully guided to catch fish. Visitors can board an excursion boat to observe the fishing. Nobunaga is also said to have entertained envoys from Takeda Shingen, the commander who ruled Kai in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture, with a cormorant fishing performance.

Cormorant fishing on the Nagara River is generally held from May 11 through October 15 each year, but the Nagaragawa Ukai Museum conveys its atmospheric beauty even during the off-season. The Guidance Theater is especially impressive, recreating the world of cormorant fishing with a full-size fishing boat and realistic sound and lighting.

If you visit Gifu City during the cormorant fishing season, consider seeing an actual performance after touring the museum.

Cormorant fishing has been practiced on the Nagara River for more than 1,300 years. The fishermen, known as usho, control their cormorants while handling as many as 12 ropes at once. Each night, visitors can watch six masters perform this traditional fishing method. Nobunaga is said to have been the first to present cormorant fishing as a form of entertainment and hospitality.

Tamamiya is an entertainment district north of JR Gifu Station. More than 400 restaurants and bars line its streets, including establishments serving local Gifu cuisine. Use a Tamamiya Sightseeing Ticket issued by the Gifu Hotel Association Secretariat to experience Japanese izakaya culture affordably and with peace of mind.

Gifu City offers many types of accommodations, from traditional inns with access to Nagaragawa Onsen to city hotels.

About a 20-minute walk from the Kawaramachi area is Yamakawa Jozo, a long-established soy sauce brewery founded in 1943.
It is a producer of tamari soy sauce brewed in wooden vats, a method now rare in Japan. Popular tours, which require reservations, take visitors through the brewery, where approximately 2-meter-tall wooden vats stand in rows. The adjoining shop sells tamari soy sauce, miso, and other products that make suitable souvenirs.

This restaurant serves Tobigyu, exceptionally high-quality Hida beef that exceeds even the usual standards for A5 grade. It is available as yakiniku, shabu-shabu, and other preparations.

This restaurant specializes in wild ayu sweetfish cuisine. In addition to full-course meals, you can preorder a boxed meal from the restaurant and savor it aboard a cormorant fishing excursion boat.

Chilled tanuki soba has remained a staple since the restaurant opened. Tanuki soba generally consists of buckwheat noodles topped with tempura crumbs, but Sarashina's original version also includes seasoned fried tofu.

Try the somewhat mysterious Koutou Rice, probably available only at long-established Western-style restaurants in Gifu City. It looks like curry rice topped with a fried egg, but lacks the heat of ordinary curry and has a smooth texture.