Gifu is charming, but I don’t get this either. I had a friend there, so my experience is different, a good place to eat, hang out, not really a tourist place even with the castle (and you could see a better one in Osaka).
It reminded me of Milan: a lovely place to live, but a pointless place to visit as a tourist. And I'm at least a CEFR B1 in the language - it would be an atrocious place to visit if you have no Japanese. No clue why the article recommends it (except maybe as an attempt to establish credibility).
