Kurobe Gorge Railway: The Most Beautiful Train Ride In Japan

Kurobe Gorge Railway: The Most Beautiful Train Ride In Japan

hey it’s Maximo in today’s video we see the rugged Kobi Gorge and get to ride the quaint Kobi Gorge Railway so if you’re a railway Enthusiast want to see Japan’s nature and rugged interior or an off the- beaten path natural Hidden Gem then this one’s for you join [Music] me you know Zaki Onsen is the perfect sightseeing base to see the Kobi Gorge and the Kobi Gorge Railway it’s known for its many hot springs and thermal baths it’s a short walk from the yuzuki onon station to The kabi Gorge railway station office and there’s a fairly big car park if you’re driving there and it’s a short 13 km or half an hour Reginal train journey from the nearest shenon station yuzaki onen is located about 16 km from the sea and it’s located in the beginning of the coroi gorge system if you’re coming by rail the easiest way is to just look for this sign turn 180° and start walking towards the Kobi Gorge railway station yuzuki onen is a small town with only the one real Main Street so it’s pretty hard to get lost but uh just check out Google Maps uh to guide you to the train station and if you pass the shunting yards for miniature looking trains or you know that you’re in the right direction these are free public foot paaths that are located just near The corob Gorge railway station building we were intending to use these after our Railway Gorge trip but uh we never got to because of events that you’ll see later on in the video we found our way to the ticket office of the Kobi Gorge Railway and with the minimum of fuss and the help of Google translate we were able to buy return tickets to kayak cadra station the furthest stop along the Kobi Gorge Railway a note all Journeys on this Railway must be reserved so if you’re intending to get on at one station and go off at one of the other in between stations you actually need to reserve the seat and estimate the time that you’ll take at each of the stations we thought it was just a lot easier to go right to the end and spend about 2 and 1/2 hours at the Final Destination looked like there was more to see in the Final Destination as well return tickets cost around 1,980 Yen and that’s for a standard seat they the stand standard seats there notice that there’s no windows and the seats don’t have a back the first class seats do have Windows and proper seats with a seat back and that cost approximately 530 Yen the trip was around about an hour and 20 minutes each way so we decided to go first class uh to be uh more comfortable during the quite long journey there and back and as you’ll see later in the video this proved to be a very wise move a wise move indeed and there are the first class uh carriages there are windows openable windows the whole train is Narrow Gauge so there’s not much room in the cabin at all uh the seats were uh two by one configuration and there wasn’t that much room the seats were quite tight and squeezy the seats weren’t all that comfortable there there was nothing really first class about this cabin at all but at least it did have Windows closable Windows and a seat back with its usual punctuality the train left exactly at 9:21 exactly on schedule we left the station and began our Scenic Journey on the Kobi Gorge [Music] Railway you have [Music] fore the railway was built in 1923 and it was built by the power company that built the dam and hydroelectric power station further up the gorge in fact it’s still used to transport materials to the power station and Dam to this day in 1953 the railway line was extended due to popular deband by tourists the railway is owned and operated by the power company and speaking of tourists we were only one of two uh Western couples on the train all the other tourist in uh yuzaki onen and the train were Japanese so in terms of Western tourists this tril is a Hidden Gem the journey was spectacular the scenery was just amazing the journey wasn’t that relaxing uh Not only was it quite noisy because of the train but the announcer uh kept going on and on and on in a screeching uh voice totally in Japanese have a [Music] listen while the seats were slightly uncomfortable because of the uh the narrowness uh we did thoroughly enjoy this Journey it just somehow the serenity of the or lack of Serenity of the inside of the carriage was in St contrast to the beauty and serenity of the surrounding landscape it was however a rich and rewarding cultural experience one that will take us a long time to forget one of the things that caught me by surprise was just a sheer number of tunnels and covered railway tracks along the sides of the gorge it just made it for quite a spectacular Journey I’ll let you have a look at some of the [Music] [Music] scenery [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foree [Music] [Music] B [Music] our last stop was kadaria station we got off and walked around the little village of kadaria we also walked down the winding path and down to the okuk Kan Bridge this bridge is around 34 m above the gorge and the Corby River and offer spectacular views of the surrounding Countryside we continued along the walking path over the bridge to a very strange rock formation that sort of a big wave shape it was called Ito KU Loosely translated as man eating [Music] Rock [Music] [Music] this is Kobi Gorge it’s the deepest v-shaped gorge in the whole of Japan spectacular scenery in the middle of the picture over there is an on there’s a lot of thermal Springs in this area and uh as you can see a bit of a rickety road to get here but cars do manage to get up here I wouldn’t risk it but then again I’m not a local I’ve really enjoyed the trip out here and Kobi [Music] Gorge [Music] we really liked the track on the top of the gorge and exploring the area I took just so many photos and videos as you can plainly see we were conscious that we had a reserve seat on a train heading back and we proceeded to make our way towards the [Music] station we followed the walking Track all the way past little cafes and other buildings and made our way to the uh depths of the gorge with a fantastic view of the Kobi River [Music] I managed to scramble down and get a much closer look at the Kobi River from the very Rocky Riv Riverbank it was then time to head up the very steep stairs and catch our train back to unisi onen where we were [Music] staying we made it back to the station with plenty of time to spare to catch our Reserve train back we got a couple of drinks and Joe got an Appley named coolish we had our drinks and a bit of a rest around the station compound we then boarded our train for the hour and 20 odd minute Journey back to where we were staying uh a handy tip there are no toilets on the train so if you need to go it’d be best to go before you get on the train was quite strange because we had quite overcast conditions in the first part of our our journey and the first part of our walk around the gorge but as we were heading back it actually got quite sunny and and a fair bit warmer as you about to see this changed in a quite significant way in a rapid period of [Laughter] time 12 a Monumental summer storm hit us with heaps of torrential rain thunder and lightning and all I can say is thank goodness we were in a covered carage with closable Windows because we would have been drenched in those open carriages we took shelter in the train station and tried to wait for the storm to pass but it just kept kept raining and raining and raining there was no let up for nearly an hour so we dned ran coats and umbrellas and made a dash back to the hotel through flooded streets it was quite precarious really and because of the rain we didn’t get to uh use the foot bath did capture some really interesting footage of flooded streets though even with umbrellas and raincoats we were soaked to our Underwear by the time we got back to our hotel we changed grabbed a beer from the vending machine went to the lounge and just watched the the clouds roll by from the warmth and comfort of the hotel room I do hope you’ve liked this video if so please consider hitting the like And subscribe buttons and hit that notified Bell so you’ll be notified of future videos if you like to support my Channel please consider buying me a coffee you can use the QR code on the screen now or there is a link in the description until our next Japanese Adventure take care and [Music] bye

