Top 9 Attractions in Takayama: Experience Edo-Period Charm and Beautiful Nature

If you’re planning a trip to Takayama, autumn and winter are especially recommended.
In autumn, you can enjoy the Hida Mountains covered in colorful autumn leaves.
Since the area gets a lot of snow, winter brings beautiful snowy scenery in the old town and the Hida Mountains.
The autumn foliage is usually at its best from early to late November, and snow typically starts falling around mid-December. Plan your trip to enjoy the seasonal landscapes.

From Tokyo or Osaka to Takayama, it takes around 4 hours by Shinkansen and local trains.
If you start from Nagoya, it’s Approx 2 hours 30 minutes by a single limited express train.
Access isn’t the easiest, but that’s exactly why you can enjoy such rich, unspoiled nature.

Hida Takayama Old Town is often called a townscape that preserves the original scenery of Japan. Streets from the Edo period still remain, lined with traditional townhouses and long-established shops.
It’s one of the most famous sightseeing spots in Hida. Rows of lattice-fronted townhouses create an atmospheric street where you can feel the local history and culture.
You’ll also find sake breweries, cafes in renovated old houses, and general stores, making it a fun area to stroll around.

The Miyagawa Morning Market is held along the Miyagawa River, from Kajibashi Bridge to Yayoibashi Bridge, close to the “Old Town” area of Hida Takayama.
This historic market dates back to the Edo period. It’s known as one of Japan’s three great morning markets, along with Wajima Morning Market in Ishikawa and Katsuura Morning Market in Chiba.
The number of stalls depends on the weather, but the market is basically open every day of the year.
Along a stretch of Approx 350 meters, around 30 to 40 white-tented stalls line the street on busy days. Some are run directly by local producers and their families, offering handmade folk crafts and other artisanal goods.

Takayama Jinya is a former government office from the Edo period where local governors and magistrates handled political affairs. The grounds include administrative offices, official residences, and storehouses.
From 1692, when Hida became a territory directly controlled by the Tokugawa shogunate, officials sent from Edo ruled the Hida area from here for 176 years.
Go through the main gate, rebuilt in 1832, and you’ll find many highlights inside the historical buildings. These include the Entrance Room with its eye-catching “seigaiha” wave motif, as well as the main office, workrooms, great hall, official residence, and the public hearing courtyard.

Hida-no-Sato is an open-air museum where old, precious houses from the Hida area have been relocated and restored.
Traditional farmhouses with steep thatched gassho-style roofs and shingle roofs, including four Important Cultural Properties of Japan, line the village and keep the old countryside scenery alive for future generations.
Each house displays many valuable farming and daily life tools once used in mountain villages.

Located between Hida-Takayama and Okuhida Onsen-go, this is one of Japan’s leading limestone caves, stretching Approx 800 meters.
It is also the highest tourist limestone cave in Japan in terms of elevation.
Formed over eons from coral reefs dating back 250 million years, the cave features delicate white stalactites.
Another highlight is the unusually large number of rare stalactites called “helictites,” more than in any other cave in Japan.

This ropeway is deep in Takayama, in the Okuhida Onsengo area at Shin-Hotaka Onsen.
Ride the first and second ropeways from Shin-Hotaka Onsen Station to Nishi-Hotakaguchi Station and enjoy a 3,200 m journey through the sky.
When you arrive at Nishi-Hotakaguchi Station at an elevation of 2,156 m, head up to the rooftop observation deck.
The grand panorama is so stunning that it earned two stars in the Michelin Green Guide Japan.

Okuhida Bear Park is home to Approx 100 bears, and you can see them all year round.
During the “treat feeding experience,” you can give snacks to bears as they beg with adorable gestures. Each bear has its own unique pose, making the experience a must-see.

Okuhida Onsengo is made up of five hot spring areas: Hirayu, Fukuchi, Shin-Hirayu, Tochio, and Shin-Hotaka.
Tucked into the Northern Japan Alps, its open-air baths are blessed with abundant natural hot spring water. You can enjoy beautiful views of the mountains in every season.
Hirayu Onsen, the oldest in Okuhida Onsengo, is a legendary hot spring said to have been discovered when retainers of the Takeda clan from Koshu invaded the Hida region.

This famous waterfall boasts a drop of Approx 64 m and a width of Approx 6 m.
It is counted as one of the three great waterfalls of Hida, and is also listed among the “Top 100 Waterfalls of Japan” and “50 Famous Waters of Gifu Prefecture.”
Located within Chubu-Sangaku National Park, it offers rich natural scenery that changes with the seasons.

This takeout-only Hida beef nigiri sushi shop is located in the “Old Town” area, one of Hida-Takayama’s top sightseeing spots. It is always busy with people looking for great-value, easy-to-enjoy “top-notch street food” made with Hida beef as they stroll through the townscape.
They serve carefully crafted Hida beef nigiri sushi, made with rare cuts of Hida beef graded A5, the highest rank.

One local specialty you won’t want to miss in Hida-Takayama is “Takayama ramen.”
It features a simple combination of soy sauce-based broth and thin, curly noodles, and is known locally as “chuka soba.”
Menya Shirakawa is located on Takayama Kokubunji-dori Shopping Street, which connects JR Takayama Station and the “Old Town” sightseeing area. Among the many Takayama ramen shops, this one is especially popular and draws long lines every day.

A specialty burger joint in the “Old Town” district of Hida Takayama, one of the top sightseeing spots in the prefecture. It’s hugely popular with both Japanese and international travelers.
There are 14 kinds of burgers. Rich cheeseburgers made with red cheddar, avocado burgers topped generously with fresh avocado, blue cheese burgers you can enjoy with honey if you like, and more. Every burger is hefty and delicious.

A stylish business hotel that opened in 2018, Approx a 7-minute walk from JR Takayama Station. It’s also close to the “Old Town” area, making it a great base for exploring Hida Takayama.
The chic, calming guest rooms come in 12 types to suit different needs, from business to leisure.

A single traditional inn built in the old farmhouse style, standing quietly along the Gamata River in Okuhida.
It belongs to the “Gensen Yuyado wo Mamorukai” association, and offers superb free-flowing hot spring water. There is no circulation or chlorine treatment.
They make the most of the natural hot spring that wells up from the surrounding wilderness, so you can fully enjoy the feel of a secluded hot spring deep in nature.

Approx a 3-minute walk from JR Takayama Station. This casual resort hotel is very popular thanks to its great location within walking distance of the “Old Town” area, one of Hida Takayama’s top sightseeing spots, and its large natural hot spring baths fed 100% by its own spring.
The large baths are on the top floor, the 9th, and include a panoramic bath with sweeping views over Takayama, an open-air bath, pot baths, and reclining baths.