Renowned for its golden shachihoko (dolphin-like roof ornaments modeled on a mythical creature of Japanese folklore, bearing the head of a tiger and body of a carp), Nagoya Castle was built in 1612 by the order of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Although the castle was largely destroyed by air raids during World War II, its main donjon, smaller donjon, main gate, and certain other structures were restored in 1959. Currently, restoration work is under way on the Honmaru Palace structure, with completion expected by 2018.

Affectionately known as the Little Kyoto of the Hida region, Takayama is an attractive community of bustling sake breweries, shopping districts, and neighborhoods of homes connected by projecting lattice structures and networks of irrigation water flowing under their eaves. The Takayama Yatai Kaikan (Takayama Festival Float Exhibition) displays life-sized exhibits of floats utilized in the Takayama Festival, which is famed as one of the three largest festival events (matsuri) in Japan. Visitors have the opportunity to view the floats on display year-round.

Registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site, the municipality of Nanto in Toyama Prefecture is known for its gasshou-style thatched-roof homes, many of which were built from the late Edo to late Meiji period. In March 2009, Nanto earned the highest three-star rating as a tourist destination in the Michelin Green Guide Japan edition, a travel guide published by Michelin of France. Only 17 locations in Japan have earned the three-star rating. Incidentally, the Nanto villages of Ainokura and Suganuma have earned two-star ratings.

A transportation corridor connecting Tateyama-machi in Toyama Prefecture with Omachi City in Nagano Prefecture, the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is one of the largest-scale mountain tourist sightseeing routes of its kind in the world. Travelers plying the route rely on multiple modes of transport, including the Tateyama Ropeway with its views of the Tateyama mountain range, a cable-car line that moves entirely underground, trolley bus rides through tunnels that were used during construction of the Kurobe Dam, and a pedestrian walkway across the top of Kurobe Dam, the tallest in Japan. Built almost entirely within the boundaries of Chubu-Sangaku National Park, the route traverses the Hida and Tateyama mountain ranges and passes by Kurobe Dam as well as a number of other spots of scenic interest.

Open: mid-April to November.