Shimono-roka Trail (Kurobe Gorge)

I had heard about hiking the deepest gorge in Japan from a friend years ago. The catch was that the trail was open to the hiking public only during the month of October. Just so happened that my Machu Picchu trip had been unexpectedly cancelled, so that is how I found myself back in Japan again this year, along with Aida, Chico and Mari.

Mari saw us off at the station as we boarded our roughly two hour bullet train ride to the city of Nagano that was host to the 1998 Winter Olympics.

We checked in early at our hotel. Passports? No passports? We will mix up your rooms for your lack of foresight. Requested a taxi to pick us up tomorrow at 6am to take us to the dam. The first response was too early and too far. Where’s Uber when you need them. The second call was a somewhat mixed bag as the taxi would take us to the train station and not the dam. Lost in translation.

Explored the backstreets of the city where we found vintage tin toys and musical instruments, a restaurant in restoration and the most Japanese thing of them all, Snow White and her multiple dwarves.

Chico being slowly sucked into the addictive world of pachinko parlors which was invented in the 1920s. The goal of playing these flashy and noisy vertical pinball machines is to collect as many steel balls as possible, which in turn can be exchanged for prizes. Chico got an assortment of liquid beverages as his payout.

We looked for a sushi place for dinner, took a bite out of the big apple and ended up eating steak. Hold the rice.

To tip or not to tip. When one doesn’t want to carry a pocketful of change.

Day 2 – Wednesday, November 18, 2023.
Miracles #1 and #2 rolled up into one. The taxi showed up a bit before 6am and drove us roughly one hour to the train station which was actually the feeder to the dam. Credit and debit cards didn’t seem to work for payment. Cash is king in Japan.

We bought our tickets for the electric bus ride and hung out with the crowd as we still had half an hour to wait.

The bus ride through the innards of the dam took about 10 minutes before depositing us in the tunnel. Miracle #3. Don’t follow the crowd to the dam. Just ask somebody.

Thar’s snow in them thar hills. As long as it doesn’t float down our way.

Going down the former Nichiden Trail that was built to investigate the use of the river for hydroelectric power.

Crossing below the tallest dam in Japan that tops out at 610′ that was completed in 1963 and cost the lives of 171 people.

The trail started out by following the riverbed as we came across one of many waterfalls on the trail.

Bamboo infrastructure in the form of ladders, bridges and walkways on the trail were quite extensive. Hats off to the craftsmanship involved in the construction and fabrication to make it safe for hikers in the form of relatively safe passage.

The initial exposure was not much on the trail, but that would soon change.

Churning waters below us as we crossed over a bamboo bridge.

Hand rails on the right.

Scrambling our way over a scree field.

Hand rails on the left.

Hanging out.

Chico approaching the core section of the hike, called Suihei Trail or Horizontal. We soon left the river bank as the trail transitioned to a carved path out of the side of the mountain.

Crossing over a multi-tiered waterfall.

It was hard to capture the sheer scale of the jaw dropping scenery around us. You had to be there.

Sharing a shaka on the trail.

I think Chico was trying to fend off the mythical Kappa said to inhabit the ponds and rivers of Japan.

Some of the other hikers stopped to refill their water containers from the abundant water sources all around us.

Looking back as others made their way across the narrow trail.

Heading deeper into the gorge.

Making our way over the uneven rocky terrain.

Going up some steep bamboo ladders to gain elevation above the river.

Chico making his way up.

Aida traversing over the thin trail.

Hanging onto the wire guides anchored to the side of the mountain. Some of the anchors had broken free and were dangling from the cables. Wear and tear.

Making our way down to another river crossing and apparent break spot.

One got wet and the other stayed dry.

Aida pulling herself up the trail.

Why are these hikers wearing helmets? Are they afraid of rock falls or something?

Hugging the slanted walls as we made our way across.

Chico approaching the Hakuryu Gorge.

Sometimes you have to stop and turn around and look at the cascading river spilling through the gorge.

The bamboo walkways served as fillers when the path became too narrow or had too large of a gap to safely cross.

Ducking to make the low clearance.

Taking a break in all the wrong places. Follow the locals. Surprisingly, we were the only foreigners on the trail.

The work that goes into making and maintaining all these guideways constructed out of bamboo and wire was impressive.

We were a tad early for the fall colors to be popping.

Traversing over a particularly long stretch of bamboo walkway as we approached Juji Gorge.

Splish splash. Time to get a little wet.

Walking over a suspension bridge as the cold blue-green waters of the Kurobe River flowed beneath us.

Going over the narrow trail with vertical drops, as we entered the S-shaped gorge.

Traversing over the rocky trail that is called Shimono-roka or Lower Corridor.

Chico going over a particularly narrow section with a low overhang.

Looking out towards what appeared to be two ventilation shafts from Kurobe Power Station #4 which is located entirely underground to protect it from avalanches common to this area.

Climbing our way down towards the base of the transmission powerline towers.

Crossing over Kurobe River on a suspension bridge.

We caught up to some hikers at the entrance to the tunnel and asked how long more. One hour was the reply. Half hour was somebody’s else reply. Wishful thinking.

Exiting the tunnel with waterfalls all around us.

Walking on the gravity dam that was built in 1940.

