About Kosaka Nanataki Waterfall (kosaka-nanataki [小坂七滝])
The Kosaka Nanataki Waterfall (kosaka nanataki [小坂七滝]; “Kosaka 7 Falls”) was a pretty convenient roadside waterfall situated between Kosaka and Lake Towada.
Although I didn’t personally couldn’t tell, it’s said to have seven drops (the word nana means “seven” in Japanese, which you might also be able to tell from the kanji).
Whether these tiers are really there or not, it’s said that the Kosaka branch of the Yoneshiro River drops over a cumulative height of 60m (which seemed kind of generous in my mind).
Nevertheless, it’s one of Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls as gazetted by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in a 1990 publication.
Around the bottom of the waterfall was a waterwheel as well as a shrine, which adds a bit more variety to a short visit here.
Regarding that shrine, a legend says that a landowner called Magozaemon threw firewood over the falls, which was a forbidden act, in a gesture to show off his power.
As the firewood fell, a pained groaning came from the falls just as the earth and the heavens shook.
When the firewood hit the water, it never resurfaced, and soon thereafter, Magozaemon was bedridden with disease.
It turned out that the falls was the incarnation of a snake spirit, who appeared in magozaemon’s dreams to curse him for his arrogance.
Ultimately, it was only when Magozaemon built the Nanataki Shrine (which we were able to visit) that his sins were absolved.
As far as our visit was concerned, we never really got a wholesome look at the entirety of the Nanataki Waterfall due to foliage obstructions.
This was especially true the closer we got to the base of the waterfall, where it appeared way shorter than it really was.
Regardless, we ultimately spent a little over 30 minutes away from the car, which was parked in a large car park fronting some Farmer’s Market and a restaurant (see directions below).
Most of that time was spent taking pictures while also checking out the Nanataki Shrine, which was just past the bridge fronting the waterfall.
Authorities
The Kosaka Nanataki Waterfall resides near the town of Kosaka in the Hachimantai District of the Akita Prefecture, Japan. It may be administered by the local authorities of Kosaka. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Akita Tourism website.
The Kosaka Nantaki Waterfall is just to the northeast of the town of Kosaka in the Akita Prefecture.
In order to drive to the Kosaka Nanataki Waterfall, we had to get off the E4 at the Kosaka IC exit in the town of Kosaka.
From there, we drove to the northeast along the Route 2 past the Kosaka Railroad Rail Park towards the Kosaka Nanataki car park on the left (about 7km from where toll road exit deposited us).
Just to give you an idea of the distances involved, it took us about 90 minutes to drive from Morioka to the Kosaka Nanataki Waterfall.
It also took us about 30 minutes to drive to the shores of Lake Towada from the Kosaka Nanataki Falls.
For some geographical context, Kosaka was about 49km (under an hour drive) southeast of Hirosaki, 81km (a little over an hour drive) south of Aomori, 109km (about 90 minutes drive) north of Morioka, 124km (over 90 minutes drive) southwest of Hachinohe, 133km (about 2 hours drive) northeast of Akita, and 641km (about 7.5 hours drive) north of Tokyo.
Find A Place To Stay
Approaching the falls while revealing the waterwheel, torii, and bridge under some momentary sun
Semi-circular sweep of the falls from before the bridge before doing a zoomed-in panning in bottoms-up direction
Closeup bottoms up look at the falls
Exploring the grassy park before the falls and then approaching the falls itself under some rainy weather
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
