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Japan 2018 Kurobe Gorge

Bidding farewell to Takayama, we set off for Toyama, the gateway to Kurobe Gorge and Tateyama. Kurobe Gorge is Japan's deepest V-shaped gorge and is also one of its most scenic, boosting of rugged near-vertical cliffs framing a lush ravine dotted with tiny hot springs, pierced through by brilliant blur water from the Kurobe River. 


Tips: To get to Unazuki Station (which is the getway for you to board the Torokko Train to the Kurobe Gorge), please take a JR from Toyama Station to Shin Kurobe and transfer to the local train bound for Unazuki Onsen Station. Then walk a mere 5 mins towards the Unazuki Station to board the Torokko Train for your journey into the Kurobe Gorge. Apparently, this is much faster than taking  local train from Toyama Dentetsu Station to Unazuki Onsen Station which will took you 2 hr 50 mins and cost $2,500 yen for a return ticket. 

Along the way to Unazuki Onsen, we passed by many small stations and it was interesting to see these older stations with no visitors as compared to the bustling train station we saw at Kyoto. 

To fully immerse yourself in this magnificent scenery, take the Kurobe Gorge Railway which services the whole 20km of the gorge. Starting at Unazuki Station to Keyakidaira Station, the entire train journey last about 80 mins, passing through 40 tunnels and over 20 bridges. The entire view was pretty spectacular even though we visited the gorge on a rainy day. 



We were told that this incredibly scenic route was originally built by Kansai Electric Power Company for transporting materials and staff for the construction of hydro-electric plants back in 1937. For a long time, it was used by the company to maintain and build power plants. Due to its unique scenery, there was a demand from tourists to see the sights and hence the company started to transport passengers in 1953. 

The tiny orange train has both indoor and outdoor seats. If you want to have an unobstructed scenic view, sitting at the outdoor cabin is the perfect choice. The train then meanders next to the forested ravine parallel to the river, with stops along the way for visitors to explore or bathe in the hot springs.You may choose to hop off at the stations but you are not allowed to hop on again unless you reserved the train seats. Hence, we decided to go all the way to Keyakidaira Station. 

You can find out more information about the scenic train ride and attractions at http://www.kurotetu.co.jp/en/

As soon as we departed from Unazuki Station, we passed by the first red bridge, Shi-Yamabiko Bridge. This itself is quite scenic!



We then passed through the pristine forest and the undisturbed natural surroundings, with little evidence of human beings. Perhaps, the rainy season has prohibited hikers to explore the region. 


Soon, we passed by the first dam, Unazuki Dam which was completed in 2001. The water was a little emerald even in the rain. I would imagine the entire river to be absolutely gorgeous in the bright sunlight. 



For the most part, the route saw steep cliff on the one side and nearly hugging the mountain on another side. It was really a spectacular train ride amidst the cold rain and wind. 







At the Kanetsuri Station, we saw the almost melted snow near the station. During winter, the snow pile is created by avalanches but sadly due to the warmer months, there is almost no snow left. 


As we passed through several long tunnels, we finally reached the last station and had around 15 mins to wander about before boarding the next train back to Unazuki Station. I must say that we were given very little time to explore the area by foot. The entire area is very prone to rock slides and landslides, hence do check out what areas are open before exploring. There were walking trails to Sarutibikyo Gorge and Babadani Onsen. However, they were closed during our visit. Since we barely got enough time, we made quick visits to Okukane Bridge to look at Hitokui-iwa, which literally mean the man-eating cave, which is a mouth shaped rock formation that looks like it's going to swallow people up.












Overall, we do enjoy the scenic train ride and I must say that the Kurobe Gorge is really much more beautiful and scenic than Taiwan's Taroko Gorge. I would urge anyone to visit Kurobe Gorge if they happen to be at Toyama. 






















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