Japan Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
The cut
359 metres, to scale.
A slice through Tōsenkyō 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: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 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. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
359m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
14.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
24°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
14m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
3 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 29 °C on the floor, against 26 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in April and in November. The wettest months are from June to July and in September.
- 14°11°Jan
- 15°12°Feb
- 17°14°Mar
- 20°17°Apr
- 23°20°May
- 25°22°Jun
- 28°25°Jul
- 29°26°Aug
- 28°25°Sep
- 25°22°Oct
- 21°18°Nov
- 16°14°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.
Gorge in Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Tōsenkyō is a canyon in Japan. The relief model measures 359 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 441 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 15 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Ibusukinearest town · 10 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,420 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 3.5 km from the floor
- Kagoshima Airport (KOJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 67 km in a straight lineCar hire at KOJ airport (Kagoshima)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
6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 4viewpoints within 5 km招幸石 and 3 more
- 6car parks within 3 km
- 12information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 5bus stops within 2 km
- 1campsites within 8 kmかいもん山麓ふれあい公園・キャンプ場
- 2hotels and guesthouses within 8 km指宿ベイヒルズ HOTEL＆SPA, 悠離庵
- 4restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- marked hiking routes within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- footbridges and suspension bridges 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
- Ibusuki10 km in a straight line
- Minamikyushu16 km in a straight line
- Makurazaki22 km in a straight line
- Nejime-kawaminan22 km in a straight line
- Shiromoto24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Tōsenkyō.
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.
Peakyas20 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmComing soon
Coastya1 beaches 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 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 21 | 16 |
| Afternoon · rim | 11 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 14 |
| Night · rim | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 102 | 135 | 165 | 197 | 231 | 561 | 360 | 208 | 289 | 158 | 138 | 115 |
| Rainy days | 12 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.5 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 3.2 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 3.6 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14 | 11 | 8 | 102 | 3.5 |
| Feb | 15 | 12 | 9 | 135 | 4.1 |
| Mar | 17 | 14 | 11 | 165 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 20 | 17 | 14 | 197 | 5.8 |
| May | 23 | 20 | 17 | 231 | 5.4 |
| Jun | 25 | 22 | 20 | 561 | 3.2 |
| Jul | 28 | 25 | 24 | 360 | 6.1 |
| Aug | 29 | 26 | 25 | 208 | 7.1 |
| Sep | 28 | 25 | 23 | 289 | 5.9 |
| Oct | 25 | 22 | 19 | 158 | 5.9 |
| Nov | 21 | 18 | 15 | 138 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 16 | 14 | 10 | 115 | 3.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (14 m) and the rim (456 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
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 | 123% | 112% | 102% | 60% | 131% | 121% | 291% | 87% | 149% | 37% | 86% | 42% |
| 2021 | 51% | 101% | 120% | 82% | 241% | 80% | 76% | 328% | 98% | 45% | 81% | 40% |
| 2022 | 44% | 38% | 132% | 202% | 115% | 86% | 135% | 62% | 146% | 34% | 122% | 68% |
| 2023 | 107% | 105% | 98% | 144% | 141% | 140% | 124% | 359% | 31% | 60% | 34% | 92% |
| 2024 | 38% | 178% | 171% | 115% | 185% | 116% | 103% | 217% | 134% | 233% | 93% | 23% |
| 2025 | 69% | 80% | 143% | 106% | 290% | 77% | 110% | 230% | 121% | 142% | 49% | 87% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Tōsenkyō
Japan
- 359 mDepth
- 15 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 24°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q11418681) · 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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