🏞️ Gifu · 2 days
Gujo Hachiman & Nagara River Drive: Mino to Shirotori, Gifu's Clear-Stream Valley Road
A 2-day Gifu drive up the Nagara and Kodara valleys from Mino through Gujo's clear-stream hill country to Shirotori, with 6 michi-no-eki.
Gujo is the rainy, river-cut heart of Gifu: the Nagara River, one of Japan's last undammed major rivers, runs through it, and the town of Gujo Hachiman is famous for clear water and an all-night summer dance. Most visitors reach it by train or bus and see only the castle town. These six michi-no-eki stretch the trip into a proper valley drive, from the paper-and-udatsu town of Mino in the south to the snow country of Shirotori in the north.
The drive starts at Mino Niwaka Chaya, a restaurant and cafe station with a park and a tourist desk, 66 car bays and 10 large bays, open 9:00–18:00; the old Imai family house in Mino's merchant quarter is under a kilometre away. About 6.6 km north, Minami has a restaurant, a cafe and free Wi-Fi. The road then climbs to Kazuyoshi, which has showers and 93 car bays, and on to Meihou with EV charging, an ATM and 120 car bays. The finish is a pair of neighbours in Shirotori, 3.5 km apart: Seiryu no Sato Shirotori with EV charging and Wi-Fi, and Shirao Fureai Park with a restaurant, a cafe and Wi-Fi.
The stops, in driving order
- 1 Michi-no-Eki Mino Niwaka Chaya 道の駅 美濃にわか茶屋 · Gifu
Michi-no-Eki Mino Niwaka Chaya (道の駅 美濃にわか茶屋) is a government-designated roadside station in 美濃市, Gifu, Japan, registered in 2007 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop, a tourist-information desk and a park. There is free parking for about 66 cars and 10 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 9:00–18:00. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Minami, Muge Kawa and Heisei.
Nearby: 🏛Former Imai Family Residence (0.9 km) · 🏛美濃和紙の里会館 (4.7 km)
- 2 Michi-no-Eki Minami 道の駅 美並 · Gifu
Michi-no-Eki Minami (道の駅 美並) is a government-designated roadside station in 郡上市, Gifu, Japan, registered in 1993 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop, free Wi-Fi and an accessible restroom. There is free parking for about 28 cars and 10 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 9:00–16:00. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Mino Niwaka Chaya, Heisei and Muge Kawa.
Nearby: 🏛美濃和紙の里会館 (6.7 km) · ⛰Mt. Takasawa (7.3 km)
- 3 Michi-no-Eki Kazuyoshi 道の駅 和良 · Gifu
Michi-no-Eki Kazuyoshi (道の駅 和良) is a government-designated roadside station in 郡上市, Gifu, Japan, registered in 2002 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop, showers and a tourist-information desk. There is free parking for about 93 cars and 3 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 9:00–17:00. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Hida Kanayama Nuku Mori No Sato Onsen, Meihou and Maze Bi Teru No Sato.
Nearby: 📸美山鍾乳洞 (4 km) · 📸縄文鍾乳洞 (8.7 km)
- 4 Michi-no-Eki Meihou 道の駅 明宝 · Gifu
Michi-no-Eki Meihou (道の駅 明宝) is a government-designated roadside station in 郡上市, Gifu, Japan, registered in 1993 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop, EV charging and free Wi-Fi. There is free parking for about 120 cars and 4 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 9:00–18:00（テナントにより異なります）. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Pasukaru Kiyomi, Kazuyoshi and Kokon Denju No Sato Yamato.
Nearby: 🏛明宝歴史民俗資料館 (1.4 km) · 🏛郡上工芸研究所 (9.6 km)
- 5 Michi-no-Eki Seiryuu No Sato Shirotori 道の駅 清流の里しろとり · Gifu
Michi-no-Eki Seiryuu No Sato Shirotori (道の駅 清流の里しろとり) is a government-designated roadside station in 郡上市, Gifu, Japan, registered in 2016 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a local-products shop, EV charging, free Wi-Fi, a tourist-information desk and an accessible restroom. There is free parking for about 72 cars and 3 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 8:30–18:00. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Shirao Fureai Paaku, Hakuchou and Kokon Denju No Sato Yamato.
Nearby: 🏛日本土鈴館 (2.4 km) · 🏛奥美濃若宮修古館 (5.1 km)
- 6 Michi-no-Eki Shirao Fureai Paaku 道の駅 白尾ふれあいパーク · Gifu
Michi-no-Eki Shirao Fureai Paaku (道の駅 白尾ふれあいパーク) is a government-designated roadside station in 郡上市, Gifu, Japan, registered in 2005 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop, free Wi-Fi and a tourist-information desk. There is free parking for about 46 cars and 5 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 8:30–17:00. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Seiryuu No Sato Shirotori, Hakuchou and Kokon Denju No Sato Yamato.
