Oirase Gorge (Ishigedo)

photo by MaedaAkihiko · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by OKJaguar · CC BY-SA 4.0

Born of the breach in Towada's bank: 14 km of trail past about ten waterfalls.

The stream is born of the breach in the bank of Lake Towada and carves, over 14 kilometres, a moss-covered gorge between Yakeyama and Nonoguchi: the footpath, almost level, runs past about ten waterfalls, from the Chōshi-ōtaki, a 7-metre drop, 20 metres wide, to the nine tiers of the Kudan-no-taki. The moss and ferns on the bed of volcanic rock led to the stretch being included in the 2013 survey of Japan's most precious moss forests.

A watercourse and trail in Towada-Hachimantai National Park, between Yakeyama and Lake Towada; a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and a Natural Monument since 1952.

ℹ️ Public trail, free and accessible at all times; ⚠️ ice and landslides can close individual sections in winter: ask at the visitor centre. Organised guided nature tours run from late April to early November, and electric bicycles can be hired at the two end points. On foot, the section with the main waterfalls (Ishigedo–Nonoguchi) is about 9 km, two and a half hours; the JR bus stops at the Ishigedo rest house.

🚉 ＪＲバス石ヶ戸 · in front of the station

Sources: eco-oirase.com · ja.wikipedia.org

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