Trivia & Fun Facts About Gifu Prefecture
How much do you know about Gifu Prefecture?
Some of you may already know a lot—for example, that it was the stage for the Battle of Sekigahara, that it’s a landlocked prefecture with no sea, and that Shirakawa-go’s gassho-zukuri houses are famous.
In this article, we’ll introduce not only these well-known facts but also a range of deeper trivia about Gifu Prefecture all at once!
You’ll find plenty of tidbits you’ll want to share with others once you know them, so enjoy learning as you go!
Trivia & Fun Facts about Gifu Prefecture (1–10)
Takayama, the largest city in Japan by area, is about the same size as Tokyo.
Gifu Prefecture is the seventh-largest prefecture in Japan.
You can sense its size by looking at a map of Japan.
Even within Gifu, Takayama City is the largest city in Japan, with an area roughly the same as Tokyo’s.
Takayama became so large due to the merger of nine towns and villages in 1999.
As a result of this extensive merger, the largest city in Japan was created.
The cormorant fishers of the Nagara River cormorant fishing are national government employees.
Ukai cormorant fishing is held on the Nagara River in Gifu Prefecture from May to October.
It’s a hallmark of summer in Gifu: cormorants, controlled by master fishermen via hand ropes, catch sweetfish that gather toward the boat’s lights.
The practice has a long history—Ukai is said to have been carried out in Gifu since the Asuka period in the 7th century.
Interestingly, the cormorant masters on the Nagara River are national civil servants affiliated with the Imperial Household Agency.
While Ukai is practiced at 11 locations across Japan outside Gifu, Gifu is the only place where the cormorant masters are national civil servants.
Incidentally, the Nagara River cormorant masters inherit their positions, and it is stipulated that they are all male.
The largest producer of food replicas in Japan
Food replicas displayed at restaurant entrances look just like real dishes—their level of craftsmanship is truly astonishing.
About 60% of Japan’s food replicas are made in Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture, which boasts the highest production volume in the country.
One reason for the large output in Gujo is the influence of Takizo Iwasaki, a native of the area, who is said to have laid the foundations for the food replica industry that remains widespread in Japan today.
In Gujo City, there are also places where you can try making food replicas yourself.
The phone booth’s lighting is green.
Public pay phones have become a rare sight in recent years due to the spread of mobile phones.
Generally, the lighting in phone booths is white.
However, in Gifu Prefecture, booths with green lighting are common.
It’s said that green-lit pay phones were introduced in only a few prefectures in Japan to make them stand out more from the outside.
When driving along mountain roads, some people are startled to spot a faintly glowing green booth by the roadside.
If you get the chance, why not look for these green-lit public phone booths in a few locations around Japan?
There is the highest bungee jump in Japan.
Bungee jumping, where you leap off a platform with just a single rope amid stunning natural scenery, is a popular activity because you can experience real thrills.
In fact, in Hyakucho, Gifu Prefecture, there’s a bungee jump where you can leap from the highest point in Japan.
It’s Gifu Bungee, which opened in 2020 from the Shintarumi Bridge on National Route 418.
Boasting a height of 212 meters, it ranks among the tallest in the world.
The airtime is about five seconds, but it’s so popular that even more than two months after opening, it was fully booked every day.
There are also features to make it even more enjoyable, such as a special suit that increases airtime by two seconds to a total of seven seconds.
No screws or nails are used in gassho-zukuri construction.
Gassho-zukuri features a distinctive roof whose steep slopes resemble hands pressed together in prayer.
The gassho-zukuri village of Shirakawa-go in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, is well known.
In fact, no screws or nails are used in gassho-zukuri.
The structure is supported by multiple gassho girders—logs arranged in the shape of the kanji for “person” (人).
The many gassho-girder logs are bound together with cord-like materials such as straw and sone.
Sone is a tough, flexible cord made from the young wood of the plant witch hazel (mansaku).
This construction allows the roof to accommodate sagging or distortion caused by strong winds or heavy snow.
If screws or nails were used, the logs supporting the roof could break.
It is a technique born from the wisdom of people living in regions with heavy snowfall.
The place name Gifu was designated by Oda Nobunaga.
Gifu Prefecture uses kanji that you don’t often see in everyday life.
For people living outside the prefecture, they may seem difficult.
Oda Nobunaga is connected to the background of how the place name became Gifu.
After Nobunaga defeated Saitō Tatsuoki, who was based at Inabayama Castle—the castle that is now Gifu Castle—the place name was changed.
Nobunaga’s adviser, the monk Sōon Takuzen, proposed three candidates: Gizan, Giyō, and Gifu, and it’s said that he chose “Gifu” as an auspicious name drawn from Chinese classics.
As a result, Inabayama Castle was also renamed Gifu Castle.
There is the largest teapot in the world.
In Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, there is the Jar of Abundance, the world’s largest tea jar certified by Guinness.
A key highlight is that it’s a single-piece work of Mino ware, created over time with the cooperation of many people.
The scale is clear even from the raw materials: 32 tons of clay were used, and it was fired with 10,000 bundles of firewood.
If you’re passing through Gifu, why not visit this tea jar and appreciate the efforts of the many people involved in the project?
Seki City has an 800-year history as a town of blades (cutlery).
Located in the heart of Japan and often called the nation’s “belly button,” Seki City in Gifu Prefecture boasts an 800-year history as a town of blades.
Along with Sakai in Osaka Prefecture and Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture, it is recognized as one of Japan’s three major cutlery-producing regions.
Seki’s blades are renowned worldwide, and the city is even referred to as the world’s leading city of kitchen knives.
This tradition dates back to the late Kamakura period, when high-quality clay and pine charcoal were discovered in Seki, and the presence of the Nagara and Hōzu rivers enabled the production of Japanese swords.
Many swordsmiths gathered there, and over the centuries their techniques were passed down, giving rise to the production of high-quality kitchen knives.
The Osako area of Gero City is known as the town with the most waterfalls in Japan.
The Kosaka area of Gero City has the highest number of waterfalls in Japan.
Kosaka Town is nestled in the rich natural mountain valley at the lower slopes of Mount Ontake, which straddles Gifu and Nagano prefectures.
Thanks to abundant water and terrain with steep mountains and slopes, the area is said to have an exceptionally large number of waterfalls.
There are over 200 waterfalls with a drop of at least 5 meters.
You can enjoy a wide variety of waterfall-hopping routes, from casual hikes along walking trails to challenging paths that call for full mountaineering gear.
By the way, if you enter national forests, you’ll need a forest entry permit and a guide who knows the local geography.