A visit to Kankakei is built in two stages: first you cross the sea, then you climb. The gorge cuts through the middle of Shodoshima, formed by volcanic activity thirteen million years ago and shaped over the two million since, and its colour comes early to late November — ahead of the flat ground around the coast, because of the altitude.

The usual way across is the ropeway: 917 metres of cable climbing 317 metres, with rock and leaf passing the window at the same time. You end up looking down into the gorge from a height you could not otherwise reach.

There is also a walking route, about an hour each way, which passes the named rock formations at close quarters and threads through the plants that have seeded themselves in the crevices. The choice is clean. The ropeway gives you the view of the gorge; the path gives you the gorge itself.

From the upper station the Inland Sea opens out beyond the ridges — the water you crossed in the morning, seen from a mountain in the afternoon. The ferry timetable, not the ropeway, is what limits the day, so plan backwards from the boat. Sea and mountain inside one day. Few autumn trips fold together this neatly.