Aida going through the dam building after filling up water from the spigot.

Making our way through a seemingly labyrinth maze of tunnels and train tracks within the dam until we popped out on the other side.

Climbing up a steep hill through the forested area.

Passing through another rock tunnel.

Hut sweet hut. Miracle #4. We reached the shelter before dark. Some other hikers were not so lucky.

Miracle #5. We had called earlier and were told that the hut was fully booked. It didn’t hurt to ask. Do you have room? Do you have a tent? Do you have room? They finally said the only room left is in the dining area for 9,000 yen ($65) versus paying for camp space 1,200 yen ($8). We took it without hesitation. It was cold outside. We are not cold weather friendly. Declined the dinner but paid for the Coke.

Staying warm and waiting for our communal sleeping area to be cleared. There was a free onsen (hot spring) onsite but we were too tired to dip our bodies into the heated mineralized waters.

Group photo with Izumi-san and Asami-san, the English speaking seasonal worker. Turns out that Izumi-san, whose name in English means spring, owns the hut which is rebuilt every year due to the heavy snowfall and snowmelt. They also have to inspect, maintain and repair the miles and miles of cable guides, ladders and bridges that help make the trail passable, which is why the trail is only open one month out of the year. They also told us somebody had just fell off the cliff a couple days before us and passed away. On average, this trail claims the lives of five hikers annually.

Day 3 – Thursday, October 19, 2023.
Woke up to the sound of the hut workers making breakfast for those that wanted the first meal of the day.

Chilly group photo outside of the hut as others attended to their dental hygiene in the background.

Leaving the hut as we passed the tent campsite where some hikers were still snoring the day away.

Testing the structural integrity of the bamboo bridge. Bamboo, a fast-growing grass, has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steel and concrete.

Chico climbing down the ladder.

Aida crossing over a gap in the trail.

We ran across an old man doubled up in pain who was attended by his friends as we climbed up the ladder. Hope it was just a bad bento.

Chico giving an impromptu geography class using his shirt. We are not from Maui.

Climbing our way down a long stretch of ladder.

Chico about to cross over another waterfall on the trail.

Approaching the manmade waterfall.

Going underneath the waterfall through a dank and dark tunnel.

We paused our hike to consume some calories. I had a free breakfast bento from the hut and a paid Coke. Balanced out.

No monkeying around, we have a train to catch.

When a moving object hits an immovable object.

Going in and around the crevices of the mountain.

Chico walking under the rock overhang.

Looking back at the trail that was interrupted by a chute.

Approaching Odaiko Lookout where we enjoyed a bird’s eye view of Keyakidaira Station, our train ticket to leave this beautiful gorge.

We doubled back to get this money shot.

Entered a pitch black rock tunnel that twisted and turned through the mountain. The only sounds we heard were our voices and our feet sloshing through the flooded floor.

Crossing over one of the bamboo ridges where some sections were loose or rotted. Wear and tear.

Aida coming out of the rock tunnel.

Walking under an overhang. Lucky I don’t play for the NBA.

Climbing down a ladder and traversing over the bamboo walkways. Pretty much the theme for the hike. Your elevation may vary.

Boring through the last rock tunnel on the trail.

Ganbatte! Catching up with another group that we were playing tag with along the trail.

Chico walking the steel plank next to the power lines.

Aida making her way around one of the last bamboo walkways.

We scrambled down the hill past the transmission towers and walked down a flight of stairs.

Some local told us five minutes left on the trail. That was five minutes ago! Lost in translation?

Passing a rockfall barrier on our way down the steep hill. Is that why the other hikers were wearing helmets?

30 minutes later and we found ourselves at the bottom of the trail and home to the station operated by the Kurobe Gorge Railway.

Group photo with our Japanese “friends” who we also traded dehydrated ice cream sandwiches, Japanese sweets and facebook contact information with them.

Miracle #6. It’s recommended to get here before 11am as later trains may be saturated with day tourists, we still managed to get tickets to the 1pm train. Taking the open air rail cars to Unazuki Station where we passed numerous sights on the way out such as the Shin-Yanagawara Power Station built to resemble a European castle, Atobiki Bridge that we crossed over, aqueducts and other bridges, and of course the pristine beauty of the gorge itself. What we didn’t see was simian mammals crossing the Monkey Bridge. Somebody saw the inside of their eyelids.

We unknowingly took the reserved bullet train bound for Omiya. Luckily the conductor gave us a break and put us in unoccupied seats. He admonished us to make reservations next time. Yes sir.

After fighting the rush hour crowd, we found a restaurant that served steak for our post hike meal. I’m discerning a common pattern in our eating habits.

Many thanks to Dana and Shari Hada for all the useful information and timely tips. Our amazing adventure through the deepest gorge in Japan covered 21.03 miles through unforgettable sights and sounds with good friends.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Chico Cantu, Mari Saito, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

Tagged as: azohara onsengoya, hakuryu gorge, higashitanitsuri bridge, juji gorge, keyakidaira station, kurobe dam, kurobe gorge, kurobe river, nagano, odaiko lookout, ogizawa, orio-no-otaki falls, s-shaped gorge, sennindani dam, shimono-roka trail, suihei trail