My Guide to Hida Furukawa: Koi Canals, Sake & Yatai

My search for off-the-beaten-path yet accessible-by-train places to visit in Japan led me to Hida Furukawa, a charming little mountain town where koi fish swim in the streetside canals!

Flash forward several months and here we were, feeding the koi along the empty streets of Hida Furukawa with not another tourist in sight!

And then sipping local-made sake at a distillery a few blocks away, gazing at the intricately designed mikoshi (portable shrines) that are carried through the streets at Hida’s UNESCO-recognized Furukawa Festival, indulging in teriyaki mochi at a local park, and walking through the quiet gardens of Buddhist temples.

If you’re thinking of visiting this charming little town (or maybe you’re already here!), this article is for you—I’m sharing the best things to do in Hida Furukawa, where to stay, and other places we loved visiting nearby!

☀️🌺🌿 Article Outline (Jump Ahead)

How Hida Furukawa Fit in my Japan Travels

I visited Hida Furukawa on my second trip to Japan. My goal with this trip was to introduce my first time visitor husband to Japan’s highlights in Kyoto and Tokyo, and visit somewhere in the countryside that would make me feel like I was living in a Studio Ghibli film…

As I searched for easy-to-reach countryside towns that feel like they belong in the imagination of Miyazaki, I stumbled upon Hida Furukawa! It fit the bill by being a small town, surrounded by rice fields and the koi fish canals certainly added to the charm!

But as we looked for places to stay in Hida Furukawa, my sweet husband discovered Tanekura, an even smaller town tucked away in the nearby Japanese Alps—and the serene traditional inn here is surrounded by rice fields and mountain views, and serves 100% local meals with veggies, rice, and soba grown right in the village. We were sold!!

But we knew we still wanted to visit Hida Furukawa on our way to Tanekura, so I went back to looking for places to stay in Hida Furukawa and oddly they were all booked out during our dates… we had to expand the map to nearby Takayama, which also was mostly sold out, with a few rooms listed for 3x the normal rate.

As it turns out, we were looking at visiting during the Takayama Autumn Harvest festival, considered one of the most important festivals in all of Japan! 🤯 A quick look at what the festival entailed and we clicked ‘book’ for one of those overpriced stays in Takayama. And although our plans to visit Hida Furukawa had shifted twice now, we hadn’t forgotten about this sweet little town!

In the end, we ended up spending half a day in Hida Furukawa on our way between Takayama and Tanekura. It felt like plenty of time for the town’s highlights as its small and walkable. See my 10 day Japan itinerary to see how it all fit into our short Japan trip!

Also See: A Dreamy 10 Day Japan Itinerary: Tokyo, Kyoto & Countryside

Seto Canal Street in Hida Furukawa near Takayama Japan

About Hida Furukawa

Hida Furukawa’s history stretches back over 1,300 years, and throughout the centuries was known for producing some of Japan’s best woodworkers and carpenters (called Hida no Takumi). They were so esteemed that during the Nara period (710-794) locals were allowed to pay their taxes in carpentry labor rather than rice—and every year Hida carpenters were sent to Nara and Kyoto to build some of Japan’s most important palaces and temples.

Then in 1589 Hida Furukawa became a strategic military fortress as a castle town (jokamachi), but unlike other castle towns, Hida remained self-governed. According to local historian Mr. Morishita, this engrained a deep sense of local pride that you can still witness here today!

At some point during the Genroku period (1688-1704), Hida Furukawa’s residents started celebrating the UNESCO-recognized Furukawa Festival that still happens each year on April 19th and 20th. Similar to the Takayama Festival that I attended, the Furukawa Festival involves parading mikoshi (portable shrines) through the streets, along with other Shinto traditions that draw visitors from across the country—and world—to this little town.

And of course, today Hida Furukawa is also known for its Seto Canal, which is populated by over 1,000 koi fish! Each autumn the fish are gently collected by locals and sometimes volunteer tourists and transfered to the moat around the ruins of Masushima Castle to protect them over the winter.

