North Hiroshima · AkiotaNo.612★★★Open in map →
Sandankyo Gorge
A river canyon in the mountains north of Hiroshima, with a footpath running beside the water past pools, rapids and falls. One direct bus from the city centre sets you down at the front entrance.
- FromHiroshima Bus Center
- ~1 hr 15 minHiroden bus, expressway route
- Get off atSandankyo bus stop (Hiroden Bus route 75)
- From there
- Sandankyo Gorge
Where it is
25 more notes in Hiroshima · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Shomen-guchi front entrancethe main gateway, where the bus line ends and the riverside path begins
- Shimai Fallspaired falls a short way in, on the shortest of the marked walks
- Ishidoia long smooth rock bed the river runs over, with a rest house beside it
- Kurobuchia deep still pool where a small ferry boat carries walkers along the water
- Sarutobia narrow reach further upstream, worked by a second boat when the service runs
How to actually get there
- Hiroshima Bus Center → Sandankyo (Hiroden Bus route 75, expressway, about 1 hr 15 min).
- Sandankyo bus stop → Shomen-guchi front entrance (walk about 1 min).
- Front entrance → Shimai Falls → Ishidoi rest house along the riverside path.
- Turn back at Kurobuchi, riding the ferry boat there if it is running, and return to the same stop.
- Hiroden Bus route 75 from Hiroshima Bus Center
- Hiroshima Bus Center →(Hiroden Bus, Sandankyo line, expressway route 75)→ Sandankyo, about 1 hour 15 minutes. The slower route 74 covers the same line by way of Kabe and Kake and takes over two hours. The gorge entrance is at the last stop, so there is nothing to work out at the other end.
- Return from Sandankyo
- Buses back to Hiroshima leave from the same stop where you arrived. Services are spaced through the day rather than frequent, so read the return times at the stop before you start walking. There is no railway station at the gorge, so the bus is the only public way out.
About the place
Sandankyo cuts north through the mountains of Akiota, at the inland edge of Hiroshima Prefecture. Counting its side branches, the canyon runs about 16 kilometres, and a footpath follows the river along the floor. Rock walls close in on both sides, and the water opens repeatedly into deep pools before narrowing again into falls. Two small ferry boats, at Kurobuchi and Sarutobi, carry walkers along stretches the path cannot reach. Storm damage has closed several sections in recent years, so the walkable ground shifts from season to season.
How to enjoy it
From the front entrance, Shimai Falls is about ten minutes on foot and the Ishidoi rest house about thirty, so even a short visit gets you properly inside the canyon. The ferry boats run seasonally and stop when the river is high, so treat them as a bonus rather than a plan. Check the Akiota tourism association's trail page before you set out, because sections open and close through the year.
Background & history
Sandankyo entered Japan's cultural-property system in 1925, when it was listed as a National Place of Scenic Beauty. In 1953 it was raised to Special Place of Scenic Beauty, the higher of the two ranks. The listed area spans two municipalities, Akiota and Kitahiroshima, which gives some sense of how far the canyon and its branches reach. A scenic-beauty listing protects the landscape itself as a cultural property, rather than as a park.
Before you go
- Cash
- The riverside path has no admission gate. The Kurobuchi ferry boat charges a fare, and the car parks at the Shomen-guchi and Mizunashi entrances are both paid, so carry cash for those.
- Before you go
- Sections of the walkway have been closed by storm damage and reopen piecemeal, and the ferry boats stop when the river runs high or the weather turns. Autumn colour is the busy season here. Plan to be back at the entrance well before dusk.
- Another way
- Route 74 runs the same line the slow way and can also be picked up at Kabe, the terminus of the JR Kabe Line out of Hiroshima. By car, the gorge is reached from the Togouchi interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, then Route 191 toward Masuda.
- After you get off
- Sandankyo is the last stop on the line, and the front entrance to the gorge is about a minute's walk from where the bus sets you down.