Urayama Dam, Gravity dam in Chichibu, Japan

Urayama Dam is a 156 m high gravity concrete dam on the Urayama River, a tributary of the Arakawa. Its downstream face, divided by vertical contraction joints into pale gray panels, slopes outward to the base; the crest carries a parapet with piers and gate structures, and a boxy concrete outlet projects from the lower center.

Planned from 1972 as a 165 m rock-fill dam, Urayama was redesigned as a 156 m gravity concrete dam after cost and geological studies. Work was transferred to the Water Resources Development Public Corporation in 1976, and after compensation talks with 49 submerged households settled in 1987, the dam was finished in 1998 and began operating in 1999. At 156 m it ranks second in Japan among gravity concrete dams after Kurobe's Ogōchi Dam (157 m).

The reservoir is named Chichibu Sakura Lake, and cherry trees bloom along its shores in spring. The dam's lower entrance leads into a gallery with exhibits, then an elevator up to the crest; a device nearby lets anyone feel the water pressure. The adjacent Urara-pia museum houses the Sakura Lake canteen, which serves Urayama Dam curry and what is described as Japan's first Urayama Dam ramen.

You can walk from Urayamaguchi Station or take a bus from Seibu-Chichibu Station to reach the site. Clear weather offers the best views across the reservoir and surrounding hills from the top.

Inside there is an elevator system and gallery showing the engineering mechanics of the structure. Over 500 steps lead visitors through different vantage points along the dam's interior.