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JAPAN GUIDE: WHITE-WATER RAFTING IN GIFU PREFECTURE

Over the Obon break, I went white water rafting for the first time in Gifu Prefecture, just to the north of Aichi. After about a two-hour train journey from Okazaki, a friend and I were at his cousin's house in a tiny village near the Nagara River. We spent the day just swimming around the river and chasing fish, and had a barbecue next to the river. That night we made a brief visit to the "tetsu-odori" or "Iron Obon dancing" (some variation on the Iron chefs, I think), of Gujo where they do the Bon-dancing for three days without break.

The next morning, we arrived at the river at about 11am having stocked up at the local supermarket on the way. After swimming for a couple of hours, we had a barbecue, as it seems impossible to not have barbecues when you are outside during the summer in Japan. We drove a couple of kilometres upriver, then pumped up the rafts and launched them. After a full safety explanation and drill, and some practise of getting in and out of the raft, we headed off down river.

There was a typhoon warning, so we were expecting lots of rain. However, it seems Tokyo had been hit instead, so as soon as the warning had been withdrawn, we set off. There were still plenty of rapids and white water. A couple of times we stopped in a quiet part of the river and tipped and righted the raft, and a couple of times we got tipped out on the rapids. Most people jumped in and floated down the last series of rapids to the place where we had the barbecue. Kind of bumpy - still a few bruises to show for it.

The water was perfect for the weather: cool, completely refreshing. It was a hot day - about 38 degrees, and a little humid, but without a cloud in sight. The Nagara River is also very clean - we saw plenty of fish of all types, including a lot of huge carp. Finishing off the day with yet another barbecue and more yakiniku, then jumping off a cliff about 10 meters into the river, we packed up about seven in the evening and headed off. Slightly burnt.

There are dozens of companies operating white-water rafting on the Nagara River. I went with the one that has been running longest, and is also probably the cheapest. However, they also only take friends and friends of friends - word-of-mouth advertising only. We will be taking groups regularly over the next summer (the season runs from about April to October) if demand justifies. If you are interested, contact events@yamasa.org.