Gujo Hachiman

Gujo Hachiman is a mountain castle town in central Gifu Prefecture where clear streams wind through the historic streets, earning it the nickname 'the Little Kyoto of Okumino.' The town's network of waterways is so clean that koi fish swim freely in the channels running alongside the streets, and the natural spring of Sogisui is one of the first sites to be designated among Japan's 100 Outstanding Water Sources. Every summer from mid-July through early September, the town comes alive with Gujo Odori, one of the most famous Bon dance festivals in Japan, where locals and visitors dance together through the streets for over 30 nights, with four all-night sessions during the Obon peak that last until dawn. Gujo Hachiman is also renowned as the birthplace of Japan's food replica industry, and visitors can try their hand at crafting remarkably realistic wax and plastic models of food at several workshops throughout town. Perched above on a forested hilltop, the reconstructed Gujo Hachiman Castle provides panoramic views of the river valleys and surrounding mountains that make this one of Japan's most scenic small towns.