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Timeworn alleys and landscapes sculpted by nature linger long after a visit. The final episode of EBS1’s four-part series World Theme Travel — Lee Ji-yeon’s Journey Through Japan’s Small Towns — wraps up in Gifu, often called the heart of Japan. From ways of life preserved in traditional homes to the everyday rhythms of old merchant streets and the skilled hands of artisans who’ve passed techniques down for centuries, this installment follows the quiet, layered passage of time in Japan’s small towns.
The fourth episode, Gifu: The Heart of Japan, airing May 7, begins in Shirakawa-go, tucked into the Hida Mountains. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, the village is best known for its distinctive gassho-zukuri houses built to withstand heavy snow. With their steep, prayer‑hand–like roofs, these homes preserve the living patterns of old mountain communities. Step inside and you find not just simple architecture but the practical wisdom of people who learned to live in harmony with nature.
The journey moves on to Takayama, nicknamed Little Kyoto. Sanmachi Street, which retains the look of the Edo period, lies within a protected traditional building district, and every alley still bears traces of its merchant past. Along streets of sake breweries, teahouses and restaurants, everyday Japanese culture reveals itself naturally. You might even spot vending machines that sell sake — a small, modern twist that highlights how tradition and contemporary life coexist here.
At the Miyagawa morning market the next day, vendors offer fresh produce and handmade goods brought straight from nearby farms. The market’s lively voices and unpretentious charm deliver an unfiltered sense of local life. Takayama is also famous for Hida beef, counted among Japan’s top three wagyu. In traditional restaurants you can taste deeply savory Hida beef grilled with miso — try the region’s hoba-miso preparations for a rich, smoky flavor.
Next stop is Seki, known as the city of blades. At Uchida Forge, which preserves a 600-year tradition, you encounter the heart of Japanese swordmaking. The forge — said to have produced a blade for Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Edo period — still sees a 26th-generation smith working over the fire. After repeated heat treating and quenching in furnaces hotter than 800°C (over 1,472°F), a blade becomes more than a tool; it carries the weight of centuries of skill and single-minded devotion brought together in a single finished sword.
The final episode of World Theme Travel looks beyond postcard moments to the time and people behind them. From Shirakawa-go’s traditional houses to Takayama’s alleys and markets and Seki’s forge, the journey quietly reveals the depth of Japan’s small towns. Lee Ji-yeon’s Journey Through Japan’s Small Towns — Part 4, Gifu: The Heart of Japan — airs May 7 at 8:40 p.m.
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