You will 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.
At JR Gifu Station
Mino-Washi Akari Art Gallery
Former Imaike Residence ( Mino Museum)
Seki Traditional Sword Smith MUseum
Feather Museum (The world's First Comprehensive Museum)
Knife fFactory (Marusyo Industrial Inc.)
At JR Gifu Station
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, you can visit a factory to see and learn how those high quality products are made. You can buy products for cheaper prices than other department stores around Japan.
*itinerary (example)
・JR Gifu Station(starting point) 8:00
・Mino-Washi Akari Art Gallery 9:40~10:20
・Former Imaike Residence ( Mino Museum) 10:30~11:30
(lunch 12:20~13:00)
・Seki Traditional Sword Smith MUseum 13:00~14:00
・Feather Museum 14:10~15:00
・Knife factory 15:30~16:00
・JR Gifu Station 17:30
guide fee
transportation fee
entrance feeincluding guide for guide and guests (Mino-Washi Akari Art Gallery 200yen, Former Imaike Residence 300yen ,Seki Traditional Sword Smith Museum 200yen)
lunch and beverages
I can guide in Kyoto in case you support transportation fee.
We had an excellent day with Tetsuji from start to finish. He was very knowledgeable about history and customs ofShirakawa-go and it was very interesting. He planned lunch and coffee breaks which added local touch to the visit. We found many interesting things to discuss we would sincerely recommend him for this area or for Gifu Prefecture.
Thank you for an excellent review. Now, I am remembering that all of you are so interested in Japanese culture from the top-level items to the detailed things in daily lives. I have unconsciously been involved into your world. I hope you will visit Japan again to enjoy some attractions with me like viewing cormorant fishing or Nakasendo-hiking.
We really enjoyed our day with Tetsuji and highly recommend hiring him to help you explore the Takayama/Shirakawa-go area. We especially appreciated how easy he was to work with in advance to customize our day. We were looking for someone to give us a tour of Shirakawago while also helping us transit from Takayama to Kanazawa in the same day. Tetsuji working it all out for us with the buses and trains and also guided us through a lovely day in Shirakawago. He even took photos of us along the way and shared them after the tour! This was a very memorable day thanks to Tetsuji's thoughtful guiding. We hope to see him again in the future!
I appreciate your evaluation for my performance. I had a so happy time with you and Kelly that I sometimes forgot my role as a tourist-guide to enjoy walking around the village. You are one of the best guests in my guiding career. I really hope to see you again, as a more experienced Japanese guide.
I had a great time with Tetsuji in Shirakawa! I enjoyed going inside the traditional houses and learning more about the village's history. Tetsuji knew a lot about the area and the people there. I'd highly recommend both visiting Shirakawa and hiring Tetsuji as a guide!
Thank you so much for nice review. I am also had a happy time with you and glad to hear that you are satisfied my guiding Shirakawago. I am sure you finished traveling Japan with lots of fantastic memory. I hope you will visit Japan again and have more cool time with me again.
Tetsuji was an excellent guide. He is very knowledgeable. Even though it was periodically raining we enjoyed the day as if it wasn't raining at all. We would highly recommend him and the tour being offered.
Thank you for enough appraisal for my guiding. I had a really happy time with you and Shiela. I hope you will visit Japan again and spend some time with me in other tourist spots. Until that day, I will make a profound study for better guiding for you.