Kiyotsu Gorge — Attraction in Tokamachi

Atmosphere: Very beautiful gorge and tourist friendly. Ticket counters at entrance are tourist-friendly - come in multiple languages. The highlight of the place is the last photo spot, and perhaps and the famous toilet (when you see it, you'd know).

Accessibility: The carpark is about 5 mins walk from the entrance. The bus stop is ~20-30 min walk from the entrance.

Food: Most eating places weren't opened. I'm not sure why. Previously, I came during autumn, and there were more food options. Nonetheless, there is a small cafe at the entrance that has a 2nd floor footbath. The ice cream is at a typical price of 400 yen.

Crowd: We came here on a weekday morning. The crowd was manageable (~20-30 people). Phototaking at the last famous spot was possible on a weekday. There is a local guide, as per the previous time when I came, who was helping tourists taking pretty pictures. Feel free to approach him to ask for help taking pics.

Previously, I came on a weekend at noon, and the crowd was much more intense. You need to queue to take pics at the last photo spot (and chances are someone would be in your photos if you came...

Worth the long walk. The bus normally run from about 1pm and have only once an hour or 2 hours. so please carefully check the schedule first. I recommended you to go to the information center in Echigoyuzawa station first for the details. From the bus stop also take about 30 mins walk and from the tunnel entrance also take around the same distance to the end of the tunnel. I went there by 1pm bus and came back by 5pm bus.

there are 4 stops inside the tunnel. The first one you can clearly see the pattern of the rock which is beautiful like paint. The second one have the dome which is actually the toilet and one of them have the open view. The 3rd stop is the one with orange light mirror decorated on the wall and the last one is the one with the pool. You can walk on the side which is shallower.

On that day, It was raining and following by the snow storm which made the tunnel be like the wind channel and it was super cold so be careful about the weather. But may be because of that, there are not so many people so I got a lot of great pic...

I’m glad we got the chance to go, especially during a time when it wasn’t too crowded, but I don’t think I would ever go again. I read the signs about how this was an effort to get more people to visit the area, but now I wonder if they have too many people visiting. It seems like going during the weekends is difficult and crowded. We were even surprised to learn that they were closing early the day we arrived. The only way we knew were signs along the drive in saying they were operating on special hours. I personally thought there would be a little more in terms of art exhibits, not just the decorations around the tunnels. I did feel the price was a little high due to this. But I did enjoy taking fun pictures in the last tunnel with the water. When I visited, everyone was considerate and waited for each group to go through...