Canyoning in Minakami

Pictures from canyoning with Canyons Outdoor Adventure Experiences on the weekend:

Not much explanation required. Except that these pictures don't capture how bloody cold it was. After a few hours in the water, even in our thick wetsuits, it was freezing.

Another thing the pictures don't show: the fear (although this one of us listening to instructions gets pretty close). This was scary stuff- fast currents, lots of rocks, high waterfalls- the tallest was 22 metres. But it wasn't the height of the drops or the speed of the water that scared me. It was the complicated instructions: bear left as you go down, put your arms like this, when you hit the water swim right immediately, do this, do that. I had assumed that canyoning would be much like going down a waterslide: just lie there and enjoy the ride. But it was actually a lot of work, and for me remembering all the instructions (and imagining what would happened if I forgot them) took away the fun and scared the heck out of me. So I was a giant wimp and needed a lot of encouragement to go over the bigger falls, and I flat-out refused to do any jumping. I definitely went far beyond my comfort zone and although I'm proud of myself for doing it, I think once is more than enough.

Only after getting home did I find out that our route, Fox Canyon, is the most "thrilling" of the four canyons in Minakami. Also, our guide Grassy was apparently the craziest guide they have. So maybe I will try this again-- say in August (when the cold water will actually feel nice), on the easiest route, with the sanest guide. I think they call that the "Wuss Package".

More pictures in my Gunma Adventure Album on Flickr.

Comments

[carlyn]

Amy;
Beautiful photos and a thrilling day, I can imagine. You certainly don't look frightened!!!!!! Glad you had a great albeit chilly day!

[kalyn]

I live in Utah where there's a lot of whitewater rafting, and I've had some very scary experiences. It's fun to see the same thing happening clear on the other side of the world.

[megan]

You are so brave!!! The cold, the water, the rocks...the cold...you wouldn't get me in there!

[Amy]

Kalyn, whitewater rafting is not nearly as popular as it is back in North America, and canyoning is still virtually unknown. Both seem to be gaining in popularity though, which is a good thing. Japan is really blessed with some wondeful rivers.