Mino City is best known for its creating traditional Japanese paper. It comes to no surprise that there are several stores such as this dedicated to creating, procuring, and of course selling this specialty item.

If you were expecting a bland, papyrus-like sheet of off-white paper waiting to be printed on, you might be pleased to see that some of these examples are already works of art! There is of course a wide variety of paper for seemingly endless uses.

You might be already aware, but stationery goods are quite popular in Japan, and special care is taken in all forms of presentation especially when gifting a souvenir, a birthday present, or a congratulatory gesture.

Although you may be paying a little more for this level of detail, the quality and character cannot be mass produced.

The whole gamut of paper-based artistic expression can be found here including brushes for calligraphy, smaller and thinner cut square for origami, and even paper clocks!

If you’re more in the mood for food and drinks however, there are plenty of options around at the udatsu style historic district. Dozens of shops from the aforementioned washi stores to butcher shops, yunomi or tea pottery stores, as well as other specialty items can be found here.

It’s quite easy to get around this area. Two main streets run parallel to each other in an east to west direction and are further divided up by 4 intersecting alleyways that run north to south.

The sign directly above reads “omiyage” store which is a place that specializes in nifty souvenirs you can purchase and share with your family, friends, or coworkers back home!

The entire region that Mino City is in is rather blessed with an abundance of natural resources including thick growths of trees around the mountainsides, pristine running rivers, and mineral-rich soil. This creates a perfect combination for artisans and craftsmen to excel at what they do.

And just like the rest of Japan, traditional and local food is always prepared and served with pride. Family-owned restaurants like Marugo Soba shop offer travelers a delicious and authentic experience with locally sourced ingredients homemade buckwheat noodles.

They offer a wide selection of preparation methods including hot and cold noodles but if you’ve ever had soba before, you’ve never had it this good! You can even order depending on the percentage of buckwheat that constitutes the noodle. For a firmer and heartier blend I went with the 100% option at only ¥100 more!

Outside of the traditional, the various shops in Mino also offer a mix of the innovative as well! Japanese rice wine is already a staple in most regions, but other breweries and distilleries are branching out with other less conventional ingredients.

Above is a unique array of liquor from various locally found ingredients including another mainstay product, soy beans! With a flavor profile more similar to brandy than anything else, you can enjoy these unique flavors at stores like this one!

If you’re interested to learn more about the process behind these colorful concoctions, most of their main distilleries and breweries that offer tours and a larger selection of their products are located just a short drive away!

And of course what journey up in the beautiful mountains of Gifu can be considered complete without a little relaxation with some warm matcha and decadent Japanese desserts. This is no Starbucks, it’s the real deal of homemade comfortfood goodness at stores like Tomiya.

Regardless of what brings you here we highly recommend taking a stroll around this historic district in the crisp mountain air and hope that you can find what you’re looking for and more at the udatsu street of Mino!