Stroll a gorge just minutes from the station
A gorge is a deep, narrow valley that a river has cut through rock, and each of these begins a few minutes' walk from a train station. A walk along the water takes one to two hours, so any of them makes an easy half-day outing. Todoroki Gorge is inside Tokyo itself, and Nagatoro is about two hours from the city by train.
Broad, flat slabs of rock line the Arakawa River for about 500 m, layered so neatly that they are called iwadatami, "rock tatami," after the straw mats on Japanese floors. You can walk right out onto the stone and sit by the clear water, and in the warmer months wooden boats carry visitors down the rapids past the rocks. It is about a 5-minute walk from Nagatoro Station.
Walk down a few steps near Todoroki Station and the city noise gives way to a stream, tall trees and small waterfalls, in the only natural gorge in Tokyo's 23 central wards. A shaded path of about 1 km runs along the water from Golf Bridge to Yagawa Bridge, past a small temple and a teahouse. Some sections may be closed for safety after falling trees, so check Setagaya City's notice before you go.
The river has carved its cliffs into rows of tower-like rock, and the name To-no-hetsuri means roughly "cliff of towers" in the local dialect. A suspension bridge leads across to paths that run along the rock face, and the slopes can be slippery, so wear shoes with good grip. It is in Fukushima Prefecture, about a 5-minute walk from To-no-hetsuri Station on the Aizu Railway, and the bridge may be closed in winter.