Gifu Nobunaga Festival

Each November, Gifu commemorates Oda Nobunaga's 1567 capture of Inabayama Castle - the victory that gave the city its name - with a costumed mounted procession through the city centre. On the Saturday, riders play Nobunaga, his wife Nohime and the Hashiba brothers Hidenaga and Hideyoshi, joined by a matchlock unit and school bands, along Kinkabashi-dori from the Gifu City Culture Center through Yanagase to Eru Gifu, roughly 12:45-14:30; it is cancelled if it rains. The procession is part of the city's autumn industrial and agricultural fair, which fills the weekend with stage performances, markets and food stalls around Kin Park and in front of JR Gifu Station.

The festival centres on JR Gifu Station and Meitetsu Gifu Station, both within an immediate to roughly 15-minute walk of the procession route. No dedicated event parking or shuttle bus is provided, so drivers should use one of the city's commercial car parks nearby. General attendance is free; a separately ticketed viewing area for the mounted procession is sold online, though 2026 pricing had not been published at the time of writing. The festival runs 10:00-16:00 on both days.