3 Best Sights in Nagoya, Ise-Shima, and the Kii Peninsula, Japan

In Gifu Park, five minutes south of the cable-car station, sits this well-presented hands-on-museum, with exhibits covering Gifu from the prehistoric age through to feudal and pre-modern Japan. On the second floor you can dress up in traditional clothing and play old Japanese games such as bansugoroku (similar to backgammon).

Seki has a 700-year-old sword-manufacturing heritage, and you'll appreciate the artistry and skill of Japanese sword smiths at this museum. Three types of metal are used to form blades, which are forged multiple times and then beaten into shape with a hammer. Demonstrations are held on the first Sunday of each month, except in October, when special displays occur during the Seki Cutlery Festival in the middle of the month. Seki is 30 minutes northeast of Gifu via the Meitetsu Minomachi Line.

The seldom-displayed 12th-century hand scrolls of The Tale of Genji, widely recognized as the world's first novel, are housed here. Even when the scrolls are not available, beautiful relics of the lifestyle of the aristocratic samurai class—including swords and armor, tea-ceremony artifacts, Noh masks, clothing, and furnishings—fascinate visitors. If you're visiting specifically to see the scrolls, check out the Hosa Library rooms, which house an incredible collection of other ancient scrolls and texts (some 110,000 in all), some dating to the 8th century. If you've got time, it's worth paying an additional ¥150 for entry to the adjacent Tokugawaen 徳川園, an attractive Japanese garden modeled in the Edo style. Tokugawa Art Museum is a 10-minute walk south of exit 3 of Ozone Station, which is on the Meijo subway line and the JR Chuo Line. It's also served by the Me-guru bus, which gives a ¥200 discount on admission for bus pass holders.