Michi-no-Eki Okuhida Onsengo Kamitakara

Kamitakara is one of the older roadside stations in Gifu, registered in 1994 and opened the following year. It is not a big complex. There is a free rest area, a product hall and a dining room, set on Route 471 where the Takahara River valley opens up below the Northern Alps. Shin-Hotaka and Tochio hot springs are further up the same road.

The product hall sells locally grown hon-wasabi, pickles, Okuhida sansho pepper products and hoba miso, the miso grilled on a magnolia leaf that is a Hida staple. The dining room serves iwana (char) dishes and Hida beef. Beside the station, the Okuhida Onsengo Auto Campground has about 175 sites and an open-air bath for its campers. That bath is not a public footbath for passing drivers, and the campground closes for winter.

Hours are shorter from November to March, and some listings show a weekly closing day in winter. Check before driving up in the cold months. The road is mountainous, and snow tires are essential in winter.