Gujo Hachiman

Gujo Hachiman sits where three rivers meet and is organised around water: channels run along the streets, spring water flows through public basins in a fixed sequence - drinking, then washing vegetables, then dishes, then the fish pond - and residents keep the system by custom rather than regulation. Sogisui, one of the springs, was among the first sites designated for water quality in Japan. The dance is the other thing. Gujo Odori runs on more than thirty nights between mid-July and early September, in different neighbourhoods, and it is participatory - there are no spectators in principle, and anyone can join the circle and learn the steps from the people next to them. For four nights around mid-August, the tetsuya, the dancing runs from evening until dawn without stopping. It is registered by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

What to look for

• Street water channels - spring water used in a fixed sequence of purposes by custom.
• Gujo Odori - more than thirty nights of participatory Bon dancing across the town.
• The all-night nights - four sessions around mid-August running until dawn.
• A rebuilt hilltop castle - a 1933 wooden reconstruction above the town.

When to go

Mid-July to early September for the dancing; mid-August for the all-night sessions. Two days.

Practical notes

Accommodation during the August all-nighters books out far in advance. The dance is participatory - standing and watching misses the point. Summer here is hot and humid. Outside the season the town is very quiet.

Nearby

Gifu is south; Shirakawa-go and Takayama are north.