Ukai (cormorant fishing) occurs every year between May 11th and October 15th on the Nagara River. Gifu City is the only place where this tradition has continued uninterrupted for 1300 years. You can watch this spectacular event by boarding a viewing boat or watching from the banks of the river. Most of the action is upriver from Nagara-bashi. Tour boats begin embarking from about 6:00 pm (for those serving dinner aboard) until 6:30 or 7:00 (a bit later during the peak of summer). The night-fishing show begins after dark, around 8:00 pm or later during the summer months, and finishes by 9:00, in time to get back to a train station and return to Nagoya for those on a day trip.

By plane

Chubu International Airport (NGO) is the nearest airport to Gifu. The Meitetsu line will take you to Meitetsu Gifu Station in downtown Gifu.

By train

Gifu is a station on the Tokaido main line between Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo. There are frequent services to Nagoya, the nearest major Shinkansen station, only 18 minutes away by express train.

Meitetsu Takehana Line connects Shin Hashima station (3 minutes walk from Gifu Hashima Shinkansen station) to Meitetsu Gifu in around 32 minutes.

The JR Takayama Line connects Gifu to Hida-Takayama via Gero Onsen.

By bus

There are scheduled buses (5 times/day) connecting Osaka Namba OCAT to Shin Gifu Bus Center. The trip takes less than 3 hours under normal traffic condition.

Gifu City is serviced by the Meitetsu run Gifu Bus as well as JR Buses. JR passes are accepted on JR buses.

Also, there are three Rent-a-Cycle stations in downtown Gifu (JR Gifu Station, Gifu City Hall South Branch, and Gifu Park). You can rent bikes for 100 yen per day.

The traditional industries of Gifu City are Japanese umbrellas (wagasa) and lanterns, both of which are made of hand-made paper.

• El Paso near Meitetsu Gifu Station serves the best and widest selection of Mexican food (TexMex) & drinks. They also have a variety of other delicious dishes. Prices are reasonable and the service is great. The waitress speaks a little English and the menu is in English and Japanese. The decor is a little eclectic with Buzz Light Year and Woody from Toy Story. The TV will be playing either sports or Country/Western music videos. The place is a bit small, and can fill up, but they are open until around 1:00 A.M., with fewer customers then.

• The NEMS is one kilometer east-southeast of Gifu Station at 2-12-2 Kinen-cho, between the Meitetsu and JR tracks. Serves great Western food & drinks only; no soy sauce or miso in this mom & pop shop. Pilaf, Doria, Cheese Yaki Spaghetti, Spicy Chili Tomato Spaghetti, Gratin, Seafood Risotto, Vegetable Salad, Crustless Pizza, Hot or Cold Barley Berry Tea, and 80 more items are on the menu. Prices are regular and the portions are large. The owner speaks English. The decor is Western with foreign knick-knacks to entertain your eye. There is a selection of English & Japanese magazines and books. Wi-Fi is available to regulars. Native language lessons available from the American, French, Mexican & Japanese family.

• Rodeo Roundup is in Akutami-cho, on highway 156, 500 meters north of the post office. Serves super delicious Steaks and the best Ribs in the U.S. and Japan; both about ¥3000 for the largest sizes. They are cooked over a wood fire on a big brick & iron Santa Maria-style barbecuer. I've stopped ordering Steaks and Ribs at all other places in Chubu because nothing else has ever come close. Rodeo Roundup is a cowboy restaurant & bar, with all the decor coming straight from Santa Maria, California. Bring a pillow if your butt is bony and you plan to stay awhile. MANY more items are on the menu, from Octopus Salad to Mexican Tacos. Prices are reasonable. The owner speaks English, having lived in Santa Maria and other places for 5 years as an illegal alien. You'd be needing reservations for this place every night if it wasn't 10 kilometers from Gifu Station.

• Fandango is 150 meters southwest of Mirai Hall, which is across the street from Memorial Center. We always get reservations for this place, even on weekdays, because it seats very few people. Decor is Spanish, but the menu is Western eclectic with a touch of Sashimi, as is usual in this area of Japan, and is very much the owner's style. Try the Beef Tongue, or ask the chef to choose. Prices are a bit high, but you get some very fancy food. The owner speaks a little English. This is definitely the place to impress a woman on your first date.

• Aka Noren is 2 kilometers east of the south side of the Iwado Tunnel. This place has the best Shio Ramen bar none. The other Ramens and the Dote are great too, and the Gyoza is strange, but good and green and healthy, and cooked with no oil! Prices are cheap. The owner speaks no English, but he very friendly, and is a wonderful character to sit in front of and watch. If you use your toilet at home, you won't need to use the port-a-potty outside. In 14 years, I've NEVER seen the place without customers, and it's often hard to get a place to park or sit, even on weekdays!

• B's Cafe, Yanagase Shopping Mall. A cool bar frequented by young Japanese and a few foreigners. The management and bar staff are very friendly, it plays good music and it has 'funky environs'. It often holds launch parties for up and coming Japanese music. Drinks are reasonable, at ¥500, and on the first Thursday of every month there's no cover charge. Secondroom, just below offers a place to chill out with the owner, Bryan.

• Bier Hall, near Gifu Meitetsu station. The main gaijin hangout in Gifu City, and popular with Japanese too. Notable for the incredibly friendly owner, who speaks a little English, and has an astonishing memory for faces. On your second visit she will greet you like a regular! Also of note is the book exchange corner - if you've finished the paperback you bought to read on the plane, feel free to swap it for a different title. Gifu knit club meet here during the winter, so don't be alarmed if you come in on a Tuesday evening and see lots of people with pointy sticks.

• BAR LEON is kitty-corner from the northeast corner of Yanagase on Kanda-machi street. This place is the second most popular foreigner's hangout in Gifu, and would likely be the favorite place if it was nearer to Gifu Station. It has character, ambiance and a wide variety of Japanese & foreign clientele. Don't let the name fool you: Besides alcohol, a wide variety of live music, and dancing, this place has delicious food (1/2 price on Mondays) like the Whole Chicken, roasted with a Brazilian 12 chicken rotisserie in the Latin American style, and served with a unique spicy, milky-cheesy sauce on the side.