Hananuki Gorge

Published: Aug 11, 2026

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Hananuki GorgeShiomi-taki bridgeautumn foliageTakahagimaple tunnel

Representative image — not a photograph of this location.

Hananuki is a narrow river valley in the hills behind Takahagi, and the thing everyone comes for is a sixty-metre footbridge called Shiomi-taki. Maples grow on both banks and lean out over the deck, so that for two or three weeks in November the crossing runs through a tunnel of red and orange with the river underneath. It is the most photographed autumn scene in Ibaraki and it is on nobody's international itinerary.

Outside the colour season the gorge is a quiet walk with a dam, a waterfall and a forest road, and you will likely have the bridge to yourself. During the November festival the local roads are closed to through traffic, parking is charged and managed, and the small valley takes a volume of visitors it was not built for — which is worth planning around rather than discovering on arrival.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Gorge open at all times | Festival-period parking and shuttle arrangements apply in November

Closed: Open year-round | Approach roads partly closed during the November festival

Entrance Fee

Free outside the festival | Festival parking around ¥1,000 per car

Best Season

Mid–late November for the maple tunnel over the bridge | May for fresh green

Visit Duration

60–90 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Onou, Takahagi. Car recommended — about 20 minutes from Takahagi IC on the Joban Expressway, or 25 minutes by taxi from JR Takahagi Station. Free outside the festival. During the autumn festival, usually the whole of November, parking is charged at around ¥1,000 per car at the Hananuki lot (110 spaces) and the Onou lot (40 spaces, no coaches), and sections of the approach roads are closed to traffic. From the Onou lot it is 0.8 km, about 13 minutes, to the Shiomi-taki bridge.

Insider Guide

Premium

**The bridge is the photograph.** Shiomi-taki is about sixty metres long with maples closing over it from both banks. Standing at one end looking through is the shot; the rest of the gorge is pleasant rather than remarkable. **November means paid parking and road closures.** During the festival the approach roads are partly closed, the two car parks charge around ¥1,000, and the Onou lot leaves you a thirteen-minute walk. Arriving before 9:00 AM is the difference between parking and circling. **Lightup is a short window inside a short window.** Evening illumination typically runs for about a fortnight in the middle of the festival month. Confirm the dates with Takahagi city before planning an evening around it. **Go in May instead if you want it empty.** Fresh green through the same tunnel of branches, no charge, no closures, and no one on the bridge.

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