Dorokyo Gorge

Dorokyo is a gorge on the Kitayama river where it forms the boundary between Wakayama, Nara and Mie — thirty-odd kilometres of green water between walls of eroded rock, designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty in its central section. The colour of the water is the thing people remember; it is a deep jade that does not look like river water.

The famous way to see it was the waterjet boat from Shiko, which ran the gorge at speed with the roof opened at the best section. That service has been suspended since January 2021 because sediment washed into the river by the 2011 Kii Peninsula floods made the channel unnavigable, and it has not resumed. A separate operator runs boats on part of the gorge, and the road viewpoints and the Kitayama river rafting are the other ways in. Check what is running before planning around it.