Explore/Japan/JP 10/Tanigawadake & Minakami — Gunma Highlands to Echigo-Yuzawa
JPMinakami, JapanModeratePaved

Tanigawadake & Minakami — Gunma Highlands toEchigo-Yuzawa.

Distance
70 km
Duration
1 day
Climb
1,100 m
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Curated by Rider · Updated Aug 2026
Overview

Tanigawadake & Minakami — Gunma Highlands to Echigo-Yuzawa.

From the onsen and rafting town of Minakami up the upper Tone valley to Mt Tanigawa, then over the old Mikuni road into Niigata's snow country. Passes Doai, Japan's deepest railway station, and ends in Echigo-Yuzawa, the setting of Kawabata's novel Snow Country.

Quick facts

SurfacePaved
Distance70 km
Days1
Total climb1,100 m
DifficultyModerate
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Day-by-day

The route.

ROUTE
4 stops
Start
Minakami OnsenStart · Start in Minakami, a hot-spring and white-water town on the upper Tone River in northern Gunma.
Scenic
Doai StationScenic Point · Doai Station — Japan's deepest 'mole station', its northbound platform 70m underground at the foot of 486 steps. Eerie and unforgettable.
Pass
Tanigawadake RopewayMountain Pass · Base of the Tanigawadake Ropeway. Mt Tanigawa (1,977m) is notorious as one of the world's deadliest climbing peaks; ride the cable car to Tenjindaira for alpine views.
End
Echigo-YuzawaEnd · Cross into Niigata via the Mikuni road and the Shimizu tunnel, ending in Echigo-Yuzawa, the onsen town of Kawabata's Snow Country.

More routes in Japan

Nihonkai Ororon Line — Otaru to Wakkanai CoastJP 01 · 330 kmMitake Shosenkyo Gorge — Kofu to Sengataki FallsJP 19 · 40 kmMikata Five Lakes Rainbow Line — Wakasa Bay PanoramaJP 18 · 55 kmCape Irago & Atsumi Peninsula — Toyohashi to IragomisakiJP 23 · 65 kmIse-Shima Skyline — Ise to Toba via Mt AsamaJP 24 · 35 kmEchigo-Akiyamago Gorge — Sakae to the Nakatsugawa WildernessJP 20 · 90 km

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