Shiraito Waterfall (Shiraito-no-taki [白糸の滝]) and Otodome Waterfall (Otodome-no-taki [音止めの滝]) Why?
The walk to get here from the bus stop takes roughly 20 minutes, but you have to go in a downhill direction before going down a flight of stairs to reach the stream level at the base of Shiraito-no-taki. That means, yep, you've got to climb back up those steps to get back to the bus stop.
Since logistics is a big deal regarding these waterfalls, we'll try to break down how we managed to do it (keep in mind we were there in late May so the additional Summer routes weren't available).
[Back to top]  View of Shiraito Waterfall along with its colorful plunge pool View of Otodome Waterfall and its oblong plunge pool Looking down at Shiraito Waterfall and a nearby shop Looking way downstream at more of the Shiraito-no-taki just to show how wide it is Looking at the falls with footbridge before it Looking alongside the stream up towards Shiraito-no-taki[Back to top] View of the falls from an opening on the cliffside looking down at the scene Brief bottom up sweep of the impressive falls on the way to Shiraito-no-taki Broad sweep trying to communicate how wide the main part of the falls is View Larger Map Tell us about your experience with this waterfall. [Back to top] [Go to previous waterfall: Kirifuri Waterfall] [Go to next waterfall: Nunobiki Waterfall] [Go to the Japan Waterfalls Page] [Go to the Asia Page] [Return from Shiraito Waterfall and Otodome Waterfall to the World of Waterfalls Home Page]
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Let's start with Shiraito Waterfall. This is really a very wide series of percolating waterfalls through moss and other foliage giving it a charming and fairly unique character to it. The falls is so wide that there's really no way to get it all (or even most of it) in one go as the stitched photo above suggests. Adding to the allure of the scene is the deep green and blue of the water when the sun comes out. Although the shops and cafes kind of take away from the peace and Nature of the area, it's still one of our favorite waterfalls in the country. 
But along the way down before getting to the stairs, there's another waterfall bonus in Otodome Waterfall as well! Unlike Shiraito-no-taki, this one is a narrower, more classic waterfall as it plunges into an oblong plunge pool that also exhibits some of that greenish blue color we saw at the larger waterfall. A viewing deck for this falls fronts several shops and cafes and it's easy to be preoccupied with this waterfall alone! 