Niigata · TokamachiNo.483★★★Open in map →

Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel

natureThe classic — done right

A pedestrian tunnel driven into the cliff of Kiyotsu Gorge in southern Niigata, with lookouts cut through to the rock face and a shallow pool at the far end that reflects the gorge. The columnar jointing outside is a designated national scenic beauty and natural monument.

FromEchigo-Yuzawa Station
~1 hrBus from Echigo-Yuzawa, then a walk
Get off atKiyotsukyo-iriguchi bus stop (Minami Echigo Kanko Bus)
From there
Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel

Directions ↗

Where it is

12 more notes in Niigata · open the map →

What to look for — in walking order

Tunnel entrance buildingthe ticket point at the end of the valley road, in the Koide hot spring hamlet
The three lookoutsside chambers cut through to the cliff face, each framing the river and the columnar rock differently
Second lookout rest pointthe midway stop, and the only place inside the tunnel with toilets
Panorama Stationa floor of shallow water at the far end that doubles the gorge as a reflection

How to actually get there

Echigo-Yuzawa Station east exit, stand 4 → Kiyotsukyo-iriguchi (Minami Echigo Kanko bus toward Morimiyanohara, about 25 min).
Kiyotsukyo-iriguchi → tunnel entrance (about 30 min on foot up the valley road).
Walk the tunnel to the Panorama Station, stopping at each lookout on the way in.
Walk back down to Route 353 in time for the bus you noted on arrival.

Bus from Echigo-Yuzawa, then thirty minutes on foot: Echigo-Yuzawa Station east exit, stand 4 →(Minami Echigo Kanko bus toward Morimiyanohara, about 25 min)→ Kiyotsukyo-iriguchi. From the stop it is roughly a 30 minute walk up the valley road to the tunnel entrance. Buses on this line are infrequent, so read the timetable on the operator's site before you leave the station.
Return from Kiyotsukyo-iriguchi: Walk back down the valley road to the same stop on Route 353 and take the bus toward Yuzawa. The operator notes there is no taxi service between the bus stop and the first car park, so a missed bus means a long wait. Note the departure time on the way in, and allow the full half hour for the walk back down.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Kiyotsu Gorge cuts between Tokamachi and Yuzawa in southern Niigata, and is counted with Kurobe Gorge in Toyama and Osugidani in Mie as one of Japan's three great gorges. Its walls are columnar jointing: magma pushed into much older rock, then contracted as it cooled into four- to six-sided columns, so the cliffs read like bundles of pencils stood on end. The pedestrian tunnel runs 750 metres straight into that wall. Lookouts open off the side of it at intervals, each one a framed window onto the river below, and the passage ends at the Panorama Station.

How to enjoy it

In the main season the tunnel opens at 8:30, and being there when it does is the difference between a clear reflection and a crowd standing in it. Check the operator's list of advance-ticket-only dates first — they cluster around the May and August holidays and the autumn colour weeks. Allow the better part of an hour inside, and bring spare socks: the water at the far end reaches the edges and shoes come out wet.

Background & history

The gorge was designated a national place of scenic beauty and a natural monument in 1941. Visitors used to follow a footpath along the river until a rockfall killed a man in 1988 and the path was closed for good; the tunnel was built as a safe substitute and opened in October 1996. In 2018 the Chinese practice MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, reworked the interior as an artwork for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field, adding the stainless panelling and the shallow water that turns the end of the tunnel into a mirror.

Before you go

Cash: There is an admission charge at the tunnel entrance, and it is higher during the peak season, which the operator sets as 21 April to 20 November. Outside those dates the rate drops. On advance-ticket-only days you cannot simply pay at the door.
Good to know: Winter hours are shorter than the main season and heavy snow can shut the tunnel at short notice. The water at the Panorama Station is shallow but it splashes, and the operator recommends carrying spare socks, spare shoes and a towel. Nothing along the valley road is lit after dark.
Another way: By car it is about 20 to 25 minutes from the Shiozawa-Ishiuchi interchange, roughly an hour and a quarter from the Toyoda-Iiyama interchange, and there are several car parks below the entrance.
After you get off: From Kiyotsukyo-iriguchi on Route 353, follow the road that turns up the valley toward the hot spring hamlet of Koide. It is about 30 minutes on foot, on tarmac the whole way, and the tunnel entrance is at the end of the road.