Flying Dango From Kakko Dango At Genbikei (Genbi Gorge) Near Ichinoseki, Japan
If you’re looking for a unique food experience in Japan, I have just the activity for you, “Flying Dango”! You can experience flying dango just outside of Ichinoseki which is best known for two stunning gorges, Genbikei and Geibikei.
Geibikei Gorge is best known for its scenic river cruise whereas Genbikei Gorge is best known for flying dango which arrives in a basket that “flies” over the gorge. We first learned about the famous flying dango while traveling through the Tohoku region of Japan in 2018 and loved it so much that we decided to go back in 2024! This fun experience is worth adding to any Tohoku itinerary!
What is Genbikei (Genbi Gorge)?
The Genbikei Gorge is a stretch of the Iwai River known for its stunning bright blue and green water that rushes between the two sides of the gorge. The rugged boulders are covered in beautiful foliage year-round including sakura trees in the spring, azaleas in the summer, and stunning colors of autumn leaves in the fall.
How to Get to Genbikei
There are a few different routes you can take to get to Genbikei Gorge from Ichinoseki. If traveling by public transportation you’ll take the Genbikei/Mizuyama Line bus (#9 or #10) from JR Ichinoseki Station to the Genbikei Stop (About 25 minutes).
Alternatively, you can also hire a taxi from Ichinoseki Station which takes around 12-15 minutes to get from Ichinoseki Station to Genbikei. The last option is driving to Genbikei Gorge by rental car. If you are driving from Ichinoseki you’ll take Highway 342 and park at one of the Genbikei public parking lots.
- Kakko Dango: Location to Order Flying Dango
What is “Flying Dango?”
Now… What is dango? Well, dango is a traditional Japanese sweet made from sweet rice flour and sometimes topped with a sweetened paste or glaze like miso, white bean, red bean, black sesame, and even soy sauce.
While dango can be purchased at convenience stores, grocery stores, or street food markets or stands, Kakko Dango is a restaurant that sells dango and has a unique twist to how you order and are served, they “fly” it over the Genbikei Gorge in a basket!
The History of Kakko Dango
Kakko Dango (Cuckoo Dango) has been serving dango at Genbikei Gorge since 1878. The founder of this unique dango shop, lovingly nicknamed “cuckoo” decided that while he wanted to make dango for his customers, he also wanted to give an experience. Thus the birth of the “flying dango” came to be.
Cuckoo began by “flying” the freshly made dango in a basket from his shop to the other side of the gorge where customers would receive them. Now, Chiba-san, the grandson of Cuckoo, carries on this tradition so you can still enjoy it today!
How to Get Flying Dango at Genbikei Gorge
Regardless of how you get to the Genbikei Gorge, when arriving you’ll head to the southern edge of the gorge to cross the bridge on the opposite side of Kakko Dango’s shop. From there you’ll see a gazebo/pavilion which is next to the basket you’ll use to order dango and tea. During the summer, it can get quite busy so you may have to wait in line. I would recommend arriving between 9am-12pm because once the dango sells out, they close up shop for the day!
On our first visit to Genbikei Gorge, we waited in a short line on some rocks on the side of the gorge until we got to the front of the line. From there, a basket with a rope attached was sitting above a rock with a piece of paper inside that said “Where are you from?” There was a marker to write your answer with and a sign inside explaining to place our money in the basket and hit a wooden mallet when finished.
We filled out the paper, put our 500 yen in the basket, and hit the woodblock. With a swift motion, we saw the basket being quickly lifted over the gorge to the small dango shop on the other side!
At first, we wondered why he was asking where we were from. But then we heard the faint sound of our country’s National Anthem. As we looked up, we saw the U.S. flag waving from the window of the shop as our dango flew towards us! On our second visit to Kakko Dango and the Genbikei Gorge, during the spring, we noticed that he no longer did this for each customer, instead, he arranged this show for tour group customers. But it’s possible that it still happens during certain times of the year.
When we looked in the basket it had our dango in a box placed on top of a few glasses of cold green tea (we received hot green tea when we visited in the spring). We were shocked it didn’t spill considering how fast the basket was flying across the gorge! We grabbed our dango, waved to the shop owner, and walked to a nearby rock to enjoy our dango and tea.
Once we opened the package we noticed that each skewer having five chewy dango dumplings and there were three different flavors. The flavors are kuro neri goma (black sesame), anko (sweet red bean), and mitarashi (sweet soy sauce glaze). The dango was perfectly soft and chewy and we enjoyed experiencing all three flavors.
After eating our dango, we walked on the rocks by Genbikei Gorge to admire the water. Don’t miss out on the beautiful scenery here! The contrasts of the gray rocks and the foliage in all seasons make for an especially scenic view.
Visiting The Kakko Dango Shop
After admiring the gorge, we walked across a bridge to visit the dango shop to see what was happening on the other side where the dango was delivered! Little did we know, we were in for yet another surprise once we arrived at Kakko Dango.
When we walked into the store we noticed some tables for those who wanted to enjoy dango indoors. One of the people working saw us and asked if we wanted to sit or go upstairs to see the flying dango in action. Of course, since we had already eaten dango across the gorge, we decided to see where the flying dango happens!
We took off our shoes and made our way up a steep staircase where we found a small room and the dango master himself, Chiba-san! All over the walls are photos of him and his customers who have visited Kakko Dango from around the world.
He quickly ushered us over to the window with a huge smile on his face as he happily showed us how the flying dango system operates. While it’s quite simple to use I’m sure it can be exhausting pulling in the rope all day and quickly at that!
He then allowed us to use the rope pulley to bring the basket toward the window and serve some dango ourselves! It was a fun, one-of-a-kind experience so if you have extra time make sure to stop in the store so you can also take part.
Once we both got some “flying dango lessons”, we took a quick picture with Chiba-san so we could remember this fun moment! He insisted that we hold our country’s flag in the photo too so he could hang it on his wall and remember where we visited from.
At the end of our time with Chiba-san, he took our photo and printed it out to keep as a souvenir and reminder of our time there! Now we have it in a shadow box with many other trip photos.
This experience was so memorable that when we decided to do a road trip to Tohoku in 2024, we decided we had to go back to Kakko Dango. Chiba-san was still there with a smile, happily serving his many customers delicious dango and tea. During our visit he let us operate the dango basket again and chatted with us for a while about his recent trip to Ginzan Onsen. I can’t effectively explain how beautiful this “full circle” moment was in words, but I’m so glad we went back.
We’ve had such enjoyable adventures at Kakko Dango and the Genbikei Gorge! If you are traveling through the Tohoku region this is worth visiting!
Kakko Dango Information
Hours: 9am-4pm daily, closed during winter months // Location of Restaurant, Flying Dango Spot
Who wants to visit Kakko Dango and experience the flying dango at Genbikei Gorge for themselves?
Comments & Reviews
Jacqueline says
Hello can we do the flying dango in december?
Kallsy says
Hi Jacqueline! Unfortunately it is closed during the winter months (December-February).