is a nationally designated

Place of Scenic Beauty is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...

and

Natural Monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

on the border between Yuzawa and

Tōkamachi is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 28,728 in 19,823 households, and a population density of 86.3 persons per km². The total area of the city was , although some borders of the city are ...

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Kiyotsu-kyō is a canyon located on the Kiyotsu River with a total length is 12.5 kilometers within the

Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of the main island of Honshū, Japan formed around several active and dormant volcanoes. It spans the mountainous areas of Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Nagano Prefecture, Nagano, and Niigata Prefecture, Niiga ...

. The canyon is regarded as one of the three major canyons in Japan, along with the

Kurobe Gorge is a V-shaped canyon located at Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The Kurobe Dam in Kurobe Gorge is one of highlights of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. The area was designated the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park on December 4, 1934. Geolog ...

and the Osugidani Gorge. A

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

resort, the Kiyotsukyō Onsen, is located at the entry to the gorge and attracts a large number of visitors especially during autumn foliage season. There is a pedestrian tunnel with a total length of 750 meters along the wall of the gorge for sightseers. Formerly, there was a climbing path along the side of the river, but it was closed after a rockfall in 1988.

References

External links

Tōkamachi tourist center site
Geography of Niigata Prefecture Places of Scenic Beauty Natural monuments of Japan Canyons and gorges of Japan Tourist attractions in Niigata Prefecture Yuzawa, Niigata Tōkamachi, Niigata IUCN Category III {{Niigata-geo-stub

See also

References

External links