Kanmangafuchi Abyss

A natural walking course in a ravine created by lava

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This is a place that was formed by the lava from the eruption of Mount Nantai. This lava formed ravine, a gift from the land, is a soothing walking course along the Daiya River.
Address
憾満ヶ淵, 8-28 Takumicho Nikko-shi Tochigi
Phone
(0288) 54-2496

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A walking route where you can fully enjoy nature

It is also a place where the current suddenly accelerates due to the lava blocking the river. Because the river flows with the echo of kanman (full of malice), it was named Kanmangafuchi. You can enjoy the wonder of the sound and scenery of the Daiya River.

The Kanman Tea House is at the entrance of Kanmangafuchi. You can get as far as here by car and also find parking. If coming on foot, turn left after crossing Shinkyo Bridge then walk along the Daiya River for 1 km, walk across Ganman Bridge and along the path and you will see the tea house. Tochigi Prefecture is the area for soba noodles. There is a limit of 20 servings of hand-kneaded soba at the tea house and buckwheat dumplings. It’s open April to November from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Going away from the stone park after passing the tea house, walking on the signed path you will encounter Nishimachi Taishi-do Hall. It’s a small shrine painted in red where Prince Shotoku is enshrined (a structure that enshrines a god). Prince Shotoku brought together an excellent group of craftsmen to build Horyu-ji Temple. Those wonderful techniques were also requested in Nikko. Passing Nishimachi Taishi-do, walking upstream along the river will bring you to the main gate of Jiun-ji Temple. Going further upstream after passing through the main gate, there will be ghost jizo statues lined up along the route. 70 of these statues remain out of the original 100 after a major flood in the Meiji Era. One head of the jizo was found on the river bed and is currently enshrined at Joukou-ji Temple. The statues have been called ghost jizo since the number of statues differs depending on whether you’re coming or going. Kanmangafuchi has a lot of fog so there is a mysterious atmosphere. After passing Jiun-ji Temple, there is Reihikaku which sticks out into the river and was built at the same time as Jiun-ji. The large rock on the opposite bank is where Acala The Fire God is worshipped (an envoy of Shingon Buddhism), and it is a place where services are held while facing the rock. A statue of Acala had been there before but it was washed away in a flood.

How to enjoy Kanmangafuchi

Since there are relatively fewer people here within Nikko, you can also enjoy looking for kame-iwa (rocks that resemble turtles swimming in the river which turn white on sunny days and black on rainy days) and bonji (Sanskrit) characters written on the other side while taking a stroll. Nikko Botanical Garden across the river is slightly different and interesting as a place to see at Kanmangafuchi. On winter nights, there is the Nikko Candle Pageant (held every February, several thousand candles are placed alongside the jizo). It is a popular event with its magical atmosphere.

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