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Taishakukyo Gorge

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

TaishakukyoOnbashiShinryu-kolimestonesightseeing boat

Hiroshima · Jinsekikogen

34.8168°N, 133.2212°E

Getting the most out of Taishakukyo Gorge is less about the destination than about timing the light right.

Taishakukyo runs for about eighteen kilometres through limestone in the north-east of Hiroshima and is one of the two great gorges of the prefecture. It has two halves that feel like different places. Upper Taishaku has caves, a walking route through the woods and Onbashi — a natural limestone arch ninety metres long and forty high, formed where a cave roof collapsed, and one of the largest natural bridges in the world.

The lower half is Shinryu-ko, a reservoir lake in a steep-sided valley, crossed by a red bridge and worked by a sightseeing boat that runs a forty-minute circuit with commentary. The boat operates from mid-March to early December and does not run in winter. Parking is charged at ¥500 for a car across all three car parks, which between them hold over five hundred vehicles.

What to know before you go

Access hours

Gorge open in daylight | Shinryu-ko boat 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM from mid-March to early December

Closed: Boat does not operate from early December to mid-March | Cancelled in bad weather

When to go

Late October–mid November for autumn colour | Spring and summer for the walking routes

Fee

Free gorge | Parking ¥500 per car, ¥1,500 large vehicle | Boat ¥1,800 junior high school students and above, ¥900 children

Time to allow

Half a day | A full day for both halves

Making the trip

Getting there in detail

Nagano, Jinsekikogen, Jinseki District, extending into Shobara. Car recommended. Two car parks in the Upper Taishaku area hold 200 and 130 vehicles and one at Shinryu-ko holds 200, all at ¥500 for a car and ¥1,500 for a large vehicle. The Shinryu-ko sightseeing boat runs a 40-minute circuit from mid-March to early December, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM, with no rest days in season but cancellations in bad weather; ¥1,800 for junior high school students and above and ¥900 for children, with group rates of ¥1,500 and ¥750 for 15 or more and free entry for preschoolers. An open boat is ¥2,000 and ¥1,000, minimum two people. The Onbashi natural arch is in the Upper Taishaku area.

Local knowledge

**Two halves, two visits.** Upper Taishaku for the caves and Onbashi on foot; Shinryu-ko for the lake and the boat. They are several kilometres apart and doing both takes a day. **Onbashi is a collapsed cave roof.** Ninety metres long, forty high, one of the largest natural rock bridges anywhere. It is the single thing to see if you only have time for one. **The boat stops for winter.** Mid-March to early December only, and it is cancelled in bad weather. Winter visits mean the walking side. **Parking is ¥500 everywhere.** All three car parks charge the same. There are over five hundred spaces between them, which on a November weekend still fills. **Late October to mid-November for colour.** This is upland country and the season is earlier than the coast by a fortnight.

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