Oirase Gorge
Oirase Gorge is an extremely popular place in the Tohoku region. It stretches for about 9 miles (14km) and is mostly a flat hike with some small hills. It’s known for lush green scenery in spring and summer and colorful leaves in autumn. Oirase Gorge is actually one of the best places in Japan to see fall foliage. People from all over the country come to visit this place. Throughout the hike, there are a bunch of waterfalls, rapids, and rock formations. The Oirase Stream flows from Lake Towada through the gorge, and the most interesting places are marked with signboards. There’s also a road right next to the walking path, so it’s easy to drive or ride a bicycle through the gorge. It’s a fairly easy hike with so much to see!
My Experience
Zach and I woke up relatively early to drive the 3.5 hours to Oirase Gorge from Akita. Our plan was to drive along the gorge and pull over at scenic spots for photos. However, we weren’t expecting such a massive crowd at this place. In hindsight, we should have prepared for a ton of people because after all, this is one of the most popular places in the country during fall. When we arrived, we saw that there was bumper to bumper traffic and large groups of people in the most scenic parts of the gorge.
We spent a lot of time waiting in traffic and finding a place to put the car so we could get out. I also found myself waiting in line to take photos, trying not to get in the way of professional photographers, and trying to avoid getting hit by a car. This was a little jarring considering Oirase Gorge is a beautiful place in nature which is supposed to be calming and quiet, but I felt like I was battling crowds at Disney.
There were traffic directors and lines of cars.
I’m making it sound like I had an awful time, but in all honesty, I really enjoyed my time here. If anything, I’m trying to paint a picture of how bad the crowds are during fall for those who might want to visit Oirase Gorge during this season. Maybe I can help someone plan accordingly! Crowds and traffic are always a pain, but after parking a few times and getting to the best places it wasn’t such a big deal. The scenery here was some of the best I’ve ever seen, and I didn’t want to leave. Due to how busy this place was and the fact that the sun starts setting around 4:30PM, we didn’t get to see everything this gorge has to offer. I plan on going back again in the future with a better plan. For now, I’ll share what I was able to capture at this amazing place.
The busy road and trail right next to each other.
Ashura no Nagare
The Ashura Current (“Ashura-no-nagare” in Japanese) is probably the most iconic spot in Oirase Gorge. There are numerous photos of the Ashura current, which have been used in brochures, commercials, and posters to attract tourists. The flow here is ridiculously strong, and it was so loud that I had to yell to Zach so he could hear me. It was an awesome experience being able to see such a powerful and iconic force of nature. The Ashura Current is highly sought out by photographers, so this was one of the places where I had to wait patiently to take photos. It’s located somewhere around the middle of the gorge and was definitely one of the busiest spots.
Kumoi no Taki
There are countless waterfalls at Oirase Gorge. If you wanted to, you could probably spend an entire day just looking at waterfalls and still have to come back to see the rest. Although each and every waterfall is gorgeous, there’s a handful that are considered iconic and worth visiting. One of those special waterfalls is Kumoi no Taki.
Kumoi no Taki is the tallest waterfall along Oirase Gorge, standing at about 65ft (20m). It’s another extremely crowded spot. Since the waterfall is so tall, the water rushes down and creates a white foam around the rocks at the bottom that resemble clouds. This is where it gets its name. “Kumo” means “cloud,” and “Kumoi” means “a place where clouds are.” This waterfall is also special because visitors can walk up and get extremely close to it, as you can see in the photo.
Zach was in charge of driving and getting us to the most scenic spots. When I saw this waterfall the first time we drove by it, I gasped and said we absolutely need to find a place to park. I wanted to see this waterfall up close and in its entirety. It took a while to find a spot, but we managed. We did have to park decently far and walk to the waterfall, but it was expected due to the amount of people here.
Choshi Otaki
Choshi Otaki is one of the handful of iconic waterfalls at Oirase Gorge. It’s arguably the BEST waterfall in the entire gorge. It’s the biggest and widest of all the waterfalls, standing at 23ft (7m) high and 65ft (20m) wide. Due to the power of this waterfall, fish are unable to swim upstream. I’ve heard that this results in the fish of Lake Towada not living long. This was the most crowded spot out of all the spots I visited here. The traffic was also the worst. Cars were trying to make room for buses in the other lane and people were trying to avoid the traffic. I also hadn’t seen so many photographers and tripods in one place before. This was such a beautiful waterfall, so I decided to join the madness and take out my tripod while I waited for a good spot to become available. I can proudly say the waiting paid off and I snapped this nice long exposure photo! I really love the blanket of orange behind the waterfall. Although the crowds were crazy, I think we made the right choice coming in fall.
Ishigedo Rest Area
This rest area is a perfect place to take a break from walking. There are bathrooms and vending machines, as well as a little souvenir shop and a place to get some food. There’s also a decent amount of parking spaces here. This rest area is actually a popular starting point for hikers, because it’s in the dead center of the gorge. Also, pretty much all of the worthwhile and most iconic spots are located past this point.
Zach and I started at the very end of the gorge and worked our way down, so by the time we arrived at this rest area there was no parking available. There were even cars waiting for people to leave. Unfortunately, we didn’t spend much time here due to how busy it was. Plus, by the time we got here the sun was beginning to set. We wanted to leave before dark because we knew it would be a while of sitting in traffic to get out. There are a couple of cool places around the rest area that I didn’t get to see, so I’ll have to return sometime!
Ishigedo rest area
Running Out of Daylight
I think my favorite part about this little adventure was towards the end. The sun was beginning to set, so the rays of light were bouncing off the colorful leaves. This made everything appear to be wrapped in gold. It was probably one of the best fall views I’ve ever seen and this might be my favorite picture I’ve taken this season. The golden light really made it hard to leave.
My Thoughts
I did see a lot of beautiful scenery here, and there were times when I just couldn’t believe my eyes. These views made me feel incredibly grateful that I live in Japan and live so close to beautiful places like this. I really try to capture the places I visit as best as I can to show just how amazing they really are. However, with this trip specifically, I struggled with translating the beauty of Oirase Gorge into photos. This is just one of those places where you need to see it for yourself to fully appreciate it. If you’re a nature lover and you’re visiting Tohoku, I’d have to say this is my #1 recommendation. It’s beautiful in every season and it’s both a photographer’s and hiker’s dream!
I do plan on returning since I missed a few waterfalls and scenic spots. I’ll have a better plan now that I know what to expect. As for additional information about the gorge, there’s bike rentals, guided tours, and buses available if you don’t want to drive (or walk). At the end of the hike, there’s a bunch of shops and restaurants as well as a stunning view of Lake Towada. There’s something for everyone and there’s so many different ways to experience Oirase Gorge!
