In seasonNagano · Takayama VillageVOL.0 · 2026-W43
Autumn colors at Takai Bridge, Matsukawa Gorge
Upstream from the red Takai Bridge: a waterfall you can walk behind, and the 180 m Yataki Falls
From Kasadake and Manza Pass at about 2,000 m down to Takai Bridge at about 900 m, Takayama Village’s color moves down the valley. The village's Oct 16 report had everything down to the Shichimi and Goshiki hot springs (about 1,200 m) at peak, with Kaminari and Yataki falls (about 1,100 m) and Yamada Onsen at Takai Bridge (about 900 m) partly colored, forecast to peak around October 20 and 25 (weather may shift these).
From Suzaka-Nagano-higashi IC it is about 40 minutes to the red Takai Bridge at the mouth of the gorge. A wooden bridge stood here in 1899, a wire-rope bridge replaced it in 1925, and the present arch was finished in 1957. There is parking for 15 cars nearby.
Head upstream from there. Kaminari Falls drops about 30 meters and lets you look at the water from behind it. Yataki, named for its eight plunge pools, falls about 180 meters, and the Takimi no Boro lookout takes in the whole gorge. Back down, Oyu bathhouse anchors 200-year-old Yamada Onsen.
Highlights HIGHLIGHTS
- 01
Takai Bridge
The red arch bridge at the gorge entrance, completed in 1957, with parking for 15 cars nearby.
Source：Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com - 02
Kaminari Falls
About 30 m high; you can view the water from behind it. Closed in winter.
Source：Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com - 03
Yataki and its lookout
A roughly 180 m fall with eight plunge pools; the lookout takes in the falls and the gorge.
Source：Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com - 04
Toward Yamada Ranch
Yamada Ranch sits at about 1,500 m, Kasadake and Manza Pass at about 2,000 m; the village listed both at peak in its Oct 16 report.
Source：Takayama Village vill.takayama.nagano.jp - 05
Yamada Onsen Oyu
A Momoyama-style public bath at the heart of a 200-year-old spa town, with a footbath out front.
Source：Shinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com
Sources and official information SOURCES
- OfficialNagano Tourism Organization go-nagano.nethttps://www.go-nagano.net/nature-and-outdoors/id16956
- SourceShinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.comhttps://shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com/facility/twakaibashi/
- SourceShinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.comhttps://shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com/facility/kaminaridaki/
- SourceShinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.comhttps://shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com/facility/yataki/
- SourceTakayama Village vill.takayama.nagano.jphttps://www.vill.takayama.nagano.jp/docs/8449363.html
- SourceShinshu Takayama Village Tourism Association shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.comhttps://shinshu-takayama-onsenkyo.com/yamada_spa/
Written by the APEX DRIVE editors from facts in the official sources above (not a copy of the official text).Last checked: . Details may change. Please check the official page before you go.