Gandate Gorge, Hida Kosaka　　飛騨小坂巌立峡

May 31, 2025

A quiet, uneventful night at Hida Ahashi Mura. The morning is overcast with occasional very fine drizzle.

We set off, heading west stopping at various michi no eki but our aim is Gandate Gorge in Hida Osaka.

Gandate Gorge　　巌立峡

This area boasts 200 odd waterfalls and we plan to walk part of the gorge to view a few. We park at Gandate Koen. The parking is free here but there is a 300 yen charge to walk this section of the gorge. This is to cover maintenance and it is easy to see why.

The gorge is precipitous and the rocky torrent in its base unpredictable so the hiking course is along metal gantries with numerous section of steps. A minor engineering feat.

There are various hiking courses and routes of differing lengths and difficulty. Being old and infirm, I take the easy course to Mitsudaki. This should take only about 30 minutes but stopping to admire the scenery, torrents, plant life and take numerous photos it takes considerably longer.

Having completed this section but not being up to the 2 hour round trip or the trek to the signposted wetland, ashamedly, we drive up the track to the next waterfalls – Akaganetoyo and Karatani. The track, to access these, is mostly unpaved and uninviting but at the falls there is parking for two or three cars.

A short decent brings you to the falls. Not huge or spectacular but well worth seeing. The rock formation is unusual and the colour of the pools a clear blue. Very lovely.

Then, a long drive past Gifu city. Mostly the roads are traffic free with plenty of sweeping curves up and down. In the city itself we get caught in late Saturday afternoon traffic but head out into the hills to Oribe no sato Motosu for the night.

Oribe no sato Motosu

This michi no eki Oribe no sato Motosu is large and largely deserted. The parking plentiful and flat. It is easy to park close to the facilities and there is roof cover so useful in poor weather. The toilets look fine from the outside but are limited and 50% Japanese style.