Hida-Furukawa

Furukawa is what Takayama would be with a tenth of the visitors: white-walled storehouses along the Seto canal, carp in the water, a temple street, and the same Hida carpentry tradition. That tradition is the thing to look for - the Hida no Takumi were carpenters conscripted to the capital from the eighth century in lieu of tax, and their descendants built here; on the eaves of buildings by the town's master carpenters you can find kumo, cloud brackets, whose carved pattern identifies which workshop made the building, a signature system that is still legible. The Hida Crafts Museum explains the joinery with pieces you can handle. The Furukawa Festival on 19 and 20 April includes the Okoshi Daiko, in which a huge drum is carried through the streets at night while teams try to force smaller drums up against it; it is UNESCO-registered and it is rough.

What to look for

• Canal-side storehouses - white walls along the Seto channel with carp in it.
• Cloud brackets - carved eave patterns identifying which carpenter's workshop built each house.
• The crafts museum - Hida joinery explained with pieces to handle.
• Okoshi Daiko - a night drum procession on 19 April, physical and unchoreographed.

When to go

19 to 20 April for the festival; April to November otherwise. Half a day.

Practical notes

It is small and quiet - the appeal is the absence of crowds, not the quantity of sights. Festival nights are rough and crowded. Shops close early. Winter is deep snow.

Nearby

Takayama is south; Shirakawa-go is west.