Japan 小池 隆 · CC BY 4.0
The cut
383 metres, to scale.
A slice through Sensuikyō 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.
383m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
17.5km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
26°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
558m
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 May and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to February. The wettest months are from June to July.
- 6°2°Jan
- 8°5°Feb
- 12°9°Mar
- 17°14°Apr
- 22°19°May
- 25°22°Jun
- 28°25°Jul
- 29°26°Aug
- 25°22°Sep
- 20°17°Oct
- 14°11°Nov
- 8°5°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.
Sensuikyō is a canyon in Japan. The relief model measures 383 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 459 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 18 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Asonearest town · 4.6 km in a straight line
- Parking 40 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 7.4 km from the floor
- Kumamoto Airport (KMJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 24 km in a straight lineCar hire at FUK airport (Fukuoka)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Octoberbest 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.
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 5marked hiking routes within 4 kmMt.Kishimadake Course, Sunasenri-ga-hama Course, Sunasenri Trail and 2 more
- 2footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 km古閑の滝
- 15car parks within 3 km
- 6information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmJ.club, ぜいたくぼっちキャンプ場, 鍋の平キャンプ場 and 2 more
- 16hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSyubuko, Aso Backpackers, Aso Youth Hostel and 13 more
- 6restaurants and cafés 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
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 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
- Aso4.6 km in a straight line
- Nakamatsu9.2 km in a straight line
- Takamori9.3 km in a straight line
- Ubuyama17 km in a straight line
- Ōzu22 km in a straight line
- Kawahara22 km in a straight line
- Akababa22 km in a straight line
- Miyahara25 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Sensuikyō.
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.
Cascadyas2 waterfalls nearbyComing soon
Peakyas17 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 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 8 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 5 |
| Night · rim | -6 | -4 | -2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 2 | -4 |
| Rain (mm) | 69 | 101 | 129 | 156 | 186 | 398 | 396 | 216 | 226 | 125 | 96 | 79 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 2 | -6 | 69 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 8 | 5 | -4 | 101 | 4.4 |
| Mar | 12 | 9 | -2 | 129 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 17 | 14 | 3 | 156 | 6.0 |
| May | 22 | 19 | 8 | 186 | 6.1 |
| Jun | 25 | 22 | 13 | 398 | 4.0 |
| Jul | 28 | 25 | 17 | 396 | 5.0 |
| Aug | 29 | 26 | 18 | 216 | 6.4 |
| Sep | 25 | 22 | 14 | 226 | 5.0 |
| Oct | 20 | 17 | 8 | 125 | 5.2 |
| Nov | 14 | 11 | 2 | 96 | 4.5 |
| Dec | 8 | 5 | -4 | 79 | 3.6 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (558 m) and the rim (1,017 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 | 173% | 122% | 101% | 55% | 121% | 115% | 212% | 42% | 148% | 78% | 72% | 68% |
| 2021 | 71% | 100% | 103% | 80% | 224% | 50% | 58% | 434% | 75% | 32% | 110% | 38% |
| 2022 | 80% | 29% | 120% | 126% | 67% | 68% | 92% | 127% | 157% | 43% | 55% | 47% |
| 2023 | 126% | 86% | 107% | 150% | 195% | 150% | 144% | 125% | 37% | 32% | 53% | 74% |
| 2024 | 59% | 184% | 192% | 149% | 138% | 113% | 89% | 136% | 84% | 186% | 202% | 16% |
| 2025 | 38% | 53% | 119% | 72% | 218% | 117% | 44% | 246% | 116% | 85% | 36% | 72% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Sensuikyō
Japan
- 383 mDepth
- 18 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 26°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q11378201) · 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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