Columnar cliffs
Packed columns.
pakku — CC BY 3.0 · lienyuan lee — CC BY 3.0 · pakku — CC BY 3.0 · Toshihiro Matsui — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Marie-Sophie Mejan — CC BY 4.0
Sōunkyō is a range of gorges in the town of Kamikawa in Hokkaidō, within Daisetsuzan National Park, and its centre lies about 25 km in a straight line east of Kamikawa. It is known for its hotels, hot springs, waterfalls and dramatic cliffs, and its name means «gorge of layered clouds», from an Ainu word for «the river with many waterfalls». The landscape was formed by the eruption of the Daisetsuzan volcanic group about 30,000 years ago, when layers of welded tuff piled up and were gradually cut by the Ishikari River. The result is sheer cliffs stretching more than 24 km, with joints and columns up to about 200 m high. Vertical walls of rock that look like packed columns rise above the river, and slender waterfalls pour down them. In autumn, one of the earliest colour seasons in Japan, the forests blaze red and yellow below the Daisetsuzan peaks, and a ropeway climbs from Sōunkyō Onsen village towards Mount Kurodake. Visiting is free, and the ropeway is paid. Winters are long and very cold, with ice festivals, and autumn colour usually peaks in late September and early October.
Packed columns.
Slender, on the cliffs.
Early season.
Kamikawa, Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaidō, Japan
Usually late September to early October.
Yes; the ropeway is paid.