The ‘golden week’ of rafting is over, and it’s time for us guides to have some adventures of our own.
It is going to be a mission, two of our group (Ryan and Sean) have canyoned the Yamonashi before but it has rarely been done in kayaks. Their tales of smooth granite slides, big drops and crystal clear water were more than enough to inspire us to make it happen.
It took three and a half hours of driving, with the scenery getting progressively more impressive as we approached our destination.
Driving up the valley to find the Yamonashi Canyon
I guess this brown sign says ‘Parking’ in Japanese!
We then had to hike a further two hours with our kayaks up the steep gorge of the Yamonashi River.
We were mildly disturbed by this sign half way along the walk! It made us wonder what the scary looking animal with no head is and what they are saying to warn us about it! We were a long way from anywhere.
We finally arrived at a truly stunning canyon, with turquoise water, smooth rock and a lot of gradient! We wolfed down our lunch (take away sushi!), got all the gear sorted and away we go… It was exciting to have found what I came to Japan to look for.
The highlight of the run was this double drop. We ran the top one and after some debating, we decided that the big one was no go… there was a super tight 8 metre slot into a funny looking kicker that opened out into a 11 metre fall. The only person to do this before landed on his head, not good from 20 metres up!
Half of the crew who didn’t fancy kayaking the river had brought full canyoning gear and this is where they came into their own. This is a BIG drop with an awkward slot at the top and they did it on their arses! Sweet.
Kanami dropping into the slot at the top of the big one.
After a little bit of debating the bizarreness of willingly choosing to ‘swim’ a waterfall that we weren’t prepared to kayak, we thought sod it, and slid into it too! It was amazing fun and way better than any of the elaborate abseil or climbing options that we were considering to get down this drop.
The big downer of the day was Cusho landing one of the drops on a high brace and dislocating his shoulder. The following rescue from the steep sided gorge was difficult and concerning, a sharp reminder of the added consequence of being well into the wilderness.
Fortunately, with a combined work experience of about 60 years of rafting and kayak guiding, the group worked together well and competently to resolve the situation. We helped him put his shoulder back in and get Cusho safely up the near vertical gorge to the path where a couple of people went with him to the hospital.
With the situation under control and a with a depleted number we carried on down tonnes more drops and slides until we hit a tight section of the gorge; a portage where we had to make a 7 metre jump with our boats to get around an ugly looking slot drop and then this sweet slider to finish a truly amazing river!
The last slide
Then we had a few hours hike back, and a killer drive home… we ended the day fully exhausted but satisfied and happy that we had all shared something special that day.
The nature of trips like this is that you dont always get what you want, you have no real idea about most of the rivers you paddle and you have no guide book. You go through dissapointments and difficulties, challenging logistics and language barriers, but sooner or later you get rewarded with a special day, made all the better by all the things you had to do to get there.
I was grateful to share this experience with these awesome people!
The team
Thanks to Sean Kinsella and Kanami Anderson for the awesome photos!
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