Ryuzu Waterfall (Ryuzu-no-taki [龍頭の滝])

Nikko / Yumoto Onsen, Tochigi, Japan

About Ryuzu Waterfall (Ryuzu-no-taki [龍頭の滝])


Hiking Distance: roadside
Suggested Time:

Date first visited: 2009-05-25
Date last visited: 2009-05-25

Waterfall Latitude: 36.75769
Waterfall Longitude: 139.45141

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Ryuzu Waterfall (Ryuzu-no-taki [龍頭の滝] or [竜頭ノ滝]; Ryuzu Falls; translated as “Dragon Headed Waterfall”) didn’t overwhelm us with neither its size nor volume, but it definitely had charm.

During our visit, we saw some purplish wildflowers blooming around the falls so that added quite a bit of color to the scene.

Ryuzu_008_05242009 - The Ryuzu Waterfall
The Ryuzu Waterfall

In fact, we weren’t the only ones charmed as we were surprised to see several other Japanese tourists toting big-time digital SLRs trying to get that colorful postcard shot (and we’re talking both husbands and wives and not just male photo buffs we were used to seeing back at home).

I even remembered seeing some cascade flanked by these flowers on our Webshots screen saver where they composed it to look like some other cascade (and they didn’t even bother to mention which falls it was).

Well, now after having been here, we figured out it was from this waterfall for sure!.

No wonder why this was one of the more popular waterfalls of the greater Nikko area.

Ryuzu_035_05242009 - Closer examination of part of the Ryuzu Waterfall flanked by some attractive pink flowers in bloom
Closer examination of part of the Ryuzu Waterfall flanked by some attractive pink flowers in bloom

There was a souvenir shop and cafe with a sheltered viewing area by the tables right in between the establishments.

This was the primary viewing area of the falls as I didn’t think there was any more walking paths to other parts of the Ryuzu-no-taki.

Thus, we probably spent a total of around 45 minutes or so here.

And most of that time was spent composing photographs as opposed to physical exertion.

Authorities

The Ryuzu Waterfall resides in the Nikko area of the Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It is administered by the Nikko National Park. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Nikko Tourism Association website.

Ryuzu_041_05242009 - Yep, we made it to the correct bus stop for the Ryuzu Waterfall according to this sign
Ryuzu_002_05242009 - One of the smaller cascades we noticed between the nearest bus stop and the main viewing deck for Ryuzu-no-taki
Ryuzu_005_05242009 - Now looking at the pair of waterfalls making up the Ryuzu-no-taki from the main viewing deck
Ryuzu_018_05242009 - Slightly different angled look at Ryuzu-no-taki as the viewing deck got a little crowded
Ryuzu_020_05242009 - Focused right on the taller cascade on the right hand side of Ryuzu-no-taki
Ryuzu_004_jx_05242009 - Closer look at the beautiful pink flowers blooming next to the Ryuzu Waterfall


To get to the Ryuzu Waterfall by public transport, there’s a dedicated bus stop between the Chuzenji Onsen (中禅寺温泉) stop and the Yu-daki stop (actually closer to the bottom than the top).

This means that you have to abide by the less frequent (but still reasonably frequent) Yumoto Onsen (湯元温泉) schedule from Nikko (日光).

For logistics on getting to Nikko in the first place, see our Kegon-no-taki page.

And for logistics on getting beyond the Chuzenji-ko (中禅寺湖) bus stop, see our Yu-daki page.

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Brief look at the double-barreled falls with some wildflowers making an appearance

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Tagged with: nikko, tochigi, japan, waterfall, unesco, chuzenjiko, chuzenji, lake, all nikko pass, yumoto onsen, yu-no-ko, chuzenji onsen, geothermal



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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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