Kanto, Japan · Mountain
Gunma's great adventure base: rafting and canyoning on the rapids of the Tone River, the quirky Doai Station (nicknamed "the mole station" for its 462 underground steps down to the platform), the Suwa/Teruha gorge with trails past waterfalls, and, further up the valley, the remote mixed open-air hot spring of Takaragawa, with several thermal pools by the river surrounded by nature.
Train — JR Joetsu line direct from Takasaki (itself reached by Shinkansen from Tokyo, ¥4,810) to Minakami station, ~1h10 more, ¥1,170, total ¥5,980 with no private segment or bus at all. A 100% JR East route start to finish.
One of Japan's most reputed rafting spots, with rapids of varying intensity depending on the season on the Tone River, plus canyoning options through the valley's side gorges.
Ropeway up to Tenjindaira at 1,319 m, at the foot of one of Japan's '100 famous mountains' and, because of its Ichinokura face, the mountain with the most recorded climbing deaths in the world.
Minakami is not a hot spring town but 18 separate spring areas spread through the valley (Tanigawa, Yubiso, Kamimoku, Sarugakyo), with free foot baths between one and the next.
A 42-metre jump from the Suwakyo bridge over the Tone river, the first commercial bridge bungee there was in Japan.
Minakami is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: guided walks through the Akaya forest with forest bathing, wildlife tracking and an explanation of the forest restoration project.
Wooden bath house from 1895 with the water rising straight up between the pebbles on the bottom, practically unchanged since the Meiji era.
Four ski resorts (one with night skiing) little more than an hour from Tokyo by shinkansen, extraordinary for how close they are.
Further up the valley, one of Japan's largest open-air hot springs, with several mixed thermal pools by the river surrounded by forest, in a remote and spectacular setting.
Village among rice paddies with more than 20 open workshops: washi paper, bamboo, dyeing, woodwork or soba kneading, each in its own house.
Calm mountain water ringed by forest, the gentle alternative to rafting on the Tone.
One of Japan's deepest train stations, its uptrack platform reached via 462 steps underground inside a mountain tunnel, nicknamed "the mole station" for how much effort it takes to get out.
Gunma is Japan's largest producer of konjac and here it is even eaten as sashimi, alongside maitake mushrooms, mountain shoots and grilled ayu.
Producers' market with a small aquarium devoted to the fish of the Tone river, a good stop with children.
Spa on the old route from Edo to Niigata, with storytelling sessions of the local kappa legends.
Orchards open for strawberries, blueberries or apples depending on the time of year, in the Tsukiyono area.
Guided winter snowshoe walk through the valley, beneath the legendary rock face of Ichinokura.
Between April and May a dozen shrines in the valley hold their kagura dances; the Komamaki puppet theatre is a prefectural Cultural Property.
The Tsukiyono Gion Matsuri at the end of July and the Yassa Matsuri in September, two local festivals with no foreign tourism at all.
Trails past waterfalls and turquoise pools in a little-visited stretch of the valley's forest, a quieter alternative to the area's better-known adventure activities.
Soto Zen temple with a historic sanmon gate, beside the old Mikuni road used to cross from Edo to Niigata, with the remains of its checkpoint barrier.
Glass blowing and engraving with a workshop for visitors and a shop, the only properly design-led content in the municipality.
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