A few scenes from the popular 2016 anime Your Name are based on real locations in Hida Furukawa, including the train station. It’s an enjoyable movie to watch if you haven’t seen it already!

Is Hida Furukawa worth visiting?

After all the hype—and changes of plans—did we really think Hida Furukawa was worth visiting? Yes, especially in combination with nearby Takayama and Tanekura.

While Hida Furukawa is small and easily explored on foot in a day, there is so much to do in this region that we could have easily spent a week here! And we hope to someday return during the annual Furukawa Festival—I think it would be a lovely experience for our future kids!

How to Get to Hida Furukawa

Hida Furukawa (also called Hida or Hida City on maps) is situated on the Takayama Line, just a 17 minute train ride from Takayama itself. The line runs between Takayama and Toyama (somewhat near Kanazawa), so you can reach Hida from either direction.

Toyama and Takayama are both connected to the rest of Japan through a variety of Shinkansen (bullet train), limited express, and other train lines.

We got to Takayama—and then Hida Furukawa—from Kyoto by taking a Limited Express Train with a transfer in Nagoya, then of course transferring to the local Takayama Line in Takayama.

Afterward we headed back to Tokyo from the other direction (via Toyama) with a stop in Tanekura along the way. That route included taking the Takayama Line to Toyama, then transferring to a Shinkansen bound for Tokyo.

Where to Stay in Hida Furukawa

👘 At a 160-year-old ryokan, Yatsusankan ($250+/night): This stunning historic ryokan is situated on the hill overlooking Hida Furukawa and the surrounding mountains with outdoor hot springs in a beautiful garden!
🪴 In a traditional 3-bedroom home at Yoshiki Stay ($140+/night): Ideal for a group since there are 7 futon beds, but also bookable at a cheaper rate for couples!
🎏 In a machiya right along the koi canals at IORI Stay ($240+/night): Another beautiful large house for rent, this one is located right along the koi canals with an open-air tub and temple views!

Alternatively, stay in Takayama like we did—we chose Takayama becuase everything in Hida was booked out, but we ended up falling in love with Takayama and would highly recommend it! We stayed at Temple Hotel Takayama Zenkoji (yep, inside a Buddhist temple!) and also considered Sumiyoshi Ryokan, Hotel Wood, and ICHIRYU.

Things to do in Hida Furukawa & Nearby

1. Feed koi at Seto Canal

April through November you can see—and feed—1,000+ carp that swim through Seto Canal. There are little deposit boxes along the canal where you can leave ¥100 yen in exchange for a bag of bread to feed the koi.

The canal runs along Shirakabe Dozogai Street. Make sure to bring coins to pay for the bread, and give yourself plenty of time to leisure enjoy the town’s resident fishies!

2. See the Shinto floats at Hida Furukawa Festival Exhibition Hall

If you’re not able to make it to Hida Furukawa during one of the festivals, the yatai are stored at the Hida Furukawa Festival Exhibition Hall, a must-visit museum!

After entering, you’ll get to watch an excellent 15-minute documentary about the town’s annual Furukawa Festival. Although it wasn’t in English, the visuals were exceptional and made us feel like we were really here for the festival!

We got to see the yatai (portable shrine floats) parading through the streets, much like at the Takayama Festival we’d just attended the night before—plus the more rowdy Okoshi-Daikoin in which ‘teams’ from different Furukawa neighborhoods compete in the crowded streets.

Trying the “tombo” stunt at Hida Furukawa

The museum houses many of the local yatai, and has some interactive elements, you can try out the “tombo” stunt, suspending yourself in the air on top of a pole—at the festival itself the men are on a 3.5 meter tall pole, but in the museum its just a few feet off the ground.

3. Attend one of Hida’s famous cultural festivals

Of course, the best thing to do in Hida Furukawa is to attend the annual Furukawa Festival and see all of these traditions in person! The festival happens every year on April 19th and 20th, and if you are visiting then, be sure to book your hotel well in advance!

