Around Nagoya there are plenty of interesting things to for a day trip. The country side offers great nature and couple of local and private railway companies are operating interesting trains to great locations. Many of them easily reachable in a day trip from the city.
One of those private railway lines is the Yoro Railway (養老鉄道, Yoro Tetsudo) which connects Kuwana in Mie Prefecture, Ogaki and Ibigawa in Gifu Prefecture. It passes by the village of Yoro where it got is name from and which is home a beautiful park with a waterfall.
Yoro Railway
Yoro Railway is a private railway company in Mie and Gifu prefucture in central Japan. It‘s southern end is the station of Kuwana in Mie Prefecturer. Here it is connected to the JR Kansai Main Line and the Kintetsu Nagoya Line. It takes 18 minutes by limited express or 24 minutes by rapid train to get from Nagoya to Kuwana by Kintetsu.
Yoro Tetsudo operates on a total distance of 57 kilometers from Kuwana to the northern end at Ibi Station in Ibikawa. There is a reversing station after 43 kilometers in the city of Ogaki in Gifu Prefecuture. Here it is connected to the JR Tokkaido Main Line and the Tarumi Railway. A rapid service of JR takes 32 minutes from Nagoya to Ogaki.
Several types of trains are operated on the tracks of Yoro Tetsudo. One of them is a pretty a pretty dark red colored one. A color not so typical for trains. The trains are rather old and give already a nostalgic vintage feeling.
As the trains run along the Yoro mountains there a plenty of hiking opportunities along the way. One of them is the waterfall in Yoro.
Trains run roughly every 30 to 45 minutes between 6 and 23 o‘clock.
Refer to the departure schedule at Kuwana here:
https://www.yororailway.co.jp/timetable/kuwana.html
Yoro Waterfall
Yoro Waterfall is located in the village of Yoro reachable in 22 minutes from Ogaki or 43 minutes from Kuwana. From the stations it is an about 10 minute walk to the park around the waterfall.
The waterfall itself is 32 meter high and 4 meters wide and has been voted into the list of the 100 best waterfalls in Japan. To reach the waterfall it is a bit of a hike. Not to hard and maybe about 2 or 3 kilometers only. From midway to the falls there is also a lift running.
In the park itself there is a great playground for kids and some restaurants and food stalls selling local beers and snacks on the hand.
Conclusion
For those who like hikes in the nature and waterfalls combined with a local and rural train, a visit to Yoro Waterfalls is a great chance to get away from busy Japanese cities and enjoy a relaxing day in the nature.
Links
Yoro Park: https://www.yoro-park.com/en/
Yoro Railway: https://www.yororailway.co.jp/