ODA NOBUNAGA TOUR/ Gifu

It was the day before my return to Italy, and I had to dedicate it to going back to Nagoya from Tokyo, to take care of some "touristic business" in Gifu city, as I got to find about some interesting bits that I really wanted to check out before closing this second tour dedicated to Nobunaga.

My first stop once in Gifu was this lovely sweets and omiyage shop, Mochinobu. Together with Mangoro in Azuchi, it's not your "regular" sweets shop, but one that offers a generous compilation of custom delicacies inspired to Nobunaga, as he's pretty much considered a national hero there. The thingie that I wanted to try was the "信長 弓かけ桜", roughly translated as "The Sakura where Nobunaga rested his Bow".

This refers to a habit of Nobunaga of playing archery in a favourite spot in Gifu, the Tejikarao Shrine (手力雄神社).
When taking a rest for his sport activities, he used to place his bow against this huge sakura three, profitting to enjoy the view of the blooms: --Sure it's a pity to look at it when it's not in bloom ^^

As the temple is not very far from the shop, I decided to take a peek to both to kill two birds with one stone >D
Here are some shots of the temple, then:









It's interesting to see how much Nobunaga's figure is preponderant in this temple, even in its more pop interpretations.

Of course, I nipped at the yumikake cakelet in its precints while enjoying the nice weather ^^

I'm not a fan of Japanese sweets, but this one was extremely good :D
It's strong point is the shiroan chips inside and the addition of cheese in the dough.

After this, I reached for the Gifu Park as in that period there was the chance to assist to a beutiful exhibition of chrysanthemums and kikuningyo, life-sized dolls "dressed up" with the same pretty flowers :D
It's an old tradition of Chinese origin related to the festivals dedicated to the celebrations for the changes of season.


This year the theme of the dolls was "Nobunaga, Kanbei and the Favourite Sword"-- It's probably related to the TV drama of 2014, Gunshi Kanbee, as they usually follow this stuff to gain more visibility-- Here are the dolls that can be spotted everywhere around the park:










Of course, besides the dolls, the flowers were very pretty too :D




While walking around the park I noticed these characters decorating the way to the castle:

--Apparently Nobu-sama got some company, finally ^_^

And to close this post and this tour adequately, a due picture to the statue of Nobunaga by the entrance of Gifu Park ^^ Well, it's all, I guess :D
It's been a splendid adventure, and if I didn't manage to see EVERYTHING even this time, well, it's an excuse to come around a third time >D

Daeva.