Naruko Gorge

The Ōya River has cut a gorge about a hundred metres deep and a couple of kilometres long through volcanic rock west of Naruko Onsen, and it is planted thickly enough with maple, beech and oak that in the last week of October it goes over completely. The standard view is from the Ofukazawa bridge looking down the gorge with the old road tunnels punched through the far wall, and it is one of the most reproduced autumn images in Tohoku. A walking path of about two and a half kilometres runs along the rim between the rest house and the far end. Naruko Onsen itself is one of the oldest hot spring towns in the region, with unusually varied water chemistry across its sources, and it is the centre of kokeshi production - the simple turned wooden dolls with painted faces, made here since the Edo period and sold in workshops along the main street.

What you actually see

• A hundred-metre gorge - cut through volcanic rock, thickly wooded.
• Late October colour - maple, beech and oak going over together.
• The rim path - about two and a half kilometres along the top.
• Kokeshi workshops - turned wooden dolls made in the town below.

When to go

Late October to early November for the colour. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The colour window is roughly two weeks and the road jams solidly through it. Parking at the viewpoint fills early. Outside autumn the gorge is unremarkable. The rim path is closed in snow.

Nearby

Naruko Onsen is east; Sendai is south-east.