Sasa Waterfall (sasa-no-taki [笹の滝])

Totsukawa / Kumano Mountains, Nara, Japan

About Sasa Waterfall (sasa-no-taki [笹の滝])


Hiking Distance: about 1km round trip (hazardous scramble to end of trail)
Suggested Time: allow about 1 hour

Date first visited: 2023-04-11
Date last visited: 2023-04-11

Waterfall Latitude: 34.0605
Waterfall Longitude: 135.85956

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Sasa Waterfall (Sasa-no-otaki [笹の滝]; Sasa Falls, which can be a Japanese surname meaning “bamboo grass”) is a powerfully gushing 32m waterfall on a tributary of the Taki (Falls) River.

It’s certainly deserving of its status as one of Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls per the Ministry of the Environment (a list published in 1990), and my experiences have shown that this list has been quite spot on (this waterfall included)!

Sasa_Falls_047_04102023 - The Sasa Waterfall
The Sasa Waterfall

That said, this waterfall certainly carried a bit of drama, in my mind, mostly because of its remote location combined with a rather dangerously slippery scramble that’s required to get a clean look at it.

A Surprising Bit Of Drama Around The Sasa Falls

Regarding the drive to get here, I had to drive quite a ways from Shingu to the depths of the Kumano Mountains in the Nara Prefecture, including a 10km or so drive on a single-lane road (see directions below).

I believe it was in this stretch of the road that I might have gashed a tire that I would later have to figure out how to change into a spare on my own, then drive 60km back to Shingu where I knew there’s a tire shop and rental car office.

While these things can and do happen when you drive mountain roads, I have to confess that I wasn’t as careful on the single lane road as I might have gotten too close to the cliff wall at one point and clipped the tire.

Sasa_Falls_010_iPhone_04112023 - Getting all the way to the end of the trail meant getting across this dangerously slippery scramble (notice the direction of the tilt) despite the presence of chains to hold onto
Getting all the way to the end of the trail meant getting across this dangerously slippery scramble (notice the direction of the tilt) despite the presence of chains to hold onto

Regarding the dangerously slippery scramble, I had to climb onto wet and very slippery boulders with chains to hold onto in an attempt to both keep my balance and still move forward towards a cleaner view of the Sasa Falls.

I definitely had my doubts about this scramble, especially considering how the wet and slippery slopes tilted the wrong way towards dropoffs and/or the waterfall’s plunge pool.

In hindsight, if this waterfall has high flow (which seemed to be the case during my April 2023 visit), then maybe it’s not a good idea to pursue that cleaner view (which I’ll delve more into in later on in this write-up).

Perhaps, it’s best to visit this place in the Autumn where the combination of lower flow and the koyo (Fall colors) would make experiencing this waterfall more pleasurable.

What’s Up With The Name “Sasano Falls”?

Sasa_Falls_042_04102023 - Even the partial view of Sasa Falls is not bad.  You'll really need to weigh the risk versus reward of going all the way to the end just to get past the boulders blocking the view
Even the partial view of Sasa Falls is not bad. You’ll really need to weigh the risk versus reward of going all the way to the end just to get past the boulders blocking the view

By the way, I’ve seen this waterfall searched as “Sasano Falls” in Google, which is weird, because the particle “no” (or の) shows possession or modifies an adjective/noun in Japanese.

I’m not sure who propagates and misleads Google into essentially renaming the waterfalls to include the particles, but it’s an awkward English translation, and it really should be just Sasa Falls or Sasa Waterfall.

After all, you don’t see Nachi Falls or Nachi Waterfall being referred to as the Nachino Falls, do you?

It could very well be something that was lost in translation, especially since you don’t get that many English-speaking tourists into this more remote part of Japan.

Sasa_Falls_015_04102023 - Context of the torii gate fronting the trail leading up to the Sasa Falls
Context of the torii gate fronting the trail leading up to the Sasa Falls

In this section, I’ll briefly go into how the short hike was like, and I’ll punt the driving details to the directions part of this write-up.

So after parking my car near the restroom facility (there are also more parking spaces another 100m or so further down the road), I then walked up towards the start of the waterfall hike, where there’s signage at a torii gate.

The river was quite loud around this trailhead because the tributary stream also had a cascade flowing between the road bridge and the restroom facility.

Beyond the torii gate, the trail pretty much hugged along the base of cliff walls (which were soaring maybe at least 100 meters high) before the trail started to go underneath a jumble of giant boulders.

Sasa_Falls_029_04102023 - The Sasa Falls trail follows along the base of some vertical cliffs that may be prone to rockfalls
The Sasa Falls trail follows along the base of some vertical cliffs that may be prone to rockfalls

This part of the trail was set back enough from the stream to stay dry for the most part, but I’d imagine this under-the-rock scramble would be quite dangerous in times of flood or bad weather (even with the chains to hold onto).

