Waterfalls of Japan

Japan Waterfalls are sprinkled throughout this mountainous country that sees plenty of snow and cold winter days as well as hot and rainy summer days. The rugged topography has resulted in many different kinds of waterfalls from the percolating wide curtain of Shiraito-no-taki as well as majestic ones like Kegon-no-taki.

Given the history and Buddhism influence, there are also waterfalls by sacred temples such as Nachi-no-taki and others fed by the melting snow in the Japan Alps like Shomyo-daki and Hannoki-no-taki. And if that wasn't enough, there are places in the country where Nature has been allowed to thrive such as Daisetsuzan National Park as well as Shiretoko National Park. And in these parks, you can find waterfalls plunging down steep forested gorges like Ginga-no-taki and Ryusei-no-taki as well as a rotemburo (a hot spring waterfall) like Kamuiwakka-no-taki.

In a land of mysterious geishas, skilled samurais, onsens (spas), modern cities, discipline and efficiency in work ethic, a disarmingly humble and charming culture, and a public transportation system that's second to none, this country is quite unlike any other place we've been to.

Speaking of public transportation, we'll describe many of the falls here from the standpoint of taking public transport since that's what we did to control cost (though the tremendous infrastructure comes at a price as well). In fact, it's possible to visit the majority of sights as well as many of the waterfalls without the need for a car or taxi (with Hokkaido and some remote parts of Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku being the exception)! Considering that waterfalls are generally located in rural countrysides, that is quite an incredible statement to make!

Note: like the China page, we're also incorporating a combination of romaji (romanized Japanese) along with kanji (Japanese script that borrows heavily from traditional Chinese characters). That's because often times you'll only have kanji to deal with so you'll have to try to match up the characters if English is nowhere to be found (this happens quite often in Japan!). I also haven't really learned Japanese yet so I can't provide any further aids on pronunciations and translations besides our ability to translate some Chinese characters in kanji as well as translations already in the literature).

WATERFALLS

Click on one of the waterfalls below to read more about it.

Nachi Waterfall (Nachi-no-taki [那智の滝]) Nachi / Kii-Katsuura, Wakayama	Kegon Waterfall (Kegon-no-taki [華厳の滝]) Nikko, Tochigi	Akiu Waterfall (Akiu Otaki [秋保大滝]) Sendai, Miyagi
Shomyo Waterfall (Shomyo-daki [称名滝]) and Hannoki Waterfall (Hannoki-no-taki [榛の木の滝]) Tateyama, Toyama	Ginga Waterfall (Ginga-no-taki [銀河の滝]) and Ryusei Waterfall (Ryusei-no-taki [流星の滝]) Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido	Oshinkoshin Waterfall (Oshinkoshin-no-taki [オシンコシンの滝]) Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido
Hagoromo Waterfall (Hagoromo-no-taki [羽衣の滝]) Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido	Yu Waterfall (Yu-daki [湯滝]) Nikko, Tochigi	Ryuzu Waterfall (Ryuzu-no-taki [龍頭の滝]) Nikko, Tochigi
Urami Waterfall (Urami-no-taki [裏見の滝]) Nikko, Tochigi	Kirifuri Waterfall (Kirifuri-no-taki [霧降の滝]) Nikko, Tochigi	Shiraito Waterfall (Shiraito-no-taki [白糸の滝]) and Otodome Waterfall (Otodome-no-taki [音止めの滝]) Fuji, Yamanashi
Nunobiki Waterfall (Nunobiki-no-taki [布引の滝]) Kobe, Hyogo	Kamuiwakka Waterfall (Kamuiwakka-no-taki [カムイワッカの滝]) Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido	Bandokoro Waterfall (Bandokoro Otaki [番所大滝]) Norikura Highlands, Nagano
Furepe Waterfall (Furepe-no-taki [フレペの滝]) Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido	Shiretoko Waterfalls Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido

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