Cormorant Fishing on the Nagara River (Ukai)
Open by month
Closed in January. New Year (Dec 29 – Jan 3): closed.
Closed in February.
Closed in March.
Closed in April.
Partly closed in May: some days or parts are closed — see the official site.
Open in June. No seasonal closure recorded.
Open in July. No seasonal closure recorded.
Open in August. No seasonal closure recorded.
Open in September. No seasonal closure recorded.
Partly closed in October: some days or parts are closed — see the official site.
Closed in November.
Closed in December. New Year (Dec 29 – Jan 3): closed.
Checked against the official site on 2026-10-15.
A 1,300-year-old night fishing method: by the light of bonfires, cormorant masters, the only ones in Japan with Imperial Household titles, fish with their birds as you watch from viewing boats.
Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property
Nearby
- Kawaramachi District (Nagara River) ≈ 10 min by car
- Gifu Great Buddha (Shohoji Temple) ≈ 10 min by car
- Gifu Castle & Mt. Kinka ≈ 10 min by car
- Inuyama Castle ≈ 40 min by car
- Urakuen Garden and Joan Teahouse ≈ 40 min by car
Travel times are rough estimates by car.
- Getting there
- Gifu Bus from JR/Meitetsu Gifu Sta. to Nagarabashi-minami/Kawaramachi (about 20 min), then 1 min walk
- Fee
- Shared boat ¥4,200 (¥5,100 on peak days)
- Good to know
- May 11–Oct 15 nightly, except Sep 24, the harvest-moon night and high water. Shared boats leave 18:15/18:45/19:15; fishing starts about 19:45
- Time needed
- 2 h
Checked against the official Japanese website on 2026-10-15. Report outdated info