Omogo Gorge

**Two routes from one car park.** The main stream has the named features — Goshiki-gahara, Kumafuchi, Tora-ga-taki — and takes about two hours return. The Teppo-gawa route is quieter and shorter. **The rock is why the water is green.** Pale granite riverbed under clear water. It is at its strongest in bright conditions rather than overcast. **August for swimming.** The pools are cold and clear and people do swim. The gorge is several degrees cooler than the lowland. **It is the Ishizuchi approach.** The Omogo route up the highest mountain in western Japan starts here, and the Ishizuchi Skyline climbs from the same junction. **Half a day, not an hour.** The two-hour return on the main route is the minimum for seeing what the gorge has.