When Tokyo is thirty-five degrees and ninety percent humidity, Minakami is not.

The valley sits in the mountains north of Gunma, and its granite gorges hold cold water all summer. Thousands of years of flow have polished the rock smooth and cut deep clear pools into it. The forest closes over the water, so the air down there stays cool even on the worst day of August.

This is a day spent in that valley, from Tokyo, in your own van.

Your day, in order
06:30 - pickup at your Tokyo hotel, anywhere in the 23 wards.
06:30 to 09:00 - drive north to Minakami.
09:00 to 10:30 - a shaded gorge walk down to the water with your driver-guide.
10:30 to 12:00 - waterfalls and rock pools along the stream.
12:00 to 13:00 - a stop for lunch in the town. You choose and buy your own.
13:00 to 14:30 - the upper valley, where the stream drops through the forest in a series of falls.
14:30 to 15:30 - a hot spring.
15:30 to 17:30 - drive back and drop off at your hotel.

Eleven hours in total. You can ask your driver-guide on the day to drop a stop, stay longer anywhere or add somewhere nearby, and we will adjust where time allows.

The rock beside the water is wet and slippery all year. Wear shoes with grip, and bring a towel for the hot spring or buy one there.

Your private van, driver-guide and the whole day are yours alone. No other customers join.

If a road or a path is closed on your date, we will run an alternative route in the same valley, or your driver-guide will take you to a similar place nearby instead. We will tell you before the tour.