Nearby: 🏛日本土鈴館 (4 km) · 🏛奥美濃若宮修古館 (6.6 km)
Make this route yours — load all 6 stops into the planner, reorder or remove stops, then open the finished trip in Google Maps.
Customize this route →Onsen baths and beds along this route (Gifu · 9 with onsen / 3 with rooms)
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Heisei 道の駅 平成 · Seki, Gifu · ~8 km off the route -
Kokon Denju No Sato Yamato 道の駅 古今伝授の里やまと · Gujō-shi, Gifu · ~8 km off the route -
Hida Kanayama Nuku Mori No Sato Onsen 道の駅 飛騨金山ぬく森の里温泉 · Gero, Gifu · ~11 km off the route -
Sakura No Sato Shoukawa 道の駅 桜の郷 荘川 · Takayama, Gifu · ~16 km off the route -
Mino Shirakawa 道の駅 美濃白川 · Shirakawa, Gifu · ~18 km off the route -
Seiryuu Shirakawa Kuoore No Sato 道の駅 清流白川 クオーレの里 · Shirakawa, Gifu · ~21 km off the route -
Hida Hakusan 道の駅 飛騨白山 · Shirakawa, Gifu · ~32 km off the route -
Ikeda Onsen 道の駅 池田温泉 · Ikeda, Gifu · ~35 km off the route -
Kagai Michi Tsukechi 道の駅 花街道付知 · Nakatsugawa, Gifu · ~36 km off the route -
Hoshi Nofuru Sato Fujihashi 道の駅 星のふる里 ふじはし · Ibigawa, Gifu · ~41 km off the route
♨ All 143 michi-no-eki with an onsen bath🛏 All 81 michi-no-eki with rooms on site♨🛏 All 46 michi-no-eki with both onsen and rooms📍 Every michi-no-eki in Gifu
Route tips
- Rent the car in Gifu, Seki or Mino, or take the Nagaragawa Railway to Gujo Hachiman and rent there. Mino is the south end and Shirotori the north, so a one-way rental that ends near Shirotori or Takayama saves the long drive back south.
- None of the six stations has an onsen or an on-site hotel, so book the night in Gujo Hachiman town or in Shirotori. Use Kazuyoshi for a shower stop on day one, and Meihou for the best mix of a restaurant, a cafe, an ATM and EV charging before the last stretch.
- Hours are short in the hills. Minami closes at 16:00, Kazuyoshi and Shirao Fureai Park at 17:00, and Mino Niwaka Chaya and Seiryu no Sato Shirotori at 18:00. Meihou opens 9:00–18:00 but individual tenants vary. Reach Minami by early afternoon, and plan to be in Shirotori before 17:00.
- Large-vehicle room is best at Mino Niwaka Chaya and Minami (10 large bays each). Shirao Fureai Park has 5, Meihou 4, and Kazuyoshi and Seiryu no Sato Shirotori 3 each. EV charging is at Meihou and Seiryu no Sato Shirotori only. Free Wi-Fi is at Minami, Meihou, Seiryu no Sato Shirotori and Shirao Fureai Park. Gujo is snow country, so put studless tyres on from December to March.
Before you drive
- Can you drive in Japan? License rules by country
- Renting a car in Japan: the complete guide
- Can you sleep overnight at a michi-no-eki?
FAQ — Gujo & Nagara River
How many days do you need for the Gujo & Nagara River route?
2 days is a comfortable pace: roughly 70 km of driving with 6 michi-no-eki stops along the way. You can compress it, but the stops are the point.
Where does the route start and end?
It starts at Mino, Gifu (Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway Mino IC) and ends at Shirotori, Gujo, Gifu (Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway Gujo-Shirotori IC). Load all 6 stops into the free MichiStops route planner to reorder, add or remove stops, then open the finished trip in Google Maps.
When is the best season to drive this route?
Year-round; Gujo Odori dances run from mid-July to early September, autumn colour peaks in late October to November, and the Shirotori end is snow country from December to March, so studless tyres are essential.
Do I need to rent a car?
Yes — michi-no-eki are roadside stations, realistically reachable only by rental car or campervan. Most visitors can drive in Japan with a 1949-convention International Driving Permit; check the license rules for your country before booking. License rules by country →
Can I sleep overnight at the michi-no-eki on this route?
Resting overnight in your vehicle is tolerated at most michi-no-eki, but tents, awnings and open-air cooking are not allowed. Read the overnight-stay guide for the etiquette. Overnight-stay guide →