This is my first post on Ramblr. I have been looking for a site like this to combine my GPX files with photos and I hope it works out for me. Noritsugi [乗り継ぎ] is a word in Japanese that is typically used when referring to a connecting flight. In the world of the Noritetsu [乗り鉄] or fans of riding trains, this is a subset of the genre. This is where you find two stations that have a walkable distance between them and use it to continue your train ride to maximize distance covered or avoid doubling back. In my quest to ride as many of Japans ~27,000km of passenger railways this technique of route planning has been fun and efficient. I had not yet considered this route till about 3 years ago but it was obvious when looking at the railway maps. Looking back, I was not in the condition I am in now and 3 years ago this hike would have been dangerous. The route goes Kuzuryu Station [九頭竜湖駅] the terminus of the JR West Etsumi-Hoku Line (AKA Kuzuryu Line) [JR西日本　越美北線（九頭竜線）] in Fukui Prefecture [福井県] to Nagaragawa Railway, Minoshiratori Station [長良川鉄道　美濃白鳥駅]. It is just under 30km from start to finish. According to the Etsumi-Hoku Line Wikipedia page, there was a plan to connect these stations but it was deemed impracticable. Bus service between the stations ended in 2002. The route goes along route 158 and follows the northern shore of Kuzuryuko lake which is created by the Kuzuryu Dam which is along the route. All of this seems to have been built in the 1950’s and 1960’s. I chose to sleep in Fukui city and depart on the first train out. Getting to Kuzuryu Station can be done from Fukui Station for about ¥1140. The first train that departs Fukui Station and goes the entire distance leaves at 9:08 and arrives at Kuzuryuko Station at 10:49. If you would like to leave earlier, lodging options exist at EchizenOno Station. However, the only earlier train leaves EchizenOno Station at 5:20. It arrives at Kuzuruko Station Arr 5:53). I found that departing at 11:00ish gave me plenty of sunlight for the 7hr walk in September. At the other end there are many minshuku around Minoshiratori Station. By the time I got to Shiratori, I had no desire to travel any more by foot, train or otherwise. The route is entirely on a major numbered rural road. This road is popular with motorcyclists and drivers. It is used by truckers and large tour busses. That said, the traffic was not heavy by any means and there were some long stretches with no cars at all. Being along a road there are no steps and the grade is gradual. Inclines are noticeable but I was surprised that and the end I had climbed 1,460m over the course of the walk. There are 3 noticeable inclines: at the start, in the middle where the rode goes inland from the lake, and just after the lake. The most difficult incline the last stretch going up and over the hill into Gifu. Along the road there are many tunnels. They are all lit to some degree, however during some parts I had to use my cellphone light just to be safe. Only the longest tunnel has an elevated path on the side (sidewalk would be calling it too much). The other tunnels except one have flat asphalt that drops into a rain gutter then the wall. I never felt the need to step down into the gutter, however I liked having that option. I did lean against the tunnel wall and brace myself a bit when trucks and large busses passed. The wake was quite strong. I also stopped in general when cars passed me in the tunnels. This seemed like the safest thing to do. The air in the tunnels was fine and the cooler temperatures were enjoyable. None of the tunnels were long enough to be scary and in all either end was visible the entire time. I chose to walk into the oncoming traffic which is the right side of the road in Japan. Being so quiet, I could hear any oncoming traffic well before it got close. I was never surprised by a car. No car ever stopped to offer a ride, however I never tried to hitchhike either. Thankfully, most cars took a wide loop around me. Along the route I found toilets at the Kuzuryu Dam and the two drive-ins. The camp site just before getting into Shiratori might have a public toilet. Vending machines or drinks were available at the drive-ins and at the campsite. There might have been a vending machine at the Kuzuryu Dam office. The two drive-ins about the 60% of the way into the route have meal service. I got a yummy wasabi korokke at the second one. This was one of the most amazing experiences and challenges I have done up till now during my nearly 40 years on this planet. It was amazing and I hope that this post makes some of you also to consider it. Please respect the environment and the route. Do be safe and enjoy. Note: I had to hand place all the photos on the route manually so the locations might not be 100% correct.

Hiking/Backpacking

-Bring extra water and food. You cannot assume that the drive-ins along the way will be open or, at least, their vending machines working. -Bring a headlamp and hand-held flashlight in the case that it gets dark. The final stretch is in a heavily forested road and will get dark quickly. -There are long stretches with no cell phone coverage. (Docomo) -Eat at the Izakaya “En” [えん] near MinoShiratori Station after arriving and taking a bath. That was a brilliant meal! -While I saw a guy walking the opposite direction (In sandals!) I think I took the best route. At the end there is that long push up the hill into Gifu, but cruising down that slope was brilliant. Also you get to walk with the beautiful lake and river right there on the right. -Do not do this if you have no experience hiking or extremely long walks. This was a difficult experience. I never thought that I was going to give up, but, at times, I had some pretty decent pain going on.

