Hiratani Valley — Pristine Mountain Stream Walk

Hiratani Valley, in the mountains between Ureshino and Nagasaki, follows the upper Hiratani River through a narrow gorge of sculpted granite. The 3km trail passes 12 small waterfalls, pools of extraordinary clarity (visibility 4–5 meters in summer), and one section where the path has been cut directly into the cliff face at water level. The surrounding broadleaf forest filters sunlight into green-gold shafts that illuminate the water surfaces differently every hour.