Full-day tour from Tokyo: Gunma Watarase Keikoku & Takatsudo Gorge
Last updated: September 13, 2026
Ride the Watarase Keikoku Railway through rural Gunma on a full-day tour from Tokyo, from river-valley foliage to one of Kanto's grandest illuminations. A coach leaves the Shinjuku Center Building for Omama, where the little valley train sets off along the Watarase River and the riverside promenade of Takatsudo Gorge — the "Yabakei of Kanto" — winds between Hanetaki and Takatsudo bridges beneath maple-covered slopes. The day closes at Ashikaga Flower Park, its gardens strung with millions of lights for the celebrated seasonal illumination, before the coach loops back to Shinjuku by evening.
Itinerary
Departure
- Start point: Shinjuku Center Building
- Stop at: Sano Service Area
- Stop at: Omama Station
- Stop at: Takatsudo Gorge
- Stop at: Ashikaga Flower Park
- End point: Shinjuku Center Building
Frequently Asked Questions
Mid-to-late November is the sweet spot: the maples along the Watarase valley and Takatsudo Gorge reach their peak just as Ashikaga Flower Park's winter illumination — counted among Japan's finest, with millions of lights — is already glowing, so one day catches both.
A riverside promenade a few minutes' walk from Omama Station, winding between the Hanetaki and Takatsudo bridges past rapids and sculpted rock — scenery that earned it the nickname "Yabakei of Kanto" after Kyushu's famous gorge.
A Daruma bento made with local Gunma ingredients is part of the day, eaten the classic Japanese way — from your train seat with the river valley sliding past the window.
At the Shinjuku Center Building in Nishi-Shinjuku, about five minutes on foot from Shinjuku Station's west exit; the coach returns you to the same spot in the evening, with a leg-stretch stop at Sano Service Area on the way north.