We begin our journey at Kurobe Gorge Railway Station. I posted a video last week of the Shinkansen Gran Class and regional railway ride to get here. Check out the Trains playlist for that video.

We take the short walk from our Kyokan to the Kurobe Gorge Railway Station. With the help of Google Translate we buy our return tickets to Keyakidaira.

There are two stops along the way. The train ride requires reserved tickets for each discreet journey, so if you want to stop and wander around the other stations you need to pre-purchase tickets for each one you stop at on a specific timed train. You need to estimate how much time you need at each stop to allow you to explore the area and walking trails. This was a bit to much for us so we decided to just stop at Keyakidaira, the last stop and spend 3 hours around this area before catching our return train at approx. 1:30 pm.

We catch the 9:21 train, that leave precisely in time. Tickets cost ¥1980 plus an additional ¥530 for first class. First Class carriages have windows and seat have a seat back, whilst standard carriages are open and have no seat backs. There are no toilets on board, so go before you board!

The seats are narrow and somewhat uncomfortable and the journey of 1 hr and 20 minutes is quite noisy.

The town of Unazukionsen and the railway were built around 1923 to support the building and maintenance of a number of Dams and Hydroelectric Power stations. It has a population of just over 6,000 people. The railway line is very picturesque, running along the side of the Kurobe Gorge, with the views of the Kurobe river, dams and power stations and bright red or blue bridges that span the gorge.

Sights to see around Keyakidaira include:
– Okukane Bridge
– Hitokui-iwa (Man Eating Rock)
– Kurobe Gorge
– Walking trail along the gorge
– Trek down to the rocky Kurobe River bank
– Free hot springs foot bath

It’s a fantastic rugged hidden gem of Japan.

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Links:
www.kurotetu.co.jp/en/information/
www.kurotetu.co.jp/en/timetable/
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unazuki_Onsen
www.kurobeunazuki.com
www.kurobe-unazuki.jp/pamphlet_list/pamphlet_multilingual/
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057883740563
www.kurobe-unazuki.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/d41c4f040b98a3654fd61fcddaa51e8e.pdf
www.japan.travel/en/spot/1414/
www.kurotetu.co.jp/spot_keyakidaira/#anchor-spot51
www.japancitytour.com/kurobe-gorge/
www.touristinjapan.com/kurobe-gorge/

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:36 Details
01:41 Footbath & Station
02:47 Train
05:03 Views
09:03 Keyakidaira Station
09:19 Walking trail
12:40 Kurobe River
14:38 Wet journey back
16:41 Outro