We're at Todoroki Gorge
Or Todoroki Ravine Park
It's a mini countryside adventure
Walking along the river
This is actually within the city of Tokyo
It's only 20 minutes from the Shinjuku / Shibuya area
So if you want to get away from the city
To somewhere a bit more peaceful & relaxing
But you don't want to go on a long train ride
On a big day trip
This is a really good place to go
And already I can hear all the birds singing in the trees
I'm going to take you on a walk along by the stream
And show you what there is
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When you get to Todoroki Station
It feels like a quiet suburban town
The start of the trail's just a really short walk away
The entrance is a bit hidden
But that makes it feel all the more secretive
Look out for this sign on the pavement
It says "Golf bashi"
Bashi means bridge
So: golf bridge
That's because there used to be a golf course here
You have to go down some steps to get to the trail
I'll give you some proper directions at the end
So you can find it
It says: Feel the difference in temperature
So right here, before we go into the valley
It's 17.8 degrees
And down there it's 2 degrees cooler
Watch out for flash floods
It says the river rises rapidly when there's heavy rain
Don't go near the river
And there's no lights at night
Isn't it so hard to believe we're so close to Shibuya
And all the skyscrapers and craziness of the city
Hello!
It's so peaceful
Everywhere the sound of birds
And rushing water from the stream
It is kind of paved but I don't think you could ride a bike
There are a few gaps
Look there's steps going up the side
And they go up to...
A pizza restaurant!
Looks really steep!
Up there, there's the traffic going past on the road
It's a reminder you're not completely in the countryside
But it is pretty peaceful down here otherwise
The river looks quite low at the moment
I like how you cross the river on little bridges & stepping stones
Don't fall in!
We're here on a Monday
At about midday
And it's pretty quiet
There's a few other people walking up and down
But it's nice to have a break from all the crowds in the middle of the city
Off to the side of the trail
There's a few paths with little areas to explore
There's gardens
Shrines
And somehow we missed it
But there's also a teahouse with mochi
All these plants look tropcial don't they!
We've spotted a mini shrine by the river
I like these fountains
Now the word Todoroki
Actually means: loud, crackling or thundering sound
So I'm wondering
Was Todoroki Gorge originally names after the sound of this waterfall?
This is actually natural spring water
It was discovered by a priest
Who had a vision telling him to explore the valley
There's a statue of him at the shrine
Now I don't know if this is true
But legend has it
That same priest
Was also the inventor or hiragana & katakana
Which are like the Japanese alphabets
That are still used today
At the moment it's the start of February
And it's actually a really warm day
I thought, before I came here
I looked up the climate
At this time of year
And it's supposed to be between 0 and 10 degrees
But it's actually been a lot warmer than that
So the weather in Japan can be quite unpredictable
And I think today's a particularly warm day
It's about 16 or 17 degrees
And I am a bit hot in my coat today!
So I think when you come to Japan
You just have to pack layers
And bring everything just in case
This is just a garden off to the side
There's some sort of orange trees in here
I wonder what they taste like!
I'm not going to try them!
We've gone all the way up the steps in that garden
And here's a view of the town
I'm wondering if these are plum blossoms
They come out before the cherry blossoms
In February
Now I might be wrong
But I think you can just see the skyscrapers of Tokyo in the background
Here's the opening hours for the Japanese garden
That was the place with the bamboo & the orange trees
Off to the side there's some tunnel tombs
Where people were buried
They're from about the 7th century
Here's what it's like inside
We've just got to the end of the ravine park
It just turned into this
It's less parkland now
And you can see the backs of peoples' houses
Look how nice their gardens are
It's February so a lot of the plants don't have leaves on
They must look really nice in the summer
That's it! The trail just sort of ends!
And the way back is the same way you came
Giving you the chance to explore any side paths you missed the first time
But we still didn't find that tea house with the mochi
It's not a very long walk
It only took us about 20 minutes to go along
And that was with lots of stops to film & take pictures & things
And then the way back's the same as the way you came
So this is a good place to come if you only have a couple of hours to spare
Or if you're not in Tokyo for very long
And you just want a break from the city
If you want to go on a proper, full day trip hike
Then it's better to go somewhere else probably
Like maybe Mount Takao
I really enjoyed that
That's about an hour from Tokyo
And there's a video about that on my channel
Or if you want to spend a bit longer here
In Todoroki
There's the town here to explore
Which has a completely different feel from the rest of Tokyo
And there's a few towns along the way
Like Jiyugaoka
Hopefully I've pronounced that correctly
Which is a pretty little town
It's got a bit that looks like Venice
If you want to come here, it's free to get in, there's no entrance fee
It's best not to come when it's raining
Because the river can flood
And don't come when it's getting dark
Because there's no lighting here
You need to get to Todoroki Station
Which is on the Oimachi line
You might need to change trains coming from central Tokyo
So I'd recommend looking on Google
Or Hyperdia
That's a train website
To check which line you need to take from where you're staying
From the station it's only a couple of minutes walk
So you don't have to go far to get here
*bird squawking*
Now as I said, the entrance is a little bit hidden away
So here's how to find it
From the station
Take the south exit & turn right
There's a few shops there if you need snacks
Take the first left
And then turn right after this supermarket with the pink sign
The entrance to the valley is down some steps just before the bridge
So that was Todoroki Gorge
A little escape from the city in Tokyo
I'll be back next week
With more videos about Japan
I'll see you on Thursday