Japan Σ64 · CC BY 3.0
The cut
514 metres, to scale.
A slice through Shiratani Unsui Gorge where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m · Empire State · 443 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
514m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
7.1km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
32°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
62m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
5 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 24 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in April and in November. The wettest months are from June to July.
- 15°10°Jan
- 16°11°Feb
- 17°12°Mar
- 20°15°Apr
- 23°18°May
- 25°20°Jun
- 28°23°Jul
- 29°24°Aug
- 28°22°Sep
- 25°20°Oct
- 21°16°Nov
- 17°12°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Cedar forest on Yakushima Island
Shiratani Unsui Gorge is a gorge in Japan. The relief model measures 514 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 768 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 7.1 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Miyanouranearest town · 5.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,780 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.8 km from the floor
- Yakushima Airport (KUM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 8 km in a straight lineCar hire at KUM airport (Yakushima)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In April and in Novemberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 16 × 16 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 6viewpoints within 5 km縄文杉, 楠川城展望所 and 4 more
- 10footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmGenseirin (primeval forest) course and 9 more
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 2information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 4bus stops within 2 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmOcean View
- 31hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmShintakatsu, トロッコの宿, 白谷山荘 (Shiratani-sansō) and 28 more
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Miyanoura5.2 km in a straight line
- Koseda7.3 km in a straight line
- Nagata14 km in a straight line
- Koshima17 km in a straight line
- Yudomari18 km in a straight line
- Kurio19 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Shiratani Unsui Gorge.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Peakyas11 mountains within 15 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 15 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 21 | 17 |
| Afternoon · rim | 10 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 12 |
| Night · rim | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 137 | 160 | 196 | 220 | 277 | 588 | 352 | 218 | 310 | 201 | 170 | 152 |
| Rainy days | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 15 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.3 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 2.5 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | 10 | 8 | 137 | 2.3 |
| Feb | 16 | 11 | 8 | 160 | 3.0 |
| Mar | 17 | 12 | 10 | 196 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 20 | 15 | 13 | 220 | 4.9 |
| May | 23 | 18 | 16 | 277 | 4.8 |
| Jun | 25 | 20 | 19 | 588 | 3.1 |
| Jul | 28 | 23 | 22 | 352 | 7.0 |
| Aug | 29 | 24 | 23 | 218 | 7.6 |
| Sep | 28 | 22 | 21 | 310 | 5.9 |
| Oct | 25 | 20 | 18 | 201 | 5.2 |
| Nov | 21 | 16 | 14 | 170 | 3.7 |
| Dec | 17 | 12 | 10 | 152 | 2.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (62 m) and the rim (830 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 94% | 100% | 84% | 52% | 121% | 104% | 258% | 73% | 125% | 33% | 55% | 36% |
| 2021 | 45% | 88% | 91% | 64% | 174% | 73% | 67% | 217% | 80% | 36% | 66% | 32% |
| 2022 | 40% | 36% | 125% | 133% | 104% | 66% | 132% | 61% | 143% | 26% | 85% | 56% |
| 2023 | 66% | 65% | 71% | 102% | 103% | 129% | 96% | 300% | 25% | 54% | 22% | 52% |
| 2024 | 36% | 128% | 124% | 103% | 152% | 73% | 95% | 184% | 129% | 187% | 92% | 26% |
| 2025 | 54% | 56% | 112% | 104% | 227% | 58% | 128% | 128% | 96% | 86% | 49% | 63% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Shiratani Unsui Gorge
Japan
- 514 mDepth
- 7.1 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 32°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q11580376) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here