Beyond the rockfall traverse, the trail then continued on a degenerating boulder scramble alongside more cliff walls before getting closer to the Sasa Falls (which is partially seen at this point) and its tributary creek itself.

At this point, the path gets rough real fast as I had to contend with pools, slippery rocks, and chains to hold onto to help with some of the dicey ledges.

Eventually, the path goes into the spray zone of the Sasa Falls, which made the continuation of the trail very dangerously slippery (despite the bolts and chains that were set up here).

Sasa_Falls_033_04102023 - The Sasa Falls Trail about to go underneath a rockfall obstacle with chains to hold onto because there are some wet and slippery spots even when the creek is not in flood or it's not raining
The Sasa Falls Trail about to go underneath a rockfall obstacle with chains to hold onto because there are some wet and slippery spots even when the creek is not in flood or it’s not raining

While I did manage to get up to a cleaner look at the Sasa Falls, I had to crawl in some spots as well as have quite a few doubtful moments trying to figure out how to proceed without a bad accident.

Indeed, practically none of the footing here was certain (even with hiking boots on), and it would have been hopelessly dangerous without the chains.

I wound up taking about 45 minutes to get to the end of the trail (it’s supposed to take no more than 10-20 minutes), and it took me another 40 minutes to get back to the car.

That gives you an idea of just how slow and deliberate I had to be in the dangerous part of the scramble for this falls.

Sasa_Falls_055_04102023 - Closer look at the treacherously wet and slippery ledge above the plunge pool for the Sasa Falls at the end of the trail
Closer look at the treacherously wet and slippery ledge above the plunge pool for the Sasa Falls at the end of the trail

If that last bit is a bit too much for your risk tolerance (it certainly tested mine), then you might be better off not bothering with the scramble and settling for the partial views of the Sasa Falls.

You still actually get to see most of this impressive waterfall, but you just don’t get to see its very bottom and its plunge pool.

Authorities

The Sasa Waterfall resides near Totsukawa Village in the Yoshino District of the Nara Prefecture. Even though it seems to sit just outside the Yoshino-Kumano National Park, it maybe administered by the Ministry of the Environment. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the official website.

Sasa_Falls_003_04102023 - A side waterfall spilling before the official start to the Sasa Falls hike
Sasa_Falls_004_04102023 - Looking ahead at the final 100m leading past the restroom facility to the start of the Sasa Falls hike
Sasa_Falls_008_04102023 - Checking out some loud cascades on the tributary stream responsible for the Sasa Falls as seen from nearby the restroom facility
Sasa_Falls_017_04102023 - Looking upstream from the road bridge over the tributary responsible for the Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_021_04102023 - Looking back through the torii gate just to let you know how close 100m looked
Sasa_Falls_026_04102023 - Following the Sasa Falls Trail along the base of these vertical cliffs
Sasa_Falls_028_04102023 - Indeed, these cliffs were vertical and therefore prone to rockfalls as you can see from the big ones that are already on the canyon floor
Sasa_Falls_036_04102023 - The Sasa Falls Trail then went underneath a rockfall traverse, that could definitely get slippery when wet (even with the chains there for leverage)
Sasa_Falls_038_04102023 - Beyond the rockfall traverse, I got my first teasing glimpse of the impressive Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_040_04102023 - Looking downstream across the tributary stream towards a tall rock cliff
Sasa_Falls_045_04102023 - Getting closer to the base of the Sasa Falls, where the trail rapidly degenerated into a slippery, bouldery scramble
Sasa_Falls_054_04102023 - This was my first unobstructed glimpse of the Sasa Falls, though I definitely took a bit of risk getting up here against the slippery chain-assisted scramble
Sasa_Falls_057_04102023 - Looking back at the wet and very slippery ledge with chains to hold onto as I was trying not to fall into the plunge pool while experiencing the Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_063_04102023 - Another look at the Sasa Falls unobstructed as seen from the end of the official trail
Sasa_Falls_065_04102023 - Back to the relative safety of the partial views of the Sasa Falls as I managed to make my way back from the most dangerous part of the scramble
Sasa_Falls_071_04102023 - Context of the chains bolted onto the giant boulders fronting the Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_073_04102023 - Looking up at a side gully or valley where a sign and chains were erected to prevent people from trying to go up that way
Sasa_Falls_075_04102023 - Making my way back down from the rockfall traverse as I made my way back from the Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_077_04102023 - Going past an overhang with some wet, slippery rocks to contend with on the way back from Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_079_04102023 - Going back to another rockfall traverse on the way back from Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_080_04102023 - Squeezing my way through the tight holes left by the fallen boulders on the way back from Sasa Falls
Sasa_Falls_081_04102023 - About to exit the rockfall traverse and be pretty much home free on the way back to the parked car to end the Sasa Falls hike
Sasa_Falls_086_04102023 - Going back along the steps and ledges near the start of the Sasa Falls Trail
Sasa_Falls_089_04102023 - Checking out this Takigawa Valley sign from the other side of the road bridge that I didn't end up driving past after the Sasa Falls hike was over for me
Sasa_Falls_093_04102023 - Looking up towards the higher parts of the surrounding mountains where I noticed that there were still flowering trees (including cherry blossoms) here and there despite the peak having already passed in most of Japan
Kumano_Driving_001_iPhone_04112023 - This was the main reason why the road got very loud on the drive back to Shingu from Sasa Falls, and it was also the reason why I had to take an extra hour or two to deal with this situation
Kumano_Driving_004_iPhone_04112023 - Fortunately, I figured out how to work the jack and put the spare tire on the rental car, which enabled me to go all the way to Shingu, where I knew more services and help would be available
Kumano_Driving_009_iPhone_04112023 - Ultimately, the Toyota Rent-a-Car operator three-way called me and the rental car clerk in Shingu to get me to this tire shop, where they quickly got me in and out of there in about 15 minutes with new tires (so the trip could resume as usual)!


