Yabakei Gorge

This place is well known for its Momiji (Japanese Maple) red leaves.  More about Momiji Maple Leaves , Click here.

Hitome Hakkei / Eight Views at One Glance

You can enjoy beautiful scenery in Shin-Yabakei (Deep Yabakei) all year round, especially from the season of new leaves to that of red leaves. Hitome Hakkei is the best viewpoint here. As the name suggests, you can see eight rock peaks from one place (the observatory). Other unique views include Meoto Iwa (Married Couple Rock), Eboushi Iwa (Noble’s Hat Rock), Sennin Iwa (Hermit Rock), and Kaibo-Rei (Sea-Viewing Ridge). A promenade is available for walking here. There are several shops and restaurants selling soba noodles and steamed buckwheat manju buns.

Kyosyuho / Competitive Good Peaks

This is the representative of the good sceneries in the Yabakei Gorge. A series of big peeks and strange rocks are lined along the Yasukui river for about one kilometer.


Ao-No-Domon / Blue Tunnel

This is the tunnel Zenkai, the Zen monk, made with his hands. In the Edo period, in that place, the river was heightened due to the newly built dam nearby, so the people there had to take the dangerous high road in the mountains to go through the place. When the traveling monk Zenkai dropped at the place, he felt very pained to know that there were a lot of people and horses killed while passing the road. Then, he decided to dig a tunnel through the rock hill for himself. He earned some donation to get the laborers and tools (chisels and hammers only) and got down to the work. Thirty years after, a 342 meters long tunnel was completed. After this, people had to pay a fee for going through the tunnel. It is the first toll road ever in Japan. In the Meiji era, a reconstruction was done for the tunnel, but most of original features were lost. However, even now, you can see some remains of the original Ao-no-Domon like a short underground path. FIY: The first part of the name “Blue” color.

Rakan Temple

Rakan means “enlightened high monk.” This temple is on the cliff of Mt. Rakan. It was founded by the monk Ho-do, who came from India about 1300 years ago. There are a lot of rock caves carved on the rock slopes, where five hundred rakan monk statues with various facial expressions have been placed. Five hundred rakan monks are said to have been the ones accompanying the master Buddha. There Five hundred rakan temples are this temple, Tokuzo Temple in Tochigi and Kencyo Temple in Kanagawa. You can reach the temple in a higher place in the stairways on foot or in the air by lift.

Yabakei Bridge

Downstream of Ao-No-Domon, you will see a beautiful stone bridge with eight arches. It was completed in 1923. It is the longest stone arch bridge in Japan. 

Keiseki-en / Gorge Stone Garden

This Japanese garden was built to commemorate the completion of Yabakei Dam. You can enjoy beautiful views of trees and a red bridge while walking along the garden path.

Steamed Buckwheat Buns

In Shin-Yabakei, several shops sell soba noodles and Soba Manju, which are buckwheat flour buns with sweet bean paste. They are sold in wooden steaming boxes.” You can eat hot Soba Manju fresh from the steamer. Besides Niku-man, this is probably the only steaming hot manju.