Back to our trip to Gifu prefecture last month, I’d like to present you a little excursion to the Gifu Castle (岐阜城) in Gifu city.
In the middle of the city there is a small mountain called mount Kinka (金華山) and the castle was first built in the 16th century at the very top.
At night it is illuminated and seems to float in the heavens above the city.
There is a ropeway to get to the top of the mountain although hiking seems to also be a popular activity. When we were there the trees had just started taking their autumn colors.
As you climb the last few meters from the ropeway station, you are presented with beautiful views of this white and gold castle. We were very surprised that it is actually much smaller than it looks from the city. What magic is that?
As an additional treat, right outside the ropeway station is Risu-mura (リス村 – squirrel village), a small attraction where you can pay 200 yen and spend as much time as you like feeding dozens of Japanese forest squirrels while taking as many photos, videos and selfies as you like!
That was a lot of fun!