Getting Ready for Hokuriku: North Western Japan Beckons with a Bullet
Hokuriku, meaning ‘northlands’, is the coastal region of Japan that stretches from Niigata through to Kanazawa, up to
Wajima and then south to Fukui. Our first stop was the small resort town of Unazuki Onsen just east of Toyama,
where we boarded a cog train to travel along the edge of Kurobe Gorge. We were treated to a showcase of
mountains, trees and beautiful vistas. We disembarked a Sarutobikyo Gorge, the last of four stops, and wandered
past small onsens (hot springs) and along pathways that passed under huge, scary, rocky outcroppings where signs
warned that visitors were basically on their own if the cracking rocks decided to give way while they strolled beneath.