Harafudo Waterfall (Harafudo-taki [原不動滝])

Shiso / Himeji / Tottori, Hyogo, Japan

About Harafudo Waterfall (Harafudo-taki [原不動滝])

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Harafudo Waterfall (Harafudo-taki [原不動滝]; also just called Harafudo Falls or Harafudodaki) was one of the more obscure waterfalls that we visited.

It was actually a three-tiered falls with a cumulative height of 88m so it sported some pretty impressive dimensions.

Harafudo_Falls_063_10222016 - Harafudo Waterfall
Harafudo Waterfall

However, it felt off the beaten track well west of the Kansai area (where the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara are located) while being pretty much right in the middle between Himeji and Tottori.

My parents looked at the kanji of this waterfall’s name and had this quizzical look because it literally translated as the “motionless waterfall”.

We’re not certain what that meant, especially since the Harafudo Waterfall was clearly moving.

Even the view you see pictured above came from a suspension bridge that was also moving with the winds as well as the steps of each person on it.

Harafudo_Falls_065_10222016 - Focused view of the uppermost tier of the Harafudo Waterfall
Focused view of the uppermost tier of the Harafudo Waterfall

Perhaps its appearance on a 1969 15 yen stamp essentially froze the falls in time?

Regardless, this was said to be one of Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls as gazetted by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, and our scenic rating for this falls certainly corroborated their survey.

Experiencing the Harafudo Waterfall

Our visit to the Harafudo Waterfall was pretty straightforward.

We spent about a little over an hour away from the car on this excursion.

Harafudo_Falls_110_10222016 - Context of the suspension bridge perched above and across from the Harafudo Waterfall
Context of the suspension bridge perched above and across from the Harafudo Waterfall

The hike itself (not including the part that was closed, which we’ll get to later) was on the order of about 1.4km round trip.

Still, we spent lots of time admiring the falls and going on that detour to see where that other closed trail went.

So I’d imagine that a more focused visit could be more on the order of about 45 minutes.

The Harafudo Waterfall Trail Description

From a pretty well-signed car park (see directions below), we walked along a road going past a restroom facility as well as some kind of outdoor gym or playground.

Harafudo_Falls_017_10222016 - Near the car park for the Harafudodaki Park, we noticed some religious structures, including this line of small statues reminding me a lot of the Bake Jizo in Nikko
Near the car park for the Harafudodaki Park, we noticed some religious structures, including this line of small statues reminding me a lot of the Bake Jizo in Nikko

We then passed through a little shelter where there was a Buddha statue as well as a small row of Bake-Jizo-like statues (like a smaller version of the ones we saw near Nikko).

Then, beyond these things, the trail eventually crossed a bridge over the Hachijogawa Stream before reaching the official trailhead some 450m from the car park.

At the trailhead, there was a booth collecting an entrance fee, which was said to be about 200 yen per adult when we were there.

Actually, our visit occurred before anyone was in the booth so we dropped the needed yen in a drop hole based on the honor system.

Harafudo_Falls_027_10222016 - Dad approaching the entrance kiosk for the Harafudo Waterfall hike
Dad approaching the entrance kiosk for the Harafudo Waterfall hike

Beyond the entrance booth, the trail then went across a suspension bridge traversing the Hachijogawa before ascending a series of steps.

Near a junction, we kept right to go onto another suspension bridge, which led us to a dead-end.

However, along the bridge, we were able to look directly down at the impressive Harafudo Waterfall.

We were never really able to get a clean look at the falls because of the presence of support wires that kept the suspension bridge where it was.

Harafudo_Falls_034_10222016 - The hike to the Harafudo Waterfall involved quite a bit of extensive walking on suspension bridges
The hike to the Harafudo Waterfall involved quite a bit of extensive walking on suspension bridges

From looking at the rugged terrain around the bridge, it would have been difficult to get such an intimate and non-blocked view of the falls so I guess you gotta take the good with the bad.

Given the waterfall’s size, it was difficult to get that all-encompassing look at the whole thing in one go.

As if the size wasn’t enough, there were also lots of foliage around the waterfall, which further made it hard to get that clean all look of all the drops in one go.

Still, that foliage also meant that it would be an ideal spot to see the koyo (Autumn colors).

Harafudo_Falls_107_10222016 - Context of the last suspension bridge and the bottom tier of the Harafudo Waterfall
Context of the last suspension bridge and the bottom tier of the Harafudo Waterfall

Unfortunately, as you can see on the photos on this page, our visit probably came a few weeks too early for that.

Nevertheless, my parents and I enjoyed a very peaceful and relaxing time here thanks to its relative obscurity.

When we had our fill of the view of the Harafudo Waterfall from the suspension bridge, we then backtracked to the trail junction at the start of the bridge.

Then, we explored the other trail to see where it went, but after going up several steep steps, we reached a trail closure where we managed to get a more elevated but partially blocked view of the Harafudo Falls.

Harafudo_Falls_123_10222016 - Partial view framed between trees of the Harafudo Waterfall on our way up to the trail closure further up the mountain
Partial view framed between trees of the Harafudo Waterfall on our way up to the trail closure further up the mountain

So we couldn’t say for sure where else this trail went since we didn’t cross the closure.

And so we turned back at this point and went right back to the car park.

Authorities

The Harafudo Waterfall resides near Shiso of the Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It is administered by the Hyogo Prefectural Government. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Hyogo District Forest Office website.

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Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: himeji, hyogo, tottori, waterfall, suspension, bridge, japan, top 100, shrine



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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