Kurobe Gorge Railway: The Most Beautiful Train Ride In Japan

We begin our journey at Kurobe Gorge Railway Station. I posted a video last week of the Shinkansen Gran Class and regional railway ride to get here. Check out the Trains playlist for that video.

We take the short walk from our Kyokan to the Kurobe Gorge Railway Station. With the help of Google Translate we buy our return tickets to Keyakidaira.

There are two stops along the way. The train ride requires reserved tickets for each discreet journey, so if you want to stop and wander around the other stations you need to pre-purchase tickets for each one you stop at on a specific timed train. You need to estimate how much time you need at each stop to allow you to explore the area and walking trails. This was a bit to much for us so we decided to just stop at Keyakidaira, the last stop and spend 3 hours around this area before catching our return train at approx. 1:30 pm.

We catch the 9:21 train, that leave precisely in time. Tickets cost ¥1980 plus an additional ¥530 for first class. First Class carriages have windows and seat have a seat back, whilst standard carriages are open and have no seat backs. There are no toilets on board, so go before you board!

The seats are narrow and somewhat uncomfortable and the journey of 1 hr and 20 minutes is quite noisy.

The town of Unazukionsen and the railway were built around 1923 to support the building and maintenance of a number of Dams and Hydroelectric Power stations. It has a population of just over 6,000 people. The railway line is very picturesque, running along the side of the Kurobe Gorge, with the views of the Kurobe river, dams and power stations and bright red or blue bridges that span the gorge.

Sights to see around Keyakidaira include:
- Okukane Bridge
- Hitokui-iwa (Man Eating Rock)
- Kurobe Gorge
- Walking trail along the gorge
- Trek down to the rocky Kurobe River bank
- Free hot springs foot bath

It's a fantastic rugged hidden gem of Japan.

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Links:
www.kurotetu.co.jp/en/information/
www.kurotetu.co.jp/en/timetable/
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unazuki_Onsen
www.kurobeunazuki.com
www.kurobe-unazuki.jp/pamphlet_list/pamphlet_multilingual/
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057883740563
www.kurobe-unazuki.jp/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/d41c4f040b98a3654fd61fcddaa51e8e.pdf
www.japan.travel/en/spot/1414/
www.kurotetu.co.jp/spot_keyakidaira/#anchor-spot51
www.japancitytour.com/kurobe-gorge/
www.touristinjapan.com/kurobe-gorge/

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:36 Details
01:41 Footbath & Station
02:47 Train
05:03 Views
09:03 Keyakidaira Station
09:19 Walking trail
12:40 Kurobe River
14:38 Wet journey back
16:41 Outro