Rainy day things to do in Gifu with kids 3 spots
Gifu is steep valleys on the road between Tokyo and Kyoto. People still live under the huge thatched roofs at Shirakawa-go, and on summer nights fishermen work the Nagara River with trained cormorants while you watch from a boat.
Gifu-Kakamigahara Air and Space Museum
An air and space museum with a full-size mock-up of the ISS Japanese lab module.
Stroller OK · Nursing room · Changing table · checked Aug ’26
Sample Kobo (Food Sample Workshop)
A museum and workshop in the town that made most of Japan's plastic food models.
checked Aug ’26
A two-stage ropeway climbs to a 2,156 m summit observation deck in the Northern Alps.
Nursing room · Changing table · Elevator · checked Oct ’26
A visit runs about 1.5 to 2 hours, covering the outdoor exhibits, the indoor exhibits, the simulators and the theater room. The full-size Kibo module on the second floor and the simulators are inside the building, but the rooftop observation deck may close or cut its hours depending on the weather.
Both the displays and the making sessions are inside a 150-year-old townhouse, divided into the Sample Shokudo, the first-floor exhibit room, a candy shop, an enamel-sign passage, the workshop room, a table-flipping corner, and the Midget display room.
A listing site marks it as fun even on rainy days, though strong wind can stop the ropeways. On a rainy, all-white day in September 2025, one visitor suggested letting a run go by and relaxing at Shirakabadaira Station, which has a bakery and the View Lounge.