Steve Irwin Ship4Good, May 2026

Monday, June 01, 2026

Gifu

Yesterday we went to the Gifu Castle park. Both the museum and the castle are closed for renovations but that didn't particularly bother us. There are lots of other things to see and do.

I am particularly enjoying the gentle but vibrant greens of the early summer leaves on the trees. Austin particularly enjoys the gradations of the colours of the mountains that surround the Gifu area. I do too but the gentle colours of late spring and early summer are a real pleasure.

I was nabbed by a lady from the Gifu City Council while I was wandering around the park. They are conducting surveys with international visitors. There are not a huge lot of international visitors in the Gifu Castle park. Or anywhere in Gifu, come to that. She was very surprised when I ticked the box that indicated that I have been to Gifu more than 5 times. I must surely have friends in Gifu? Ah. Family. Yes.



You can just see the castle
on the top of the hill

I was not expecting to find a pay phone
in the park






We had lunch in a nearby shopping mall and a wander around the shops.

Then we went to look at a shopping complex which had opened near Austin and Kori's place just before I was here last time. A bit like the Costco in Ardeer, it was so popular when it first opened that it was impossible to get into. But it's now been open for 3 months and the initial excitement has died down a bit.

We had dinner in Big Boy. It was Lindsey's first visit. I think she enjoyed it.

And thus ended our last full day in Gifu. We're here until this afternoon and then we're heading back to Osaka to start out journey home tomorrow evening.