A 2-Day Girls' Getaway in Gifu Hashima: A Memorable Trip Where Even the Extreme Heat Became a Laughing Matter.
Day 1: Food Hopping & Shopping at Chiyoho Inari♪
12:00 PM: Met up with my friend from Osaka at Gifu Hashima Station!
We dropped off our bags at Hotel Route-Inn Gifu Hashima Ekimae and took a taxi to Chiyoho Inari (affectionately known as Ochobo-san).
The approach to the shrine and the shopping street were lined with shops, making it exciting just to walk around♪
First, we toasted at a kushikatsu shop on the shopping street!
Having a daytime drink with freshly fried kushikatsu and yakitori as snacks was the absolute best.
Believe it or not, the temperature that day was 37°C (98.6°F).
It was so scorching hot that sweat was dripping just standing there, but even that became a great memory of the trip.
On the shopping street, fresh locally grown vegetables were sold at surprisingly low prices, and I couldn't help but buy a ton!
Furthermore, at a clothing store, I found a cute and comfortable pair of pants for a bargain, making it a very satisfying shopping spree.
When we were about to call a taxi to head back...
"There's not a single taxi around!"
What an unexpected situation (lol).
We went into a nearby kushikatsu shop to ask for directions back, and the staff was amazingly helpful, looking up buses and taxis with us—a true godsend.
In the end, we couldn't find a taxi, so we walked down a road surrounded by rice paddies, dripping with sweat, to get to the bus stop.
We somehow managed to catch a bus that only runs once every two hours.
A local told us,
"It's really tough around here without a car~"
But including this little mishap, it became an unforgettable memory.
Once we got back to the hotel, we washed away our sweat and exhaustion in the large public bath to refresh ourselves.
At night, we went to an izakaya near the hotel.
Gifu's famous Meiho Ham was exquisite!
The fresh vegetables were also incredibly delicious, and the drinks kept flowing.
To top off the day, we hit the hotel's large public bath one more time.
We slowly soothed our fatigue in the hot spring and went to bed early to prepare for the next day.
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Day 2: Enjoying Ogaki Castle and Local Gourmet Food!
We had the hotel's complimentary breakfast starting at 6:30 AM.
We originally planned to go see the lotus flowers in Ogaki, but we gave up because there were no buses in the morning.
Instead, we spent a luxurious and relaxing time until 10:00 AM, soaking in the large public bath and lounging around in bed.
After that, we took a bus to Ogaki.
It was about a 15-minute walk from Ogaki Station.
We walked under the blazing sun to Ogaki Castle.
The castle is compact, but it had highlights where you could feel the history, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
...That being said, it was seriously hot (lol).
Learning from the previous day's mistake, we checked the bus schedule in advance this time.
We made sure to give ourselves plenty of extra time.
For lunch, we went to a sushi restaurant in the Ogaki shopping street.
We had:
· Eel
· Conger eel
· Freshly caught morning sweetfish sashimi
It was my first time trying sweetfish sashimi, but it had no fishy smell at all, and the meat was so firm—it was mind-blowingly delicious.
After eating, we headed back to the station and looked for souvenirs at a commercial facility.
Since we had about 30 minutes until our bus, we grabbed a quick beer and some chicken wings at "Sekai no Yamachan."
A cold drink after walking in the scorching heat was absolutely exceptional.
We returned to Gifu Hashima Station by bus as planned, and bought our last souvenirs at a convenience store inside the station.
It was well-stocked with Gifu's local specialties, so we were able to get almost all of our souvenirs right there.
Then, I said goodbye at the station to my friend heading back to Osaka.
It was a 2-day, 1-night trip filled with laughter, little mishaps, and tons of delicious food.
It turned into an unforgettable girls' trip.
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Takeaways from this trip:
◎ Summer in the Chubu region is incredibly hot!
The extreme heat in July was beyond imagination. Taking precautions against heatstroke is a must.
◎ If you're going to Chiyoho Inari, check the bus schedule in advance!
You can hardly rely on finding a taxi, so the key is to make good use of the buses.
◎ A paradise for shopaholics!
Fresh vegetables are cheap, and there are plenty of bargains on clothes.
◎ Gifu's gourmet food never misses!
The kushikatsu, yakitori, Meiho Ham, sweetfish, eel, and conger eel were all incredibly satisfying.
Even though we were dripping with sweat from the sweltering heat, it was such a fun, delicious, and memorable trip to Gifu Hashima that even the heat became a laughing matter.