Ogaki, known as the “City of Water” due to the Suimon River with its canals forming a ring around the old part of town to protect Ogaki Castle.

Since these cities aren't what the typical tourist thinks to drop in on, you also won’t have to suffer through the crushing crowds, and can instead enjoy a more relaxed, authentic taste of Japanese beauty and culture.

I never thought I would enjoy getting my hands dirty in Japan this much. Let me share with you the famous pottery art in Japan and my experience with it.

Gifu City is a fantastic place to see cherry blossoms on display, and one of the best perks is that you can visit a wide range of gorgeous, easy-to-reach sites for cherry blossom viewing in a single day.

Motosu City is in the countryside of Gifu, and the main attraction is the Usuzumi cherry blossoms. At the park, there is one very large, old tree on display. The explanation next to the tree, in all Japanese, explains that Usuzumi is over 1500 years old and is considered one of three great cherry blossom trees in Japan.

Japan has so many amazing foods to sample, but you would be missing out if you didn’t check out the Japanese dessert world. Being a self-diagnosed chocoholic myself, I have been sampling many Japanese sweets and here are some of my favorite place in Gifu!

The third tallest peaks of Japan named the Hotake Mountain are situated near the Takayama area of Gifu prefecture. It is a snow covered region attracting a lot of tourists in the spring and early summer season. One of the biggest ropeways of Asia is situated in these mountain ranges which takes us to the top of the Hotake Mountain with an altitude of 2156 meters.

While living in Gifu, my friends have introduced to me to a variety of restaurants that I would/could have never found on my own. It’s like the saying goes, locals know best.

It is rapidly becoming a popular destination for both Japanese and international travelers alike. Fun fact: this pond used to not have a name, but it received its name once it became a popular tourist destination.

I am not a big fan of crowds or public baths, but given the fame of Gero, I had always been curious about it, so this spring, I spent the last day of my Seishun 18 Kippu and made my way into the mountains towards the onsen town.

With traditional houses built over 400 years ago surrounded by glorious foliage all around, the experience I had here was one I will cherish forever.

Takayama ramen is a variation of chuuka soba, which is a light and soysauce based soup, but this regional version has a much strong flavour that is slightly bitter.