Gifu Prefecture – March Trip to Hida Takayama and Shirakawa-go [Day 3]

I planned to walk all the way to Hida Furukawa on my 3rd and final day, and since I still had some time until my train, I went for a morning walk to see Takayama’s morning market.

As you can see, there was unfortunately cloudy weather on my 3rd day.

This morning market is held every day in the plaza in front of Takayama Jinya. There are usually 20-40 shops set up.
I got the impression that there were a lot of local customers.

Next I headed back to Takayama Station to get to Hida Furukawa.

I took the escalator into the station.
This hanging banner celebrated Takayama Matsuri being registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

I made my way from Takayama to Hida Furukawa by regular train along the JR Takayama Main Line.

I arrived at Hida Furukawa Station about 20 minutes after leaving Takayama.

You’re welcomed by a cut-out of “Hidakuro,” the Hida Takayama mascot, at the station.

I quickly discovered a poster for “Your Name,” a huge hit movie that took place in Hida Furukawa.

This was the view from the overpass above Hida Furukawa Station’s platform.
This exact same view is shown in the movie.

I got a map of the surrounding area from the tourist information center in front of the station, then started my walk around Hida Furukawa.

The Furukawa Matsuri is held here every year on April 19th and 20th.
Furukawa Matsuri was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage along with Takayama Matsuri and others.
Hida Furukawa Matsuri Hall features stalls, mikoshi, and mechanical dolls that are actually used in the festival.

There were also 3D projections introducing Furukawa Matsuri on display too.

The visiting of the 3 temples is a traditional event that has been ongoing for over 200 years. It occurs every year on January 15th.
It’s known as a series of visits that will improve your marriage prospects, so many young women go from temple to temple wearing Japanese clothing.

The visiting of the 3 temples is a traditional event that has been ongoing for over 200 years. It occurs every year on January 15th.
It’s known as a series of visits that will improve your marriage prospects, so many young women go from temple to temple wearing Japanese clothing.

Enko-ji is located right near the Seto River and Shirakabe Dozogai Street, which are great places to take photos.

I had lunch at a restaurant that has hand-made soba noodles made with local buckwheat flour.

This was made with egoma (wild sesame), a Hida specialty. The wasabi, which you grate yourself, was also delicious!
The soba had a lovely fragrance to it and was delightfully chewy; amazing!

Here you can check out the Hida crafts and souvenirs on sale, or even try out braiding!

A Panel for “Your Name”
This poster is sure to bring back the feelings you had while watching the movie.

Next I headed to Shinshu-ji, a temple located right by Hida Furukawa Sakura Bussankan.
This is another stop on the “3 Temple Visit.”

Honko-ji is the final stop of the “3 Temple Visit.”
The main temple building is the largest wooden building in Hida.

This is the #1 sightseeing spot in Hida Furukawa.
There are about 500 meters of white-plaster-walled storehouses and old houses along the Seto River.

There are over 1,000 koi fish that live in the Seto River, but during the winter (late November through early April) they’re moved to another pond, so I didn’t see them.
You should be able to get better photos here in a season where the plenty of colorful koi are swimming around.

Enko-ji again, which I’d visited just prior.

I found this pleasant café online.

The café is built inside of a renovated old house that’s over 100 years old.

I really liked the atmosphere inside the café, with pleasant jazz music flowing through the air, so without thinking I ended up ordering some ginger milk too.

I learned this after I’d returned home, but apparently former Japanese soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata visited this café himself and sang praises of their melon bread.

It was almost time for me to leave, so I headed back to Hida Furukawa Station.

The taxi boarding area in front of the station was also shown in the movie.
I saw a lot of fans of the movie “Your Name” going around the various locations that were used in the film in Hida Furukawa.