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Azegamaru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Yushin Valley
ユーシン渓谷Kanagawa · Kanto
AS OF 30 AUGUST 2026, THE ONLY APPROACH TO YUSHIN VALLEY IS CLOSED, TO PEDESTRIANS AS WELL AS VEHICLES. Kanagawa Prefecture closed a section of the Kurokura forest road on 3 August 2026 because of sediment outflow, and separately the stretch beyond the gate has been impassable, foot traffic included, since fallen trees from the rains of August 2025 blocked it — the prefecture states neither closure has an end date. Do not plan a visit until the closure lifts; check Kanagawa Prefecture's own forest-road notice page before setting out. When open, Yushin Valley is a gorge cut by the Kurokura River in the Tanzawa-Oyama mountains, walked in via a one-lane forest road with no vehicle access. Its name is for the emerald-to-turquoise pooling below Kurokura Dam, nicknamed 'Yushin Blue' — the colour comes from red light being absorbed in water about a metre deep, and it draws hikers willing to walk roughly 2.5 hours in from the Kurokura bus stop. The road has a history of exactly this kind of closure: landslides shut it from 2018 to 2022, and again after a 2022 collapse eased only in November 2024. The former Yushin Lodge deeper in the valley closed in 2007 over tunnel safety and Kanagawa Prefecture announced in December 2025 that the building itself, seismically unsound, will be demolished after 2027.
- Best season
- Year-round
- Crowd level
- Hidden gem
- Opening hours
- Daily Closed
- Admission
- Free — it is an unmanaged forest road and river gorge, not a ticketed site.
Usual hours — confirm with the official site for holidays + seasonal closures.
Today
FreeStored weekly hours
Daily Closed
Closures
- The only approach, the Kurokura forest road, is closed to all traffic including pedestrians: a section has been shut for sediment outflow since 2026-08-03 (Kanagawa Prefecture, 当面の間 — no end date given), and the stretch beyond the gate has separately been impassable since fallen trees from the August 2025 rains.
Note
- Re-check both notices before restoring hours: pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/m2g/cnt/f417344/rindoh_tukoudome.html and the Nishi-Tanzawa Visitor Center's own updates.
How to get there
CURRENTLY UNREACHABLE ON FOOT (see description). When open: from Shin-Matsuda Station (Odakyu Line) or Yamakita Station (JR Gotemba Line), the Fuji Kyu Mobility bus toward Nishi-Tanzawa Visitor Center stops at Kurokura; from there the Kurokura forest road is a walk-in of roughly 2.5 hours to the dam and 3.5 hours to the former Yushin Lodge site. No vehicles or bicycles are permitted on the forest road even when it is open.
Tags
gorgehikingnature
Location
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