Gifu Castle was built on top of Mt. Kinka in Gifu City, Gifu. Oda Nobunaga, one of the main unifiers of Japan, lived in this castle for 9 years before moving to Azuchi Castle in present day Shiga. The castle originally belonged to Saito Dosan, Nobunaga's father, after he seiged the castle. In 1567, Nobunaga killed Tatsuoki, Dosan's grandson, and claimed the castle for himself. He changed the name from Inabayama Castle to Gifu Castle.
 |
| Gifu Castle in all its glory |
From the rope way station at the foot of Mt. Kinka in Gifu Park, you can take the gondola up to the top of the mountain. The ride takes only 3 minutes to the top. From the mountain station, you have to hike for 10 more minutes to reach the castle, beautifully perched on the top of the mountain. The climb is worth the hardship and the wait because of the majestic views of Gifu that you can see from the top. When I arrived on top of the castle, there were a lot of old people gathering around. It seemed to me that they didn't take the rope way but actually hiked to the mountain.
 |
| path going to the castle |
|
 |
| view from the castle |
|
Beside the castle is the small Gifu Castle Museum holding some important samurai swords and armors, ancient texts and other historical resources of the Sengoku Period were held. There are not so much to see but it is still worth looking at. If you get hungry on top of the mountain, you can go to the restaurant and get a good seat behind its large glass windows. I wanted to have a coffee and rest for a while while looking at the view but I decided not too. If you are after the views, there are other spots where you can have a good panoramic view of the landscape without paying for a meal or a cup of coffee. There is also an observation deck with some benches where you can feel the strong wind pushing you back. There are also several resting areas where you can sit, grab a bite of your packed bento or onigiri or get a drink from a vending machine resting in a corner.
 |
| Gifu Castle Museum |
|
 |
| restaurant on top of the mountain |
|
Just beside the rope way station is the squirrel village. It is a small place where you can feed squirrels and carry them on your hands. The entrance fee is only Y200. Just go in and play with the squirrels. I didn't spend so much time here because I was not a big fan of squirrels. I just want to experience feeding them. It was so funny because the very moment I stepped inside, a squirrel jump onto my head and crawled down my shoulders, maybe thinking what a big log I was! The squirrels were nice and not wild. If you reach out your hand to their direction, they would run to your palm and eat the food. It could get a little scary though when a couple of squirrels would run to your hand for food. It appeared like they were going to fight each other but luckily they didn't.
 |
| Squirrel Village |
|
 |
| Feed the squirrels |
|
At the foot of the mountain is Gifu Park where you can find Gifu City Museum of History and the ruins of Oda Nobunaga's residence. The area of Nobunaga's residence was also under construction so I only got to see some parts of it. The museum entrance fee only costs Y350. The museum features the history of Gifu from the prehistoric age up to the present. It has on display several ancient relics such as pottery from the Jomon period.
 |
| Entrace to the ruins of Oda Nobunaga's residence |
|
 |
| What was left of Oda Nobunaga's former residence |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment