The railway
Open-sided, through the gorge.
くろふね — CC BY 4.0 · Yasu (talk) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · くろふね — CC BY 4.0 · Abasaa — Public domain · Ippukucho — CC BY 3.0
Kurobe Gorge is a deep, narrow V-shaped canyon in the city of Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, central Japan, about 35 km east of the city of Toyama in a straight line. It has been part of Chūbu-Sangaku National Park since 4 December 1934 and is one of the highlights of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. The gorge was carved by the Kurobe River cutting through granite as it flows towards the Ushiro-Tateyama range, part of the Northern Japan Alps. At its head stands Kurobe Dam, the tallest dam in Japan at 186 metres, in operation since 1961. Visitors reach the gorge on the Kurobe Gorge Railway, which runs from Unazuki Station to Keyakidaira Station; in winter it can only be reached on foot. Sheer rock walls drop to a clear turquoise river, covered in dense forest that turns red, orange and gold in autumn, with small red bridges across the river and waterfalls spilling from the cliffs. Visitors ride the open-sided train through tunnels and over bridges along the gorge, getting off at stations to walk to viewpoints and hot springs. Autumn is the most beautiful time, and the railway usually runs from spring to late autumn.
Open-sided, through the gorge.
Clear turquoise.
Bright colours.
Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Autumn.
Usually not.