Hike at Nishizawa Gorge

A day hike within a couple of hours from Tokyo

Joe Peters Apr 08, 2013 - 1 min read

Roughly 90 minutes from the trailhead (closer to two hours from the parking lot) you'll come to Nanatsugama-Godan-no-Taki, a beautiful five-tiered waterfall.

There are a few bridges along the trail where you can stop for clear shots of the river for your own photo album.

It's a good idea to wear sturdy hiking shoes as some places along the trail are covered in loose gravel, or slippery from the water running off the valley's wooded walls.

There are places where you'll be glad for the cables that are attached to the rocks as you use them to pull yourself up and over some of the rocks and steeper parts of the trail.

You'll find beautiful aquamarine water, like the water at the base of these rocks in this small river grotto. The cool shade and sparkling water will cool you in the summer's heat.

There are other spots along the trail where you can stop and have lunch or a snack break as you admire the views such as other waterfalls like this one.

A popular day-hike trail, within a couple of hours commute time from Tokyo, located in Yamanashi's Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park.

Getting there: By car take the Chuo Expressway from Tokyo to the Katsunuma exit. Follow route 20 west to highway route 140. Go north to Nishizawa Keikoku (roughly 2.5 hours from Tokyo). By train take the JR Chuo Line to Yamanashi-shi Station (95 minutes by direct limited express train- about 4000 yen one way - from Shinjuku Station. From Yamanashi-shi Station, there are 3-5 bus round trips per day to the trailhead of the Nishizawa Gorge. The bus ride takes about one hour and costs 900 yen one way.

Joe Peters @joe.peters

I've spent 37 years living and working in Asia - 27 in Japan, 10 in Singapore, and 1.5 in Malaysia. After many years of managing, building, and developing companies in the insurance industry I am now the Managing Director of a recruiting company, I Search Worldwide K.K. (www.isearchworldwide.c...