Yasui Gorge

Kochi has plenty of scenery; Yasui Gorge is the kind that's worth planning a whole day around.

Yasui runs up the north of Niyodogawa town and holds the pool that most people mean when they talk about the colour of this river: Suisho-buchi, the crystal basin, where the water is clear enough that the riverbed reads as pattern rather than depth. Above it are Hiryu Falls, a thirty-metre two-stage drop, and Mikaeri Falls, eighteen metres and named for the fact that people turn round for one more look on the way out.

It is more spread out than Nakatsu and more of it can be seen from the road, which makes it the easier of the two for anyone not walking far. There are toilets and parking at the entrance and a lodge, Horaiso, doing meals. It is an hour and a half from Kochi city or the airport — this is the deep upper valley, and it stays cold and clear.