Japan pakku · CC BY 3.0
The cut
1,257 metres, to scale.
A slice through Sounkyo 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: Eiffel Tower · 330 m · Burj Khalifa · 828 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.
1,257m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
12.9km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
38°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
550m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
9 °C warmer at the bottom.
In August the afternoon reaches 23 °C on the floor, against 13 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are from June to September. The rim freezes at night from October to May. The wettest months are from July to September.
- -7°-16°Jan
- -6°-15°Feb
- -2°-11°Mar
- 5°-4°Apr
- 13°4°May
- 18°9°Jun
- 22°13°Jul
- 23°13°Aug
- 18°9°Sep
- 11°1°Oct
- 3°-7°Nov
- -4°-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 Kamikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
Sounkyo is a canyon in Japan, cut by the Ishikari River. The relief model measures 1,257 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 1,451 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 13 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Daisetsuzan National Park.
Getting there.
- Kamikawanearest town · 19 km in a straight line
- Parking 2,410 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.8 km from the floor
- Asahikawa Airport (AKJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 41 km in a straight lineCar hire at CTS airport (Sapporo)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Septemberbest 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.
The river
The Ishikari River runs highest from May to June and in September.
The Ishikari River carries about 10 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from May to June and in September, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from January to March.
- 2.0 m³/sJan
- 1.0 m³/sFeb
- 5.3 m³/sMar
- 20 m³/sApr
- 28 m³/sMay
- 21 m³/sJun
- 18 m³/sJul
- 21 m³/sAug
- 21 m³/sSep
- 18 m³/sOct
- 13 m³/sNov
- 8.6 m³/sDec
From about 0.98 m³/s in the lowest month to 28 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 424 km².
Follow the Ishikari River from source to mouth on Riveryas
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
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.
- 11viewpoints within 5 km銀河の滝, 紅葉滝, あまりょうの滝展望台 and 8 more
- 4footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 4named waterfalls within 4 km銀河の滝, 流星の滝, 紅葉滝 and 1 more
- 14car parks within 3 km
- 1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 1bus stops within 2 km
- 4campsites within 8 km層雲峡オートキャンプ場, 黒岳野営指定地, 白雲岳野営指定地 and 1 more
- 12hotels and guesthouses within 8 km朝陽リゾートホテル, 層雲峡観光ホテル, マウントビューホテル and 9 more
- 5restaurants 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
- 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
- Kamikawa19 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Sounkyo.
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
Peakyas24 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 | -7 | -6 | -2 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 11 | 3 | -4 |
| Afternoon · rim | -16 | -15 | -11 | -4 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 1 | -7 | -14 |
| Night · rim | -24 | -23 | -19 | -12 | -5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Rain (mm) | 55 | 47 | 54 | 58 | 81 | 92 | 123 | 153 | 124 | 106 | 86 | 81 |
| Rainy days | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 18 |
| Sun hours/day | 5.0 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 49 | 59 | 60 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 29 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -7 | -16 | -24 | 55 | 5.0 |
| Feb | -6 | -15 | -23 | 47 | 6.1 |
| Mar | -2 | -11 | -19 | 54 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 5 | -4 | -12 | 58 | 6.6 |
| May | 13 | 4 | -5 | 81 | 6.3 |
| Jun | 18 | 9 | 1 | 92 | 5.5 |
| Jul | 22 | 13 | 5 | 123 | 5.0 |
| Aug | 23 | 13 | 6 | 153 | 4.7 |
| Sep | 18 | 9 | 1 | 124 | 5.0 |
| Oct | 11 | 1 | -6 | 106 | 5.0 |
| Nov | 3 | -7 | -13 | 86 | 4.1 |
| Dec | -4 | -14 | -20 | 81 | 4.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (550 m) and the rim (2,002 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 | 76% | 100% | 146% | 121% | 95% | 102% | 46% | 87% | 85% | 127% | 97% | 84% |
| 2021 | 129% | 165% | 126% | 191% | 118% | 39% | 19% | 97% | 92% | 138% | 181% | 94% |
| 2022 | 156% | 89% | 105% | 29% | 106% | 171% | 114% | 157% | 84% | 98% | 67% | 114% |
| 2023 | 82% | 85% | 94% | 183% | 72% | 159% | 104% | 101% | 129% | 113% | 130% | 78% |
| 2024 | 95% | 93% | 85% | 94% | 87% | 79% | 118% | 150% | 69% | 136% | 98% | 55% |
| 2025 | 83% | 147% | 168% | 221% | 84% | 111% | 88% | 144% | 191% | 84% | 167% | 174% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Sounkyo
Japan
- 1,257 mDepth
- 13 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 38°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q3511708) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| 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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islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
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canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here