Practicalities
Gifu has two train stations - JR and Meitetsu - within five minutes' walk of each other at the south end of the city's commercial district. The main tourist information office (daily 9am-7pm; tel 0582/62-4415) is inside JR Gifu Station, beside the ticket barrier at the Nagara-guchi exit. The helpful assistants speak a little English, can provide English maps and pamphlets on the city and the prefecture, and point you towards accommodation. There's a good range of both Western and Japanese-style hotels and ryokan in the city. As usual, several business hotels are clustered close by the train stations. One of the better ones is the comfortable Hotel 330 Grande (tel 0582/67-0330, fax 64-1330; Y10,000-15,000), with singles from Y8000. The Gifu Youth Hostel (tel 0582/63-6631; under Y3000) is a cheap and clean place run by a chatty manager who speaks a little English and writes about local nature. Its location on top of hilly Kashimori-koen on the east side of town means you'll save a lot of sweat by taking a taxi there from the station (around Y2000) rather than lugging your bags 2km up the hill. Many tourist ryokan line the Nagara-gawa, where the ukai displays take place, but if you can afford it head for Ryokan Banshokan (tel 0582/62-0039; Y20,000-30,000), a traditional wooden building, with raked gravel gardens, beside the entrance to Gifu-koen. As far as eating goes, you'll find a handful of fast-food joints underneath the JR station, including Mos Burger and the pastry shop Vie de France . Around the main road heading north from the station, along which trams run, are many other dining options, including the Gurume-kan , a corner building with different restaurants on each level.
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