In a town where carp swim, you face the wood. Hida-Furukawa in Gifu has rows of white-walled storehouses, and hundreds of carp swim in its Seto Canal. It is a quiet, graceful town. It is also a town of artisans. The woodworking skill called "the craftsmen of Hida" still lives here. Kumiko joinery, fitting wood into intricate geometric patterns without a single nail; woodwork; furniture-making, the craft of handling wood by hand is everywhere in this town. The stay program lets you experience these skills: watch the artisan's hands up close, touch the wood with your own. What a machine could do in an instant, the craftsman does by hand, over time. Why? Because it makes something more beautiful. A world of handwork, the opposite of efficiency. Within slowly flowing time, you come to know the joy of making.