Shinryoku Liner

The Shinkoku Liner offers two types of shuttle buses connecting Echigo Yuzawa Station to Kiyotsu gorge and Tokamachi Stations. The “Tokamachi Station – Kiyotsu gorge Satoyama Art Shuttle” departs from Tokamachi Station, and the “Yuzawa – Kiyotsu gorge Shuttle” departs from Echigo Yuzawa Station. By transferring from one bus to the other at Kiyotsu gorge, visitors can tour around the snow country area. Advance reservations are required for both buses.

1. “Tokamachi Station – Kiyotsu gorge Satoyama Art Shuttle” from/to Tokamachi Station

Operating Dates
Saturday 11 May – Sunday 7 July 2024, operating on Saturdays and Sundays.

Fare
Adults　1,700 yen (one-way), 2,500 yen (one-way with Kiyotsu gorge entrance ticket), 3,400 yen (round trip), 4,200 yen (round trip with Kiyotsu gorge entrance ticket)

Elementary and junior high school students　1,700 yen (one-way), 2,000 yen (one-way with ticket to Kiyotsu gorge), 3,400 yen (return), 3,700 yen (return with ticket to Kiyotsu gorge)

Notes
Advance booking is required.
Payment can be made by credit card (VISA, Master) at the time of booking.
Please pick up your Kiyotsu gorge entrance ticket at the Tokamachi City Tourist Information Centre (Tokamachi Station West Exit) or the Kiyotsu gorge Tourist Information Centre before boarding the bus.
Organizer: Tokamachi City Tourist Association (Niigata Prefecture Governor Registered Travel Agency No. 2-369).
Operated by: Echigo Kotsu and Tokubu Bus

Schedule
Tokamachi Station West Exit → Kiyotsu gorge Tunnel
Bus No. 1 Departure: 9:45 → 10:30
Bus No. 2 Departure:11:00am → 11:45pm

Kiyotsu gorge Tunnel → Tokamachi Station West Exit
Bus No. 1 Departure: 11.30am → 12.15pm
Bus No. 2 Departure: 13.30pm

Please confirm the travel conditions (domestic promotional tours) before applying.
https://urakata.in/new_reserve/courses/tokamachishikankou

2.  “Yuzawa-Kiyotsukyo Shuttle” from/to Echigo Yuzawa Station

For details and application, please see the following page.
https://www.snow-country-tourism.jp/posts/52196321?categoryIds=7696339

History of Kiyotsu Gorge

Kiyotsu Gorge, through which the Kiyotsu River flows, stretches 12.5 kilometers from Tōkamachi to Yuzawa Yagisawa and is one of Japan’s largest gorges. The area is known for its visually striking igneous rock formations and a 750-meter-long art installation that was added to Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel in 2018. The gorge was designated a Natural Monument in April 1941 and was made a part of Jōshin’etsukōgen National Park in September 1949.

The rock formations, called “columnar jointing,” were created when magma cooled into the igneous rock (porphyrite) that makes up both sides of the gorge. As the magma cooled, the outer layer cooled faster than the inner layer, causing the rock to shear along right angles. This rock was then gradually pushed to the earth’s surface by tectonic activity and eroded by the Kiyotsu River. Unusually, both horizontal and vertical columnar jointing is visible along the gorge.
A path that followed the side of the gorge was closed to all visitors in 1988 for safety reasons, and for many years there was no access to the rock formations. In 1996, a 750-meter-long pedestrian tunnel was completed, from which visitors can safely admire the gorge at three lookout points.

In 2018, as part of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale festival, MAD Architects renovated the tunnel, and reopened it as “The Tunnel of Light.” The tunnel’s last lookout—the installation’s namesake—is covered with stainless steel panels, and its floor is flooded with spring water that reflects the gorge and the surrounding forest all throughout the room. Periscope, a café and souvenir shop situated near the mouth of the tunnel, was also designed by MAD Architects. The building’s second floor has a hot-spring footbath with a mirrored opening in the ceiling that reflects the surroundings below.