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Handmade paper Mino-Washi and traditional swords of SEKI

Visitors can stroll around japanese rooms and gardens of old houses.

In a room of the traditional merchant house

Gifu Private Tour - A store selling traditional Japanese rice wine SAKE. You can not only stroll around the old house but also buy tasty alcohol beverages and buy them.

A store selling traditional Japanese rice wine SAKE. You can not only stroll around the old house but also buy tasty alcohol beverages and buy them.

Sword-smith performing traditional technique at Seki Traditional Sword Smith Museum

Many masterpieces are on display in the Traditional Swordsmith Museum

Tourist are visitting a knife factory and learning how high-quality products are made.

The government has designated some traditional housing sites as Important Traditional Constructions Area.in Mino

Small footlights shaded with designed papers are good choice for souvenir.

A variety of silverware are sold in cutlery shops at cheaper price than other department stores.

Handmade paper Mino-Washi and traditional swords of SEKI

Unique Experience

Joined 2015

Tetsuji Y.

4.91 / 5

(55 reviews)

Identity Verified

Interview-Based Quality Checks

Gifu

Japanese (Native), English

10 hours

Private tour (only you and Tetsuji Y.)

Up to 8 people

You enjoy two distinctive fields of Japanese culture by visiting two small towns in one day trip. The one is Mino which is famous for Japanese hand-made paper Washi. Another one is Seki famous for Japanese-swordsmith. Strolling around two towns, you will learn some of secrets of cool Japan.

Itinerary

This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!

08:00 AM

Meeting Point

At JR Gifu Station

- in front of the ticket gate at 7:50AM

08:00 AM

JR Gifu station

leave Gifu by 8:11-train

09:30 AM

Mino old town district

Mino city was established as a castle town and prospered through production of Washi-paper. The center district of the city is well preserved as one of the important traditional building areas in Japan. You could take a leisurely stroll through the historic townscape Which dates back to the Edo period

10:00 AM

Former Imaike Residence

This building was constructed in the end of the 19th century and used as a Washi-paper wholesale merchant's house. The chief of a family also served as the a headman of this town. You could get detailed information about a typical townhouse of the Edo period.

10:30 AM

Mino-Washi Akari Art Gallery

This gallery provides you a fantastic atmosphere made by collaboration with paper-art and lights. Many competition masterpieces are on display telling the possibility of paper in daily lives.

12:30 PM

Lunch

01:30 PM

Seki Traditional Sword Smith MUseum

In this museum, you could learn about the history and the process of Japanese swordsmith.

02:30 PM

Feather Museum (The world's First Comprehensive Museum)

This museum was established by the biggest safety razor company in Japan and provide you an eye-opening experience and knowledge of cutlery

03:00 PM

Knife Factory

You visit one of the workshops manufacturing high-quality knives. The company prospered business handing down traditional concept of swordsmith production.

05:30 PM

JR JR Minota station

06:00 PM

JR Gifu station

Ending Point

At JR Gifu Station

Want to personalize this tour?

This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.

Inclusions & Exclusions

What‘s included

guide fee

What‘s not included

transportation fee about 4000yen/person

entrance fee for guests (Mino-Washi Akari Art Gallery 200yen/person, Former Imaike Residence 300yen/person, Seki Traditional Sword Smith Museum 300yen/person)

lunch and beverages about 3000-5000yen/person

Tour Important Information

Mino is a small castle-town surrounded by mountains. Mino is, however, also one of the hometowns of the traditional Japanese hand-made paper“WASHI”. It was registered as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2014. You can not only see goods and works of art made from WASHI but stroll around the traditional housing area which includes some excellent souvenir shops. I promise you will find and experience traditional Japan by exploring this cozy old town.

Seki is famous for being one of five samurai-swordsmith manufacturing towns in Japan since 14th century. You can see an authentic sword-hammering performance in the Seki Traditional Sword Smith Museum on the first Sunday of every months. Now, since Seki is known for high-quality knives and cutlery production, In the end, you visit a factory to see and learn how those high-quality products are made. You can also buy products at reasonable prices compared to other stores around Japan.

Important message from the supplier

I can guide in Kyoto in case you support transportation fee.

Cancellation Policy

Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time

Joined 2015

Tetsuji Y.

4.91 / 5

(55 reviews)

Identity Verified

Interview-Based Quality Checks

About Tour Guide Tetsuji Y.

Hello everyone. I am Tetsuji. I worked as a public servant in the local government for 35 years. I belonged to the department of Redevelopment, Town-Landscaping, Preserving historical areas and Architectural Guidance. (I have a national 1st-class architect license.) I devoted myself to revitalizing the city by making plans and improving infrastructure for citizens.

Gifu is located in central Japan near Nagoya. As just being the crossroads of the West and the East, there are many unique attractions that are hard to discover in hectic big cities like Tokyo or Kyoto. I had a hand in restoring and preserving some of them throughout my career and want to introduce them to tourists from abroad. That’s why I became a guide-interpreter in Gifu.

I also enjoyed traveling around the world. My favorite part of each trip was walking around the city and talking with local residents. Traveling has taught me lots of things during my lifetime. Now, I would like to help others have similar experience in Japan. Shall we enjoy fantastic journey in Gifu?

Reviews

Ian B.

5 / 5

Sep 9, 2025

One-day-tour of Shirakawa-go

Sep 9, 2025

Shirakawago

6 hours 30 mins

“Enjoyable day in Shirakawago”

We very much enjoyed our day with Tetsuji. He guided us around the village and booked an excellent local restaurant for lunch. A fun and interesting day. Tetsuji’s English is good and we had pleasant conversation with him.

Tetsuji Y.

I also had a very happy time with you and your family. I am thankful to you for listening to my explanation with careful attention all the time. Now, I am happy again to get an excellent appraisal. I hope that you will enjoy traveling Japan to your heart's extent.

Aimee V.

5 / 5

Aug 31, 2025

One-day-tour of Mino & Seki, with watching Cormorant fishing in Nagaragawa river in Gifu

Aug 31, 2025

Gifu

12 hours

Customized

“A full day tailored to our requests with special surprises ”

We spent a full and active day with Mr. Tetsuji, filled with diverse activities and memorable experiences. Communication with him was smooth and efficient, and he worked closely with us to create a detailed itinerary that balanced his expertise with our interests. He even traveled a long distance to meet us at the start of the tour and thoughtfully ensured our departure was taken care of at the end. One of the highlights was a private visit to a knife factory, which Mr. Tetsuji was able to arrange exclusively for us. We were fortunate to enjoy a personal tour with the factory president himself—an extraordinary experience we would never have managed on our own. Although he had already informed us that many shops in Mino would be closed that day, Mr. Tetsuji seamlessly guided us to the main attractions, making sure we still had a rich and rewarding experience. His deep knowledge and professionalism truly enhanced our visit.

Tetsuji Y.

I am very happy to know that you are satisfied with my tour. I can’t find words to express how much I appreciate lots of your thoughtful comments on me. Especially, the last one makes me feel like I am on cloud nine and leads me to challenge any demands from guests to be a better guide. If you have a chance to visit Japan again, I hope that we could share pleasant time. Please give my best regards to Flavio and Luca.

Roxana P.

5 / 5

Aug 19, 2025

Discover Authentic Japan in Tsumago & Magome, Nakasendo

Aug 19, 2025

Gifu

9 hours 30 mins

“excellent guide”

our clients had an excellent tour with Tetsuji and can recommend his guiding services.

Tetsuji Y.

Thank you so much for appraisal for my job. I am happy to hear that your clients seemed to be satisfied with my tour. I hope to accept your next request.