Sasa Falls sits well within the Kumano Mountains north of Totsukawa Village in the Nara Prefecture.

Since I made the drive from Nachikatsuura to Sasa Falls by way of Shingu and Totsukawa, I’ll describe the route in this manner (knowing full well that there are other approaches, especially from the north around Nara, Asuka, Yoshino, etc.).

Drive_to_Sasa_003_iPhone_04112023 - Much of the drive along the Route 168 involved cliff-hugging mountain roads (many of which had metal netting like this to keep the rocks from falling onto the road)
Much of the drive along the Route 168 involved cliff-hugging mountain roads (many of which had metal netting like this to keep the rocks from falling onto the road)

From Nachikatsuura, I took the E42 expressway towards Shingu as the freeway ends and I took the 42 to an intersection with the Route 168 at one of the traffic lights.

Then, I drove about 66km to a signed turnoff for the Sasa Falls leaving the Route 168 roughly 7.5km north of Totsukawa.

Next, I followed the mostly single-lane rural road for the final 11km to the limited parking spaces about 100m before the trailhead for the Sasa Falls.

During this last bit of driving, there were signs spaced every kilometer apart to let you know your progress (and keep you oriented in the right direction).

Drive_to_Sasa_004_iPhone_04112023 - Although the rural road to the Sasa Waterfall had cherry blossoms, it was still mostly single-lane road with blind turns
Although the rural road to the Sasa Waterfall had cherry blossoms, it was still mostly single-lane road with blind turns

Note that the reverse is also true on the way out.

Overall, this drive took me around 2.5 hours given the winding roads, delays from road work, and slower drivers with limited opportunities to pass.

Finally, it’s worth noting that this rural road actually keeps going beyond the Sasa Falls Trailhead.

Based on what I could glean from my limited Japanese, the road apparently continues along the Takigawa (Falls River) towards its end, but it’s not clear to me if there are more waterfalls (as the river’s name suggests).

Sasa_Falls_090_04102023 - Looking back at the context of the restroom facility and my parked rental car as seen from just in front of the torii marking the start of the Sasa Falls Trail
Looking back at the context of the restroom facility and my parked rental car as seen from just in front of the torii marking the start of the Sasa Falls Trail

I was running short on time during my visit so I couldn’t pursue this issue further (and it was a good thing I didn’t given my flat tire issues).

For geographical context, Shingu was 16km (under 30 minutes drive) north of Nachikatsuura, 23km (over 30 minutes drive) south of Kumano, 117km (over 2.5 hours drive) south of Yoshino, 235km (3.5 hours drive) south of Nara, 228km (3.5 hours drive) southeast of Osaka, and 217km (over 3 hours drive) southwest of Nagoya.

Find A Place To Stay

Downstream to upstream sweep from the bridge by the trailhead for Sasa Falls


Downstream to upstream sweep from right before the dicey slippery scramble


Sweep emphasizing the chains around the slippery boulders before the base of Sasa Falls


Another precarious sweep from the slippery ledge above the plunge pool of Sasa Falls but this one has a zoom in along the drop of the falls


Downstream to upstream sweep from along the banks of the creek and slippery rocks before ending at a partial view of Sasa Falls

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Tagged with: totsukawa, kumano, sasano, nara, takigawa, taki river, kumano kodo, kokudo, kazeya, dam, reservoir, japan top 100, route 168



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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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