Kurobe: Japan's No 1 V-Shaped Gorge

Kurobe gorge is touted as "Japan's Number One V-Shaped Gorge" and after visiting we have to say we agree (although we haven't actually seen any of Japan's other V-shaped gorges). We timed our visit towards the end of our stay in Japan so it would coincide with the peak oranges, yellows, and reds of fall foliage, which did not disappoint. The area is geothermally active and home to many natural hot springs. Steam can almost always be spotted rising from the river and hillsides, creating a hazy, mystical look. Suffice to say, our photos don't really do this place justice.

Our bento box for the train ride

Getting to Kurobe gorge from Tokyo is a bit involved and expensive and would have probably been unfeasible if we had just stayed for a couple of weeks in Japan. We're grateful our extra time made the trip possible. We stayed at a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn, in the middle of the gorge. The ryokan is not accessible by car- to get there, we had to hike 20 minutes from a railway stop. The train conductor actually checked to make sure we had a reservation at the inn before he let us go marching off into the woods. Unlike most other hotels we've stayed at, the ryokan experience is intended to be one of staying put and relaxing. You even order your meal when making your original booking, so there is no decision making required when you show up. This ryokan featured two outdoor hot springs and two indoor baths and included a multi-course dinner and breakfast. We didn't set foot off the premises for our 20-hour stay. Ryokan charge per person, not per room, and this one cost $100 per person, per night, with everything included. Another quirk of a ryokan is that we were given Japanese yukata to wear (comfortable!) and slept on thin, foldable pads on the floor (not comfortable!).

All aboard the scenic Kurobe Railway!

The view from the smaller outdoor pool- the steam is especially visible in the early morning.

(One funny flipside to this "ahead of time" ordering is that this actually was the first meal we ordered in Japan, since we made the reservation before we even arrived. At the time, seeing the photo of one small grilled fish on the inn's website, we added two orders of pickled squid, 2 sides of chicken karaage, and a special fish-bone sake to our dinner meal. When re-reading what we ordered after having spent some time in Japan we realized we over-ordered. Portions for set meals everywhere have been generous and we haven't really needed to ever order sides at any restaurant. Dinner was in fact huge - the sake included an entire extra fish - and we didn't manage to finish the chicken karaage, but we did enjoy everything else. The menu featured fresh local produce and fish, and was presented beautifully.)

Karen, in her yukata, steels herself for the meal ahead

Yum!

The sake was huge and served in a bowl with a fish. Having realized our blunder, Matt offered some sake to the Japanese couple next to us. We're not sure if Matt's message was translated incorrectly, but the couple then offered Matt some of their sake. They said the region is good for growing rice and therefore making sake, and they had ordered a local brew. He accepted after they insisted and eventually convinced them to try some of our sake too. The man spoke some English and we got to talking. Apparently he had visited Kurobe gorge when he was twenty, which was fifty years ago. Then, he couldn't afford to stay in a ryokan, so he and his friends slept in caves and did a three-day backpacking trip. He said there were so many wild monkeys then and he felt like it was really special to be able to return to this place now.

On the topic of monkeys, we didn't manage to snap a photo, but we did see one wild monkey hanging out next to the train tracks as we passed by.

The large outdoor pool

The hot springs themselves followed a schedule of being a mixed-gender bath where anyone could bathe with a swimsuit or towel, and single-gender hours where swimsuits were not allowed. We enjoyed the hot springs for hours before dinner, after dinner when it was dark out, and even got up at 6AM the next day for a pre-breakfast dip. Amazingly Karen did not get any mosquito bites despite baring so much tasty skin in nature.

The next day, we explored the other stops along the Kurobe gorge railway. This out-and-back train ride takes about 80 minutes, and you can ride in an open-air car for unobstructed views. One stop, Kanetsuri, boasted "a perpetual snowbank" that unfortunately had no snow due to the unseasonably warm weather. A bit further down the path, we enjoyed the most "natural" hot springs we've ever been in. These were located on the banks of the river and were too hot at the source, but got more comfortable if you moved downstream where the hot spring water mixed with the cold river water. Whenever a big gust of wind came, hundreds of leaves fluttered down along the river and it was really picturesque.

The hot spring comes out of the ground in several places around these big rocks

Matt found the spot where the temperature was just right

People are warned not to swim in random spots along the river because hot springs cause unexpected patches of hot water

Our final stop for the day was Keyakidaira, where we enjoyed an hour-long out-and-back trail. It passed by two more onsen (hot springs) but believe it or not we felt like we'd had our fill of hot water, so we continued on by. At around 2PM we made it to the end of the Keyakidaira trail and Karen made the observation that we were about to commence a 10-hour journey home. We needed to walk an hour to the train station, take the 80 minute scenic open-air train ride back to Unazukionsen, the town at the mouth of the gorge. From there, we would translate to a local commuter train, which would take us to the bullet train station at Shin-Kurobe. The 2.5 hour bullet train ride would take us to Tokyo, where finally we would transfer to the local subway to get home.

A bridge by the Keyakidaira station

A rocky overhang along the Keyakidaira path

In pursuit of the perfect "mountain pano" for a custom Tokaido deck, Karen kept pausing to take "one more pano"

Let us know which pano you think is best!

This photo captures maybe 20% of how Kurobe looked- it seemed like someone had painted the mountains in many shades of red, orange, and yellow.

For the open-air train ride back through the gorge, we splurged for the "Relax Car" because it's seats are actual chairs instead of benches. Karen promptly fell asleep despite her intentions to continue admiring the view, so we guess the car really was relaxing. A final highlight of the journey home was trying masumi sushi - a local kind of sushi that is one large rectangular block of rice topped with fish. A women selling us railway tickets gave us the tip to pick some up at the local seven-eleven. We got two - trout and hamachi - it was a lot of rice, but the fish was quite tasty.