Autumn colours in the Matsukawa Gorge.
When each altitude turns, and the order to drive them

In autumn the Matsukawa Gorge, in Takayama Village, Nagano, fills from wall to wall with red and gold.

The whole gorge does not turn on the same day, though. The colour starts high and comes down, a little at a time.

Below we set out when to go, where, and in what order, using the peak dates published by the Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association and by Takayama Village. MATSUKAWAKAN stands at Yamada Onsen, at the foot of the gorge, so it also works as a base for the drive.

The colour comes down from the top, starting around 5 October at Mount Kasa

The Matsukawa Gorge runs 15km from Mount Kasa, 2,000m up, down to Yamada Onsen, a drop of 1,100m. That drop is why different places turn at different times.

In the autumn feature published by the Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association, the highest points, Mount Kasa and the Kenashi and Manza passes, usually peak around 5 October, and the lowest, Yamada Onsen, around 25 October.

Taken as a whole, then, the gorge holds its colour for about a month. One stretch may be over while another altitude is exactly at its best.

If your date is already fixed, the reliable move is to pick the altitude that suits it.

Yamada Ranch turns around 10 October, Kaminari Falls and Yataki Falls around 20 October

These are the usual peak dates published by the Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association.

Takayama Village also publishes the distances between them: about 3km from Mount Kasa to Yamada Ranch, about 3km from the ranch to the Nanami and Goshiki hot springs, about 2km from there to Kaminari Falls and Yataki Falls, and about 3km from the falls down to Yamada Onsen.

The dates shift with the temperature that year, so please also check the autumn colour reports Takayama Village publishes before you set out.

Kaminari Falls has its own walk-through in Kaminari Falls, the waterfall you see from behind, and the ranch in Yamada Ranch, a plateau 1,500m up.

Yamada Onsen and Takaibashi Bridge turn around 25 October

The last place in the gorge to turn is around Yamada Onsen, 900m up.

Takaibashi Bridge stands here. The Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association describes it as a red bridge at the mouth of the Matsukawa Gorge and a landmark of the village. Its colour peaks in late October, and there is parking for fifteen cars nearby.

Takayama Village names it as well, calling the red bridge set against the autumn colour an ideal place to take a photograph.

MATSUKAWAKAN stands at Yamada Onsen too. In late October you can see the colour simply by walking, before or after your stay.

How to walk the village is set out in Oyu at Yamada Onsen, and how to walk the hot spring village.

Maples dominate, so the red comes out strongly

According to Takayama Village, the Matsukawa Gorge cuts a deep V, and its broad slopes are covered in deciduous broadleaf trees.

Maples are especially common, so red dominates the autumn here. Set beside a valley that turns mostly yellow, the photographs look quite different.

Elsewhere the village writes of maple, beech and rowan turning all at once. Even within one gorge, the colour comes out differently with the altitude and the way a slope faces.

The Tenku Sauna at MATSUKAWAKAN looks out over this same gorge. The autumn view from its open-air cool-down deck was chosen for Japan’s list of 100 best autumn landscapes. See Tenku Sauna for more.

By car, drive up from Yamada Onsen; Kaminari Falls is 15 minutes away

The simplest order is to start at Yamada Onsen and drive up the gorge. There is one road, and the altitude rises as you go.

Kaminari Falls and Yamada Ranch are about 15 minutes by car from MATSUKAWAKAN. Yataki Falls is 10 minutes by car from Yamada Onsen, according to the Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association.

Go up to Yamada Ranch once the colour has already come down to Yamada Onsen and you may find the leaves gone. In early October, by contrast, only the top has turned. Always read the date and the altitude together.

How to fit it into one day, and how to spread it over two, are in a model itinerary for Takayama Village.

Parking is six spaces at Kaminari Falls and thirteen at Yataki Falls

The car parks in the gorge are small. The Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association lists six spaces at Kaminari Falls, thirteen at Yataki Falls and fifteen near Takaibashi Bridge.

Takayama Village warns that at the height of the season the car parks fill completely. It also notes that coaches use the stretch from Yamada Ranch down to Yamada Onsen, and that heavy congestion is usual: a stretch that normally takes 20 minutes can take over an hour at peak.

On a weekend in the second half of October, in other words, how early you set off decides how much of the day you get.

Yamada Onsen has a free village car park. Overnight guests and day visitors at MATSUKAWAKAN are both welcome to use it.

Kaminari Falls closes for the winter from late November. The window after the leaves turn is short, so settling your plans within October is the safe course.

Directions to MATSUKAWAKAN are on our access page.

Frequently asked questions