Visit Sounkyo, Japan

Sounkyo gorge in the east of the picturesque Daisetsuzan National Park is an area of striking natural beauty with sheer walls of rock, craggy outcrops and some breathtaking views over the rest of the park.

Sounkyo is also densely forested and weather depending, is wonderfully photogenic at any time of year be it in the snow, among the fresh green vibrancy of spring or the kaleidoscopic array of colours here in the autumn. The cable car and chair lift toward the summit of Kurodake, which looms over the gorge, offer the best views and give you an idea of the scale and vastness of this area of Japan. It is really only from this height that one begins to understand why this is known as the 'Roof of Hokkaido'.

Sounkyo also has a number of spectacular waterfalls which give rise to the tumbling rivers that run through the gorge and there are some beautiful and easy riverside walks to reach these falls.