Izu Peninsula Activity Report (Canyoning)

A report to inform you about activities in Izu

Last time we introduced marine activities.

This is the second installment and we will be introducing mountain activities.

Introducing "canyoning"

What is canyoning? Do you know?

It is an adventure-type outdoor sport that involves descending a canyon. You can dive into a waterfall basin, slide down rocks, and take advantage of the terrain to go down the canyon. It is a river sport that originated in Europe.

This time, we visited "KURA-RUN OUTDOORS" in Kawazu Town, one of the several canyoning facilities on the Izu Peninsula, to try out canyoning!

I'm always the rain girl.

Of course, she was a reliable rain woman this time too, and we had to postpone once due to a typhoon...

However, the day turned out to be a perfect sunny day for canyoning.

The meeting place is the Claran Outdoors Shop in Kawazu Bagatelle Park. The entrance is stylish, but once inside, there is a climbing wall and you can enjoy bouldering.

Here you will check the precautions and what to change into, and then get changed.

I told them my height and shoe size in advance, so they prepared the right size for me. It was my first wetsuit, and I was worried at first if it would fit, but it was the perfect size!

The men were trying to put on their wetsuits while making a fuss about whether to get in or not, but they all managed to get in safely.

We grab the things we need from Bagatelle Park and head to Sandan Falls, the setting for our adventure.

Our guide, Mr. Kurahara, was friendly and cheerful, and took photos for us in front of Bagatelle Park before we departed.

We get in a Claran Outdoors vehicle and head deep into the mountains.

When you see the wasabi fields, park the car.

"On the left is a wasabi field. Regular customers are delighted with this." Sorry for the lack of response.

"It's about a 15 minute walk from here."

I felt like this was the hardest part of all. (Maybe it's just my imagination. I just don't like the heat.) The wetsuit was pretty hot, and I was drenched in sweat.

We will go where no path leads

Along the way, we thought up nicknames to give ourselves while canyoning.

Finally, the water's edge is in sight! We made it!

This is where the trail starts, upstream of Sandan Falls.

First, I got into the water to get my body used to it. The water slowly seeped into my wetsuit, and I thought it would be cold, but it didn't feel that cold.

The wetsuits are amazing!

It was perfect for my body, which had been hot from walking so hard along the mountain path.

We all say "ready, go!" and immerse ourselves up to our shoulders in the water.

This is really cold! But it feels good!

If you try floating on it, it will float easily. What's more, it will drift away on its own.

Now, I'd like to share some gestures with you.

When you say "It's okay!", you put your fist on your head. You will also learn a few other things, such as "It's slippery" or "It's deeper than I thought."

First up is the little slider.

We take turns skiing, paying attention to the precautions to take when skiing.

"Please sit in a row," Kurahara said, taking photos for us at various points.

Yes, just keep sliding! We'll all slide down, getting all jostled.

Next, we use a rope to descend the rocks. The water flows under our feet, giving us a thrill!

Kurahara-san gives me advice on where to place my feet, so I climb down carefully.

After sliding down, it's time to dive in!!

I haven't been this excited to jump into a river since I was a student.

In zones with a lot of water, when I fell into the pool at the bottom, a lot of water got into my nose.

In this zone, Kurahara pushed everyone into the pool under the waterfall, making it look like a washing machine lol

One person is about to disappear lol

Mr. Kurahara will also take a photo of this. This will also be a great memory!

Here, I'll also jump onto its back once.

We go down one more level and get splashed by the waterfall.

The pressure is so strong that even if you are directly underneath it, you will be pushed out immediately!!

Finally, we reached Sandan Falls.

My first thought was, "Wait, is that last waterfall really high enough to climb?"

Once you descend the first step, you'll reach a spot where you can get behind the waterfall!!

It was my first time to see a waterfall from behind. Also, the echo of the waterfall was amazing.

For the second row, we were told to "sit facing backwards," so we fell straight down backwards.

Even though it wasn't that high, just facing backwards doubled the thrill.

Finally, the third and biggest tier! It's huge!

When asked, "Who's going?" I was the first to raise my hand.

Because I don't want to get scared after seeing people!!

The time while I was falling was over in the blink of an eye, but it felt like it took longer for me to surface after falling.

I thought it was scary but it was fun after all.

Just when I thought I had finished the biggest waterfall, a wide waterfall appeared at the end. This one is supposed to fly like Superman lol

I think he is able to become Superman☆

All the water went into my nose though!

Once you've become Superman, the canyoning is over.

It's rare to have the chance to fully enjoy nature, so it was a lot of fun.

You can enjoy it for a long period from mid-June to mid-October, so

If you're interested, please try it out at the URL below.

https://www.kura-run.com/