The city is popularly known as Hida-Takayama (飛騨高山) in reference to the old Hida Province to differentiate it from other places named Takayama.

[4] It features four distinct seasons with a wide range of temperatures between the summer and winter, somewhat resembling parts of northern Japan and Hokkaido.

Takayama is part of the heavy snow area of Japan (豪雪地帯, gōsetsu-chitai) with snowfall most days throughout the winter season.

Takayama and many other places exposed to the Sea of Japan experience lake-effect snow, generating some of the highest, most consistent snowfall in the world.

It is humid and wet with the arrival of the rainy season (梅雨, tsuyu), receiving high rainfall amounts.

The area around Takayama was part of traditional Hida Province and was settled as far back as the Jōmon period.

In the post-Meiji Restoration cadastral reforms, Ōno District in Gifu prefecture was created, and the town of Takayama was established in 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

Takayama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 24 members.

JR Tōkai – Takayama Main Line This city was selected as one of the top ten travel destinations in Asia by Lonely Planet Magazine in the year 2017.