One of the day trips I did during the spring was to Yoro Park in Gifu. I had always wanted to visit the Site of Reversible Destiny Park in Yoro since I saw pictures of it in a travel guide many years ago, but I never had the time to go until I moved to Nagoya. Finally I took advantage of one of the days I had off in May and went by myself!

Side note: I’m not sure if my biggest mistake was going during one of the warmest days in May or by myself, but I highly do not recommend doing EITHER. Lol

The easiest way to get to Yoro from Nagoya is to take the Kinetsu Line to Kuwana or Ogaki Station, then changing to the local Yoro Line. The trip overall would take about an hour one way. The Site of Reversible Destiny Park is another 15 minutes on foot from the station.

One of the things I didn’t realize was how popular Gifu Prefecture is for hikers. There were lots of seniors decked out in their hiking gear when I got to Yoro Station. I guess if you’re an avid hiker then you’re probably well attuned to the weather in May, but it was absolutely brutal for me being out the entire day. The heat was still bearable, but the longer I stayed the hotter it got. I should have picked a cooler day to go! (Mistake #1)

Once I got to the Site of Reversible Destiny Park, I paid the 750 yen admission at the front and went inside. The park is actually quite huge and there are many areas and structures inside to explore. The theme of the park is to allow people to rethink their physical and spiritual orientation to the world. It was a very neat idea and I think the spaces inside really work well in that aspect. However, this was where it got a little dangerous because there’s lot of areas with high elevation and the pathways are not exactly laid out, which means you could pummel to your death at any point in time and no one will find out until it’s too late lol. (Mistake #2)

After spending the better part of the morning at the Site of Reversible Destiny Park, I decided to explore the rest of Yoro Park. The entire park is huge and includes a children’s play area, the Yoro Land amusement park, a golf course, rest area, shrine and much more. As I mentioned before there are also many hiking trails along the river, so you could easily spend a day at the park without running out of things to do.

Once you make your way across you will eventually arrive at Yoro Falls. I forget how long the entire hike took, I think it was about an hour or so. The hike itself wasn’t terribly challenging, but because I had already been walking the entire morning after arriving at the station, it was a struggle making the climb up to the falls. However I do recommend going because it’s worth it seeing the waterfall in person.

Overall Yoro makes a great day trip from Nagoya. Pick a day that’s warm but not overly humid and make sure you go with someone! =P