Recently I took a trip to Gifu prefecture. When I had lived in Toronto I had made a friend who was from the area and she had told me a lot about the region. Since it was one of the long weekends, I took the opportunity to see for myself what she had been talking about. The first place I stopped at was Shirakawa-go. It was a really interesting little village in the mountains. The houses were old-styled and they gave the place a really warm and friendly feeling. It was very picturesque with the rice fields in the foreground and the mountains in the back.
From there I went to Monet pond. One of my students had been there and had also told me about it so I had to see for myself. It was raining a little when I drove there and I was worried that it would muddy the water. I was wrong because the pond is made of mineral water so the rain didn’t ruin it. Watching the koi swimming slowing in the green-blue tinted water was really relaxing and I nearly couldn’t stop taking pictures.
After I left the pond, I made my way to Mino. It might have the same name as the city in Osaka but that’s about all. The Mino in Gifu is also an old styled town but not like Shirakawa-go. They both seem like places out of time, just different times. I enjoyed a strawberry shaved ice and a relaxing walk through this old city. Now after that fun trip, I find myself wondering where I should go next.
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