Sekiyama Waterfall (sekiyama-otaki [関山大滝])

Higashine / Sendai, Yamagata, Japan

About Sekiyama Waterfall (sekiyama-otaki [関山大滝])

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Sekiyama Waterfall (sekiyama-o-taki [関山大滝]; “Gateway Mountain Great Falls?” or just Sekiyama Great Falls) was an impressively gushing roadside waterfall located near Sekiyama Mountain between Sendai and Yamagata.

From translating the kanji, seki means “connection” or “gateway”, and perhaps it’s a fitting name considering the road it’s beside is the National Route 48 corridor, which seems to be a very busy route.

Sekiyama_110_07202023 - The Sekiyama Waterfall in the Yamagata Prefecture
The Sekiyama Waterfall in the Yamagata Prefecture

Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised by how much traffic this route saw during our July 2023 visit because it’s connecting one city on the coast and another one in the mountains.

In any case, the Sekiyama Falls was where the Midare River dropped a reported 10m over a width of 15m making this more of a block-type waterfall.

It possessed a bit of a rounded trapezoidal shape, which you might notice in the photo above, though that observation can only be made from an elevated lookout right behind the Otaki Drive-in Izumiya.

This drive-in was a souvenir shop, where I tried some local skewers and takeaway foods, but they also had some seating nearby the lookout so you can eat with a nice view of the falls.

Sekiyama_117_07202023 - The Otaki Drive-in Izumiya souvenir shop and cafe, which stood adjacent to the Midare River and the Sekiyama Otaki Waterfall
The Otaki Drive-in Izumiya souvenir shop and cafe, which stood adjacent to the Midare River and the Sekiyama Otaki Waterfall

Next to the upper lookout, there was also a series of steps descending to a red bridge spanning the Midare River with a frontal-but-partial view of the Sekiyama Falls.

The volume had pretty high volume during our mid-Summer visit (which also happens to be monsoon season in Japan), but I have seen pictures of this falls with less flow towards the colorful Autumn season.

Overall, our visit was nearly an hour, but the vast majority of that time was picture-taking and letting my niece and nephew play with rocks beneath the bridge in front of the falls.

Finally, I do have to warn that across the Route 48 from the Otaki Drive-in Izumiya was a public restroom and another cafe that also served up some creamy soft serve.

Sekiyama_063_07202023 - The Sekiyama Waterfall behind a red bridge over the Midare River with part of the family enjoying this spot
The Sekiyama Waterfall behind a red bridge over the Midare River with part of the family enjoying this spot

However, we had to be VERY careful about crossing this road given how much high speed traffic (including truck traffic) there was here.

In the back of my mind, I almost feel like this spot was an accident waiting to happen if there are no speed bumps or other means of slowing down the traffic.

Authorities

The Sekiyama Waterfall resides near the town of Higashine, which was like a suburb in Northern Yamagata City in the Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It may be administered by the local authorities of Higashine. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Yamagata Tourism website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.

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Tagged with: sekiyama falls, sekiyama great falls, sekiyama big falls, sekiyamaotaki, sekiyama great waterfall, yamagata, higashine, tohoku, otaki drive-in izumiya, sendai, route 48



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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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