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Gifu Prefecture facts for kids

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Gifu Prefecture
Japanese: 岐阜県
Gifu-ken
Map of Japan with Gifu highlighted
Capital Gifu
Region Chūbu
Island Honshū
Governor Hajime Furuta
Area (rank) 10,621.17 km² (7th)
 - % water 0.2%
Population  (August 1, 2010)
 - Population 2,078,286 (18th)
 - Density 196 /km²
Districts 9
Municipalities 42
ISO 3166-2 JP-21
Website www.pref.gifu.lg.jp
Prefectural Symbols
 - Flower Chinese milk vetch
(Astragalus sinicus)
 - Tree Japanese Yew
(Taxus cuspidata)
 - Bird Rock ptarmigan
(Lagopus muta)
 - Fish {{{Fish}}}
Symbol of Gifu Prefecture
Symbol of Gifu Prefecture
Flag of Gifu Prefecture.svg

Gifu Prefecture (岐阜県, Gifu-ken) is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is on the island of Honshu. Its capital is the city of Gifu.

Gifu is part of the Tōkai region. Shirakawa in Gifu is a UNESCO's World Heritage Site.

History

In the Meiji period, Gifu Prefecture was created by merging several old provinces, including Hida Province and Mino Province.

"Gifu" may have been named by Oda Nobunaga.

Geography

Gifu shares borders with seven other prefectures: Aichi Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture.

Landmarks

  • Kinkazan and Gifu Castle
  • Takayama
  • Joining hands-structure of Shirakawa-go
  • Gero hot springs

Special products

  • Ayu-cuisine
  • Eel
  • Hida beef

Cities

  • Ena, Gifu
  • Gero, Gifu
  • Gifu, Gifu, capital
  • Gujō, Gifu
  • Hashima, Gifu
  • Hida, Gifu
  • Kakamigahara, Gifu
  • Kani, Gifu
  • Kaizu, Gifu
  • Mino, Gifu
  • Minokama, Gifu
  • Mizuho, Gifu
  • Mizunami, Gifu
  • Motosu, Gifu
  • Nakatsugawa, Gifu
  • Ōgaki, Gifu
  • Seki, Gifu
  • Tajimi, Gifu
  • Takayama, Gifu
  • Toki, Gifu
  • Yamagata, Gifu

National parks

National parks cover about 18% of the total land area of the prefecture.

Otaki Limestone Cave

Otaki Limestone cave is one of the biggest limestone caves in Japan. There is no daylight inside, so you may feel that the air in there is very still. If you go there in summer, you may feel cool, and if you go there in winter, you may feel much warmer than outside of it. The walls are made of limestone and look milky white.

Shrines and temples

Hidaichinomiya-Minashi jinja is the main Shinto shrine (ichinomiya) in the prefecture.

Related pages


Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Prefectura de Gifu para niños

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Gifu Prefecture Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.