Tateyama Kurobe Alpen Route and Kurobe Gorge Railway will finally be connected this fall.
Located along the northern side of Japan’s main island of Honshu, the Hokuriku region has some of the country’s most amazing mountain scenery. As is often the case when heading into rural Japan, though, your options for navigating the area become increasingly limited the higher into the mountains you go.
This fall, though, there’s a new route for travelers looking to explore Hokuriku, with the opening of the Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route. Contained within the eastern part of Toyama Prefecture, the Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route connects two other transportation corridors: the Tateyama Kurobe Alpen Route and the Kurobe Gorge Railway.
▼ Kurobe Gorge Railway
▼ Tateyama Kurobe Alpen Route
Both the Kurobe Gorge Railway and Tateyama Kurobe Alpen Route have long been popular with travelers for the views from their trains and ropeway cable cars. However, because of the topography, they didn’t connect with each other. The Kurobe Gorge Railway only goes as far south as Keyakidaira Station, with a lot of rocky mountain terrain between it and Kurobe Dam, the closest stop on the Alpen Route.
▼ Keyakidaira Station
Here’s the thing, though. While the Kurobe Gorge Railway’s tracks stop at Keyakidaira Station, the rails laid by the Nippon Electric Power and Kansai Electric Power companies in building and servicing the Kurobegawa No. 4 hydroelectric power station go deeper into the mountain, and we mean literally into the mountain.
The Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route now gives travelers access to the power station’s narrow-gauge railway tunnel, which travels into a tunnel which connects to a 200-meter (656-foot) shaft elevator.
After ascending to the top of the shaft, travelers will hop on a battery-powered tunnel train…
…followed by a steep 815-meter funicular ride…
…before a bus takes them to Kurobe Dam.
With the battery train, funicular, and bus portions of the journey taking approximately 30, 20, and 40 minutes, respectively, there’s a lot for infrastructure fans to enjoy, but you won’t be in dark tunnels for the entire length of the Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route. At the top of the elevator is an observatory point with panoramic views…
…and once the bus exits the tunnels, you’ll be able to see the snowy ridges of Mt. Tsurugi.
These views, from these angles, were once exclusively for power plant workers and hard-core hikers, so getting to see them without an engineering degree or serious commitment to the outdoors lifestyle in definitely going to be a treat.
▼ Part of the train portion of the route will also let you see the 165-meter-tall Kumokiri Waterfall.
From Kurobe Dam, the end of the Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route, travelers can easily access the Tateyama Kurobe Alpen Route, heading either west, towards Ishikawa Prefecture, or east, crossing the border into Nagano Prefecture.
Linking the Tateyama Kurobe Alpen Route and Kurobe Gorge Railway makes it much more feasible for travelers to do both on a single trip to the region, as well as fold in a visit to the hot spring town of Unazuki Onsen, which sits along the Gorge Railway.
▼ Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route preview video
The Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route was initially scheduled to open in the summer of 2024, but this was pushed back following the Noto earthquake that occurred in January of that year. Now, though, it’s finally time for the Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route to have its grand opening on October 2. Reservations are required, and can be made through travel agencies such as JTB, NTA, and Hankyu Travel.
Related: Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route official website
Source: Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route official website, Traicy
Top image: Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route official website
Insert images: Kurobe Unazuki Canyon Route official website (1, 2)
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