Takayama / Gifu

 The city has a number of fantastic sights, with the old quarters in San-no-machi, from the so called Edo period, as the absolute highlight. The wooden houses in these areas have some wonderful façades, that fully lives up to the fame that Takayama have got for is wooden craftsman ships. In April and October there is the Sanno and Hachiman festivals. The festivals is some of the most traditional you can find in Japan, and Takayama is filled with visitors form all over Japan (make you reservation long time in advance, since accommodation is sold out quickly in the festival periods). Just outside Takayama is Hida Folk Village. This is a museum town, which consist of a marvelous collection of houses from different historical periods in Japan.