These are the best places to travel this summer

Shōhō-ji (Gifu Great Buddha)

Central Honshū


The main attraction of this orange-and-white temple is the papier-mâché daibutsu (Great Buddha; c 1832), one of the three Great Buddha statues of Japan. It's 13.7m tall and is said to have been fashioned over 38 years using a tonne of paper sutras.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Central Honshū attractions

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1. Gifu City History Museum

0.09 MILES

Located within the grounds of Gifu-kōen, this museum focuses on the Sengoku period, when daimyō Oda Nobunaga was at the height of his power. Enthusiastic…

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2. Nawa Insect Museum

0.12 MILES

On the grounds of Gifu-kōen is this quirky collection of more than 300,000 beetle, butterfly, moth and other insect specimens. It's the personal…

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3. Gifu-kōen

0.22 MILES

At the foot of Kinka-zan, this is one of the loveliest city parks in Japan, with plenty of water and trees set into the hillside. People have been living…

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4. Kinka-zan Ropeway

0.23 MILES

Gifu's castle is most easily reached by this cable car within Gifu-kōen, whisking you 329m to the summit in under five minutes.

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5. Gifu-jō

0.54 MILES

Perched atop Kinka-zan and with sweeping views over the cities of Gifu and Nagoya, this castle is a 1956 concrete replica of daimyō Oda Nobunaga's…

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6. Nagara River Ukai Museum

0.7 MILES

This newish museum is one of a kind, featuring exhibits on everything you could possibly want to know about cormorant fishing in Japan.

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7. Inuyama-jō

9.94 MILES

A National Treasure, Japan's oldest standing castle is said to have originated as a fort in 1440. The current donjon (main keep), built atop a 40m rise…

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