Kurobe Dam
Also written: 黒部ダム · 黑部水坝
The tallest dam in Japan. A powerful spillway releases more than ten tons per second, and if you are lucky you may see a rainbow.
Another illustration of this place, under Townscape & Scenery →
An Illustrated Japan / Toyama / Famous Views
About this place
Kurobe Dam on the border of Toyama and Nagano is Japan's tallest dam at 186 meters height, 492 meters crest, 1.582 million cubic meters concrete volume, impounding 199.285 million cubic meters water at 1,454 meters elevation in the Northern Alps UNESCO Eco Park. Construction from 1956-1963 mobilized 10 million workers, using 1,500 tons of dynamite daily, costing 171 lives memorialized at a shrine, dramatized in film Kurobe no Taiyo. It was built to supply Kansai Electric with peak power 337,000 kW from Kurobe River's steep drop. The breakthrough of the Kanden Tunnel through the infamous 80-meter shattered fault zone, the Hasshaku rupture, required 7 months for 10 meters advance. Tourist water discharge at over 10 tons per second from June to mid-October creates rainbows on sunny days; the Kurobe Lake cruise ship Garube glides below. Cable trolley and 220-step staircase connect observatory to dam crest. Weather can shift rapidly; bring waterproofs. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship. Visitors enjoy seasonal changes, local food specialties, and easy access via public transport or rental car. Please respect private lands and carry out trash. The site remains a living cultural landscape, its beauty sustained by ongoing community stewardship.
