Narukokyo Gorge

The Otani river has cut a gorge about a hundred metres deep through the volcanic rock west of Naruko Onsen, and the sides are near-vertical with trees growing out of every ledge. It is a prefectural Place of Scenic Beauty within the Kurikoma Quasi-National Park, and in the last week of October it is one of the best-known autumn sites in Tohoku.

The view everybody photographs is from the Ofukazawa bridge, an arch across the gorge with the whole cut visible below it. There is a rest house with a viewing deck, a walking path along the rim, and — during the colour, when the traffic is at its worst — a shuttle arrangement and charged parking. Outside those weeks it is quiet and free, and the gorge is just as deep.