Gifu Prefectural Hyakunen Park

Start at the south entrance and choose the children’s area as your base. After some play, follow the current park signs toward the iris garden, then return by an open path you are comfortable using. In flower season, reverse the priorities and visit the garden first. There is no need to continue uphill toward the museum.

Allow for hills between attractions. Ask at the south office about today’s suitable paths before taking a wheelchair or pushchair beyond the play area.

Use the north entrance for the wooded approach to the museum, about 400 m one way. Take your time on the climb, then choose a few displays to explore properly rather than trying to see everything. Return toward the same entrance, with a rest-house break if it is open.

The approach includes a slope. Ask about the free slope car and the vehicle-access procedure if walking is difficult, and confirm a suitable route from the entrance to the exhibits.

Arrive at the south entrance, check the map, and let the first hour revolve around play. Add the iris garden when flowers or curiosity make the walk worthwhile. Finish with a picnic and enough energy to reach the entrance comfortably.

Start in the north, enjoy the approach slowly, and use the museum to explore a question sparked outdoors: a bird, an insect or the rocks beneath the landscape. Allow lunch or a rest before deciding whether to add more park walking.

Find a safe place beside an open walking path and pause for a minute. Compare sounds close to the ground with those in the canopy, then try describing what you heard before looking for its source. Stay on the path and give wildlife space.

The cycle course runs 2.6 km between its northern and southern ends; riding the full distance out and back is about 5.2 km. It includes hills, so choose it for riders who can brake and steer confidently. Since April 1, 2026, reception is at the south cycle office only. Published park-cycle charges are ¥160 for a rental or ¥50 with your own bicycle, for up to two hours; check current availability and fit before paying.

Look for a scheduled one-coin nature walk if you would enjoy help noticing small things. The 2026 programme uses the north entrance and a two-hour morning session; junior-high students and older pay ¥500. Check the next date and the organiser’s weather-cancellation notice first.

In light rain, a shorter north-side approach and a museum visit can work well. It opens 9 am–4:30 pm from April through October and 9:30 am–4:30 pm from November through March, with last admission at 4 pm. It normally closes on Mondays, the next weekday after a Monday holiday, and December 29–January 3. Buy the main-building ticket at the first-floor reception in the My Museum building. In strong wind or heavy rain, check both park and museum notices before travelling.

The hanashobu garden is planted with cultivated Japanese irises. Compare the purple, white and pale-pink flowers when they are blooming, and use any plant labels to explore differences. Enjoy them from the path rather than stepping between the beds.

A museum researcher’s report published in 2021 documented foxes, including young animals, on the park’s monitoring cameras. That is a lovely reminder of the life beyond a daytime stroll. If an animal crosses your view, let it pass; do not follow it into cover or look for dens.

Enjoy the flowers as cultivated garden plants and the woodland as wildlife habitat. Wild animals come and go; a good visit need not include a mammal sighting. Stay on open paths, keep your distance and never use food to draw animals closer.

Hyakunen means “one hundred years.” The park marked Gifu Prefecture’s centenary and then reached its own fiftieth birthday in 2025. Those are two different anniversaries.

Museum staff and supporters monitor plants, birds, mammals and butterflies here through the Monitoring Sites 1000 programme. A familiar park can reveal changes that are easy to miss in a single afternoon.

The park’s satoyama programme describes turning pruned and fallen wood into compost, repair material and fuel. Looking after woodland involves practical work as well as leaving room for wildlife.

The south-side cycling-road area has cherry trees, and several cherry types flower in succession. Look from the walking paths or ride the designated course; do not use the cycle lane as a footpath. Check current blossom reports rather than relying on a single fixed date.

Early to mid-June is the usual planning window for hanashobu. Take time to compare pale and dark flowers from the garden paths. A damp day can suit flower-looking, provided footing and weather remain comfortable.

Make room for drinks, shade breaks and an earlier finish in hot weather. Build any water-play visit around the official seasonal opening, with dry clothes for afterwards.

Mid-to-late November is the usual leaf-colour window. Give a short woodland walk more time instead of adding distance; notice how yellow and red leaves change the light under the trees.

Check conditions before a cycle outing. Snow and ice have caused facility closures here, and a museum-focused visit may be the simpler choice on a cold day. The museum opens half an hour later from November through March.

The north-side rest house serves light meals and can be used for a break. Bringing a picnic keeps a south-side visit flexible. The museum has a designated eating area but no restaurant; food and drink are restricted elsewhere inside.

The park map marks toilets at several points. Check the nearest open one before heading uphill. There is no dedicated park baby room; ask staff about a place for nursing or changing. The museum also arranges a nursing space through staff.

The shallow water-play facility is in the south children’s area and normally opens during the summer school-holiday period. Check that season’s dates and daily availability; supervise children continuously. Children still in nappies must use swim nappies.

Seki Interchange on the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway is about five minutes away under normal conditions. Set the destination to the south entrance for play and flowers, or the north entrance for the museum. Both car parks are free and normally close at 5 pm.

Take a Gifu Bus Gifu–Seki line service and get off at Oyana (小屋名). The park quotes about 15 minutes on foot to the park; the museum is farther, so allow extra walking. Check the current service and your chosen entrance before boarding.

Use Seki City Terminal beside the station and check route 11, Wakakusa–Koganeda. The official timetable has different Wednesday–Sunday and Monday/Tuesday patterns: the Hyakunen Park stop is bypassed on Monday/Tuesday. Beisia-mae (Hyakunen Park North Entrance) is an alternative, with a walk to the gate. Check both outward and return journeys on the city timetable.

A taxi can drive to the museum entrance. Arrange one rather than assuming you can hail a passing cab nearby; the museum says street taxis are scarce in Seki.

If walking is difficult, the museum allows vehicle access after a procedure at the park office just inside the north gate. An intercom below the office’s exterior stairs lets you call staff. Ask ahead about parking and the route from drop-off to the exhibits.

Choose fewer stops and a return route you know you can manage. The free slope car serves the museum approach; it is not transport across the whole park. Museum wheelchairs can be borrowed at the My Museum building’s first-floor reception.

On October 16, 2026, the park still displayed its notice closing the path between the dog run and the main park after September storm damage. A September 30 update planned repairs for mid-October, with reopening to be announced separately. The dog run itself was described as open. Check the latest notice and respect any barriers.

Minerals runs September 18–November 29, 2026. Adult admission during this special exhibition is ¥800, university admission ¥400, and high-school students and younger are free. Check the museum’s exhibition page if you are planning a later visit.

Photograph only exhibits marked as permitted. Flash, tripods and selfie sticks are not allowed. The museum’s permission for personal memories or social posts does not automatically cover commercial use; ask before using collection images commercially.