Gifu Prefecture, just north of Aichi, is castle country. Three towns in particular reward a day trip from Nagoya, each offering a different flavour of feudal Japan — from the country's oldest original keep to a water town where locals still swim in the river.
Inuyama: the oldest keep
Inuyama Castle claims one of Japan's twelve surviving original keeps — a genuine wooden structure dating to the 1500s, not a postwar concrete reconstruction. Its top floor offers a wraparound balcony over the Kiso River. The old castle-town streets below have been sympathetically restored, with sweet-shops, sake breweries, and a shrine famous for its fortunes.
Gujo Hachiman: the water town
Two hours north, Gujo Hachiman is defined by water — clear channels run through the streets, carp swim in the gutters, and in summer local children leap from a bridge into the river. The hilltop castle is a reconstruction but a handsome one, and the town hosts Gujo Odori, one of Japan's oldest and longest dance festivals, running for over thirty nights across summer.
Gifu City: cormorant fishing and a hilltop castle
Gifu City combines a ropeway-accessible castle atop Mount Kinka with one of Japan's most atmospheric traditions: ukai, cormorant fishing on the Nagara River. On summer evenings, fishermen in traditional dress guide trained cormorants by torchlight from wooden boats — a practice with roughly 1,300 years of history.
Getting around
Inuyama is reachable in under half an hour from Nagoya on the Meitetsu line. Gifu City is similarly quick by JR or Meitetsu. Gujo Hachiman requires a longer haul by train and bus, or a scenic ride on the local Nagaragawa Railway. All three make excellent contrasts to the modern bustle of Nagoya.
Pair these with our look at walking the old Kiso Valley post road.