Photographic Spots in Hida Takayama with Nobuhiro Hamada | ISSUE #258

This time, we asked cizucu creator Nobuhiro Hamada to share his recommended photographic spots in Hida Takayama, Gifu Prefecture.

Hida Takayama, where his mother’s family home is located, is a place he has visited countless times with his family since childhood—a place that feels like a second hometown. Since he started driving at 18, it became a tradition to visit every summer with his wife, and before he knew it, he had been returning every Obon season for over a decade.

The landscapes he saw as a child now quietly overlap with the time he spends with his own family. Cherishing this sense of continuity, we will explore four photographic locations in Hida Takayama.

Hida Takayama, where my mother’s family home is, is a place I have visited many times with my family since I was young. After I started driving at 18, traveling there with my wife in the summer became a habit, and before long, it became our annual Obon tradition.

Family memories accumulate and transform, layer by layer, as they are passed to the next generation. I think this accumulation is what made Takayama feel like a hometown for my wife as well.

Hida Takayama is a place where the bustle of a tourist destination coexists with the tranquility of daily life. Among the old streets, morning markets, and mountain-surrounded scenery, there are things I hope will remain unchanged, yet the city’s vastness means there are still many sights I have yet to see. I wanted to capture the mystery and allure of this land, filled with archetypal landscapes, through photography and words. That is why I chose Hida Takayama.

The morning market along the Miyagawa River is held daily, featuring local produce such as vegetables, fruits, pickles, and folk crafts unique to this mountain region. The voices and gestures of the vendors, the flow of people walking along the river—all come together to mark the start of the town’s day.

From there, as you walk into the old town, you’ll notice latticed buildings, water channels under the eaves, and sake breweries adorned with sugidama (cedar balls), all of which reveal that, despite being a tourist destination, the rhythms of daily life still persist.

Rather than simply ‘seeing’ as a visitor, by ‘walking’ as an extension of daily life, you can truly sense the unique atmosphere of this place.

By capturing the goods on display at the market stalls, the flow of people along the river, and the shadows of old buildings in a single frame, you can convey the feeling of ‘walking through Takayama.’

Additionally, small detours like the Sarubobo face-in-hole panels or the Pokéfuta manhole covers, if documented each year, will further evoke the unique atmosphere of this place in your photographic record.

Located beyond the old town, Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine is renowned for its role in the autumn Takayama Festival. It is a place that has watched over local milestones such as first shrine visits, Shichi-Go-San celebrations, warding off misfortune, and weddings. Despite being in the city center, it maintains a tranquil atmosphere.

As a child, I often visited here for New Year’s prayers, and now I visit with my wife to pray for safe childbirth. It is a place of personal significance for me.

In summer, wind chimes are hung throughout the shrine grounds, and the wooden shrine buildings, pillars, and swaying tanzaku (paper strips) create a gentle foreground.
Including people through the wind chimes or capturing gestures such as reaching out a hand allows you to convey both the tranquility of the shrine and the time spent there in a single image.

The Arcopia sunflower fields are a place where you can experience the essence of Takayama’s summer, surrounded by mountains. While the area is known for its snowy winters, in summer, a vast expanse of sunflowers blooms, offering a completely different landscape depending on the season.

By including the mountain ridgelines and the expanse of sky in your frame, you can capture not only the sunflower fields but also the distinctive sense of scale unique to Takayama. Additionally, photographing people from a slight distance amidst the flowers and mountains helps convey the feeling of moving through the season.

By including people against the backdrop of pristine white snow, you can easily convey the winter stillness and crisp air. In contrast to the vibrant sunflower fields of summer, capturing expressions and postures amidst the subdued winter palette makes the seasonal contrast all the more striking.

Takayama is full of archetypal landscapes and is captivating in summer, but it is also spectacular in winter, with breathtaking views like Shirakawa-go. Harayama Citizens’ Park is relatively close to the city center and offers quintessential Hida Takayama winter scenery. While Arcopia in summer features sunflowers against the mountains, Harayama in winter presents a landscape of white snow and tranquil mountain ranges, showing completely different faces of Takayama depending on the season.

What did you think?

Photographing in Hida Takayama is not just about ‘visiting’ locations, but rather about ‘layering’ the sense of daily life and the scents of the seasons.

The bustle of the morning market, the tranquility of the shrine, the sunflowers in summer, and the snowy landscapes in winter. The differences you notice by returning year after year transform your travel records into family memories.

We encourage you to visit the photographic spots recommended by Nobuhiro Hamada and experience firsthand the seasonal atmosphere and warmth of daily life that remain in Hida Takayama.