Fukui, Gifu, hiking, Japan, Kuzuryuko, MinoShiratori, Okuetsu, Outdoor, rt158, walking

Ōno-shi, Fukui-ken, Japan

time : Sep 13, 2017 10:52 AM

duration : 7h 17m 15s

distance : 26.7 km

total_ascent : 559 m

highest_point : 759 m

avg_speed : 3.7 km/h

user_id : sleepytako

user_firstname : David

user_lastname : Kawabata

This is my first post on Ramblr. I have been looking for a site like this to combine my GPX files with photos and I hope it works out for me. Noritsugi [乗り継ぎ] is a word in Japanese that is typically used when referring to a connecting flight. In the world of the Noritetsu [乗り鉄] or fans of riding trains, this is a subset of the genre. This is where you find two stations that have a walkable distance between them and use it to continue your train ride to maximize distance covered or avoid doubling back. In my quest to ride as many of Japans ~27,000km of passenger railways this technique of route planning has been fun and efficient. I had not yet considered this route till about 3 years ago but it was obvious when looking at the railway maps. Looking back, I was not in the condition I am in now and 3 years ago this hike would have been dangerous. The route goes Kuzuryu Station [九頭竜湖駅] the terminus of the JR West Etsumi-Hoku Line (AKA Kuzuryu Line) [JR西日本　越美北線（九頭竜線）] in Fukui Prefecture [福井県] to Nagaragawa Railway, Minoshiratori Station [長良川鉄道　美濃白鳥駅]. It is just under 30km from start to finish. According to the Etsumi-Hoku Line Wikipedia page, there was a plan to connect these stations but it was deemed impracticable. Bus service between the stations ended in 2002. The route goes along route 158 and follows the northern shore of Kuzuryuko lake which is created by the Kuzuryu Dam which is along the route. All of this seems to have been built in the 1950’s and 1960’s. I chose to sleep in Fukui city and depart on the first train out. Getting to Kuzuryu Station can be done from Fukui Station for about ¥1140. The first train that departs Fukui Station and goes the entire distance leaves at 9:08 and arrives at Kuzuryuko Station at 10:49. If you would like to leave earlier, lodging options exist at EchizenOno Station. However, the only earlier train leaves EchizenOno Station at 5:20. It arrives at Kuzuruko Station Arr 5:53). I found that departing at 11:00ish gave me plenty of sunlight for the 7hr walk in September. At the other end there are many minshuku around Minoshiratori Station. By the time I got to Shiratori, I had no desire to travel any more by foot, train or otherwise. The route is entirely on a major numbered rural road. This road is popular with motorcyclists and drivers. It is used by truckers and large tour busses. That said, the traffic was not heavy by any means and there were some long stretches with no cars at all. Being along a road there are no steps and the grade is gradual. Inclines are noticeable but I was surprised that and the end I had climbed 1,460m over the course of the walk. There are 3 noticeable inclines: at the start, in the middle where the rode goes inland from the lake, and just after the lake. The most difficult incline the last stretch going up and over the hill into Gifu. Along the road there are many tunnels. They are all lit to some degree, however during some parts I had to use my cellphone light just to be safe. Only the longest tunnel has an elevated path on the side (sidewalk would be calling it too much). The other tunnels except one have flat asphalt that drops into a rain gutter then the wall. I never felt the need to step down into the gutter, however I liked having that option. I did lean against the tunnel wall and brace myself a bit when trucks and large busses passed. The wake was quite strong. I also stopped in general when cars passed me in the tunnels. This seemed like the safest thing to do. The air in the tunnels was fine and the cooler temperatures were enjoyable. None of the tunnels were long enough to be scary and in all either end was visible the entire time. I chose to walk into the oncoming traffic which is the right side of the road in Japan. Being so quiet, I could hear any oncoming traffic well before it got close. I was never surprised by a car. No car ever stopped to offer a ride, however I never tried to hitchhike either. Thankfully, most cars took a wide loop around me. Along the route I found toilets at the Kuzuryu Dam and the two drive-ins. The camp site just before getting into Shiratori might have a public toilet. Vending machines or drinks were available at the drive-ins and at the campsite. There might have been a vending machine at the Kuzuryu Dam office. The two drive-ins about the 60% of the way into the route have meal service. I got a yummy wasabi korokke at the second one. This was one of the most amazing experiences and challenges I have done up till now during my nearly 40 years on this planet. It was amazing and I hope that this post makes some of you also to consider it. Please respect the environment and the route. Do be safe and enjoy. Note: I had to hand place all the photos on the route manually so the locations might not be 100% correct.