That said, Hida Furukawa also has several other lesser known festivals, including:

Santera Mairi Festival (January 15th)
Hida Kamioka Hatsu Kompira Yoi Festival (4th Saturday in February)
Hida Kamioka Festival (4th Saturday in April)
Fox Wedding Festival (4th Saturday in September)

4. Taste local sake at Hourai Sake Brewer Watanabe Shuzoten

Watanabe is renowned sake brewer that dates back to 1850, located just around the corner from the canal street.

Inside, you’ll find a self-service tasting machine with all the sake varieties. You can also of course purchase any bottle to go, but we like trying a lot of different options, so we purchased a few small bottles from other Hida brewers at the Goto Liquor Store across the street to bring with us to Tanekura!

If you’re really interested in sake, you can join this sake brewery tour in nearby Takayama—we actually enjoyed the sakes we tasted in Takayama even more!

5. Visit Takayama

Just a 17 minute train ride away, Takayama is Hida’s largest town, where we stayed while visiting. As I’ve mentioned, Takayama really stole our hearts—we expected it to be touristy and overrated, but it was perhaps our favorite place we visited in all of Japan!

Besides the magic of the autumn festival itself, what struck us about Takayama was the large collection of artisan shops—local miso makers, soy sauce factory, sake breweries, tofu producers, handmade clothing, and all sorts of artists. If you visit, you’ll find a lot of these shops along the streets of Hidatakayama Sanmachi Historic District. Make some extra room in your suitcase if you love artisanal handmade things like we do…!

We also enjoyed walking along the beautiful river, which is lined with historic houses and feels a bit like a Studio Ghibli scene to me! And there’s a morning market along the river every day.

Another highlight was riding bikes up to the Hida Folk Village where a collection old thatched roof houses were relocated from around the countryside. It was a lot larger and more interesting than we expected—more educational than touristy!

6. Take a day trip to Shirakawa-go & Ainokura, Gokayama

One of Japan’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Shirakawa-go is home to over a hundred triangle-shaped thatched roof homes that look more like they belong in the Swiss Alps rather than the Japanese countryside. The town is especially beautiful when the leaves change in autumn, and in the snow!

This guided tour from nearby Takayama includes roundtrip transportation to Shirakawa-go, as well as Ainokura, another UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s equally as charming and less visited. You also get entry to the Tenshukaku Observatory overlooking Shirakawa-go, and Gassho-zukuri Minkaen museum.

7. Go up the Shin-Hotaka Ropeway & Hirayu Onsen

Another favorite day trip from Hida Furukawa is to take the Shin-Hotaka Ropeway (gondola) up the mountain—especially in the wintertime!

The ropeway is a 1.5 hour bus ride away from Nohi Bus Station in Takayama, and the bus also stops in Hirayu Onsen, a small mountain village full of hot spring resorts and the Hirayu Onsen Ski Area.

I wasn’t able to do this on my visit, but I heard from other tourists in Takayama that the 2-day Okuhida Marugoto Value Ticket for tourists (which includes roundtrip bus fares plus access to the gondola) is the way to go and cheaper than buying tickets in person.

8. Visit Hida Furukawa’s temples and shrines

As with any destination in Japan, Hida Furukawa is home to a selection of historical temples and shrines to discover. We wandered through Enkō-ji right near the canal street in Hida Furukawa.

If I had more time, I’d also check out Keta Wakamiya Shrine, which is up on a hill overlooking the valley.

9. Ride a bike through the countryside

Another Hida Furukawa activity I wish we’d had some for is biking through the Hida countryside! This guided cycling tour by Satoyma Stay is a lovely way to support a local business and learn about local life.

It focuses on Hida Valley’s satoyama spaces—meaning spaces where the wild mountain nature and villages intersect. The bike tour would be really special during rice harvest season as the route takes you through miles of rice fields!

10. Visit Hida Furukawa’s museums

Hida Furukawa is home to a small selection of museums. I already mentioned the Hida Furukawa Festival Exhibition Hall, which is a must visit!

Another museum to consider is the Hida Takumi Carpentry Museum which traces Hida City’s important carpentry and woodworking heritage. Hida City Art Museum is a small art museum right next to the train station.