1 Day Tour from Kanazawa: Kurobe Gorge and Unazuki Onsen

In the Northern Japanese Alps lies a small beautiful onsen town sitting at the entrance of an even more amazing sight, Kurobe Gorge, Japan’s deepest V-shaped gorge. On this tour you can experience the great natural beauty of Japan and the small town feel of a popular onsen resort. Your local guide will show you foot baths and healing buddhas, ride on the trolley train across spectacular gorges and, finally, stroll through nature with unusual onsen water rivers. City and scenery, bridges and buddhas, trolley trains and quaint walks, fully enjoy a lesser traveled part of Japan in Unazuki Onsen and the Kurobe Gorge!

Highlights

• Experience of one Japan’s most scenic areas – Kurobe Gorge!

• Enjoy walking through the onsen town of Unazuki Onsen.

• Ride the trolley car through the stunning gorges as you go deeper and deeper into the mountains.

• Walk along the beautiful gorge, enjoy natural footbaths and see interesting rock formations around the last station on the train line.

*For those looking to join the tour from Toyama, Nagano and Tokyo, please see the FAQ Section below

NOTE: Due to the January 1st Noto Earthquake there was damage to one of the bridges that leads to the final station. For that reason, this tour will start in October, when the repair work will we finished.

Description

This tour has tour starting points, the first being Kanazawa Station. Your guide will meet you in front of the Information Center near the Shinkansen Ticket Gates. You will have the opportunity to put your belongings in a coin locker at the station as well if you feel the need. From there we will hop on the shinkansen to the second starting point of the tour.

The tour’s second start point is Kurobe-Unazuki Onsen Station, where your guide will meet you in front of the Shinkansen Ticket Gates at 9:00 am. You will have the opportunity to put your belongings in a coin locker if you need. Once we have left the inside of the station building, we will walk to Shin-Kurobe Station which takes about 3 minutes.

Next we will hop on the local train to Unazuki Onsen Station. It’s a short ride so enjoy the Japanese countryside as we make our way into the mountains.

Finally, we will have arrived at Unazuki Onsen proper. This onsen area was founded just over a hundred years ago and even today it is recognized as having the clearest onsen spring water in all of Japan. The architecture of the town reflects its time period, which was the 1920’s in the Taisho period. This was a time of significant mixing of western and Japanese styles so the buildings give a modern retro feel in a long historical sense. We will walk around the town, get a feel for the onsen water’s quality with one of the town’s covered foot baths. There is also a Buddha statue where you pour onsen water over the part of him that you want to be “healed”.

After seeing a bit of the town we will head on a walk out of the town to get some nice views of the town itself, one of the red bridges and the beautiful valley. When we get back to the town center it’ll be time to prepare for lunch! There isn’t a designated lunch time for this tour so please eat before the train or buy a bento and eat on the train. Feel free to ask your guide for recommendations as they will be eating on the train, too. We will also take some time after arriving to relax so that is also a good time to eat your bento. You can eat or shop as much as you like until the meet-up time at Unazuki Onsen Station at 11:15.

Note: If you have special dietary needs, it is advised that you either bring a bento from your hotel or buy one ahead of time. The area around Unazuki Onsen Station and Keyakidaira Station may not have the specifics of what you require.

We will hop on the trolley train to deep inner parts of Kurobe Gorge next. Enjoy the breathtaking views as you feel the air rush through the train car. This is a long ride so make sure to dress for the weather. There is a roof on the carriage, but it is no 100% effective at keeping all the rain out.

Once we reach the final station, we will start the second part of the tour; exploring the valley in the depths of the mountain. The first area we’ll visit is the Sarutobikyo or Monkey Jumping Gorge, where it was rumored a monkey was seen jumping across the rocks in this very narrow part of the river. The next stop is over to the onsen river area where you can put your feet into a natural foot bath. The final spot is the overhanging rocks. Here you can see the interesting rock formation as you walk next to and sometimes under them. After seeing all of that we will head back to the station for some rest and to get ready to take the series of trains back to Kurobe-Unazuki Onsen Station.

You will travel back through the spectacular gorge again, getting another chance to find new and even more beautiful spots. There will be a transfer at Unazuki Onsen Station before arriving at Kurobe-Unazuki Onsen Station. This is the official end of the tour so we will say our goodbyes and get ready for our trips back.

TOUR MEETUP POINT

1 / KANAZAWA STATION @ 08:00 A.M.

The meetup point is outside of the Shinkansen ticket gates, in front of the information center. If you are heading out from the gates, look forward and to the right and you will see a four large sumo wrestlers lined up. This is where we will be meeting. For those coming from outside the station, you will find this sign immediately inside of the East Entrance of Kanazawa Station. You may wait nearby there until the tour begins at 8:00 A.M. Be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag.

2 / KUROBE-UNAZUKI ONSEN STATION @ 09:00 A.M.

The meetup point is outside of the Shinkansen ticket gates. When you exit from the gates head towards the East Gate and wait inside near the doors. Please wait nearby there until the tour begins at 9:00 A.M. Be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag.

NOTES

Included

• English speaking guide throughout the tour
• Shinkansen train tickets from Kanazawa Station to Kurobe-Unazuki Onsen Station (For Kanazawa Start)
• Train tickets to and from Shin-Kurobe Station to Unazuki Onsen Station
• Trolley train tickets to and from Unazuki Onsen Station and Keyakidaira Station

Excluded

• Lunch (bento)
• Accommodation
• Transportation to chosen start point

Other Information

• This tour involves several hours of walking in the outdoors. We recommend that you wear shoes and clothes which are easy to walk in. Please check the weather forecast before you head to the meetup point and prepare an umbrella or rain coat if necessary.

• In winter the temperatures will be below 10℃ at the high , and in the morning and evening may be close to or below 0℃. Please wear warm clothing and footwear appropriate for snowy and cold conditions. There may also be snow and ice on the road/sidewalk, and so you should take care to not slip by preparing the correct shoes for such conditions.

• There will be free time along the way for guests to enjoy the locations at their own pace. However, please make sure that you are at the respective meetup points at the time stated by your guide. If you get lost or need assistance, feel free to call the number which is listed on your tour pass, and our staff will assist you immediately.

• If you have special dietary needs, it is advised that you either bring a bento from your hotel or buy one ahead of time. The area around Unazuki Onsen Station and Keyakidaira Station may not have the specifics of what you require.