The tunnel
Viewing windows.
Araisyohei — CC BY 4.0 · Koichi_Hayakawa — CC BY 4.0 · Fumihiko Ueno — CC BY 3.0 · Ann Lee — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fumihiko Ueno — CC BY 3.0
Kiyotsu Gorge is a rocky canyon on the Kiyotsu River on the border of Yuzawa and Tokamachi in Niigata Prefecture, within Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, about 17 km from Tokamachi in a straight line. The gorge runs 12.5 km and is counted among Japan's three great gorges, with Kurobe and Osugidani. It is a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument. A riverside path once ran through it but closed after a rockfall in 1988. Today the gorge is seen from a 750 metre pedestrian tunnel cut into its wall, with viewing windows onto columned rock cliffs and the green river below. At the end a shallow pool mirrors the gorge walls in a striking artistic setting. A small hot spring resort at the entrance draws visitors, especially in the autumn leaf season, when the tunnel gets crowded. The road is a mountain road, so a car is the easiest way to get there.
Viewing windows.
At the end.
Rock columns.
On the border of Yuzawa and Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Autumn, for colour.
By car is easiest.