Gifu Castle

Gifu Castle is about 1.5 hours from Nagoya, making it a great day trip. You can either take the ropeway to the top or hike up for free and hike back down. There are several well-maintained trails with clear signs to guide you. The castle itself is small, and there's a modest entrance fee. Nearby, there's also a squirrel village where you can feed the squirrels and watch them play. I definitely recommend hiking up to the top—it only takes about 30 minutes and is a fun way to enjoy the scenery.

It felt like this castle isn’t as popular or not well known with foreign tourists yet. There were no crazy lines to wait for the cable car to go up the first leg of the mountain. The hike up after that to the castle and back down was exhausting for me. It was all worth it. The surrounding views of the city is stunning. Do keep going up to panoramic viewing for an even more stellar experience. The squirrels viewing was adorable. Great for people of all ages. I saw parents with little kids and older adults hiking to the castle. The castle is well maintained.

I have been trying to go every weekend if the weather is nice. You can enjoy hiking with several trails with beautiful nature in Gifu city. The castle is pretty top on the summit. The hiking is good for anyone.

It is a recently renovated castle and an interesting museum. It tells a great story about the life of Oda Nobunaga, the great shogun who united Japan. Unfortunately, there is no historical/archeological value left in that place.

Cable car ride (Mount Kinta Ropeway) was very pleasant and very clean. There was a staff conducting a briefing in Japanese. The ride was about 3 minutes. After the cable car ride, it is advisable to go directly to the Gifu castle before visiting the Gifu castle museum which you will come across BEFORE you reach the Gifu castle. Why? Because you can only enter the Gifu castle museum with the Gifu castle ticket (adults 200yen children 100yen). Anyway, the Gifu castle museum is just a very small room displaying a life-sized Oda Nobunaga statue and a few paintings. The main Gifu castle displayed a few historical artefacts and the 360 degree view of the Gifu town and surrounding mountains/river from the top is breathtaking. On the way up to the Gifu castle, there are very clear signages/boards providing clear information on the Gifu castle history in two languages (Japanese and English). After visiting the Gifu castle and Gifu castle museum, make your way down to the ropeway. You will pass by a restaurant with an observatory. Make sure you go up to the observatory which gives you an even better view of Gifu town and surrounding mountains/river.