About Tataki Falls
Tataki Falls (ta-taki [ター滝]) is a stocky but satisfying plunge waterfall requiring a bit of a river trek adventure to access.
We actually made two attempts to visit this waterfall because the first time we showed up was during a heavy rain storm, where the excursion was closed off.
When we finally got a chance to do this excursion the following day in more benign weather, we understood why they closed it off because the river hazards are real.
Indeed, most of this excursion is within a branch of the Henan River, where we had to hike and wade through a combination of a stream bed as well as the river itself.
When we had to cross or wade through the river, we were primarily trudging through knee-deep water, but the adventure became progressively rougher the closer to the waterfall we went.
That was when we found ourselves climbing and clinging to rock faces and ledges, respectively, to avoid the deepest parts of the river (usually where there’s a cascade and plunge pool).
Some of the hike had some sections where ropes were set up to act as hand-holds to aid with some of the sketchier parts of the hike.
I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable doing this adventure in bad weather since the river levels may change to become too prohibitively high (and too fast-moving).
As a result, that’s why the people managing the car park here control when the excursion is open or closed (in addition to their standard operating hours of 8am-5:30pm with last admission at 4pm).
Indeed, I would consider this 1.4km hike (2.8km round-trip; of which 900m in each direction is within the river itself) as a benign weather only excursion.
As for the Tataki Falls itself, this 10m double-barreled plunge waterfall turned out to be Julie’s favorite waterfall on Okinawa Island.
Not only was it pleasing to look at, but it also had a large and deep enough plunge pool to allow for swimming, which I’m sure people would appreciate in the hotter Summer months (the water was cold during our late November 2024 visit).
There was even a rope swing off to the side to allow for people to have more fun lingering around this impressive waterfall.
Of course, Julie might have had a different opinion if we were able to visit the Hiji Waterfall during our trip to Okinawa, but it was closed due to a landslide that wiped out its access road prior to our attempt to get to it.
Trail Description
When we first showed up to the car park (see directions below), we were given a parking placard with instructions on how to go about our visit, and we leave it in the car until we return it upon leaving.
The basic purpose of this placard is that it overcomes a language barrier since the information on the placard is pretty self-explanatory.
However, it’s also a sort of time stamp (as each placard uniquely identifies to the owner when you have first arrived) so they can tell how long you’ve been parked at the Tataki Waterfall car park.
They charge you a different amount depending on how long you’ve been parked here, and as of our late November 2024 visit, it’s 500 yen for 2 hours, and they charged us an additional 50 yen for the next half-hour.
The entrance/exit kiosk also housed an equipment shop, where we also rented river shoes for 500 yen per pair.
I was able to do this hike in my rugged Chacos, but my wife and daughter were better off renting these shoes, especially since luggage space and weight restrictions were too limited to be bringing more pairs of shoes.
Anyways, once we left the car park and toilet facility, we then walked along the continuation of a local road for the first 500m or so.
Eventually, a sign directed us to leave the road and go into the riverbed from here on out, and that was where we pretty much stayed on one side of the river or the other with some crossings in between.
This is a bit of a choose-your-own-adventure kind of hike, so it’s really up to you how hard or how easy you want to make this hike based on how you’ve chosen your route (especially where you have to cross and/or wade in the river).
Anyways, for the next 300m, the riverbed was wide enough such that the water crossings were no more than shin-deep based on how we did the crossings (though there were certainly deeper ways to go if you’re so inclined).
However, after encountering a warning sign, that was when the gorge narrowed and the final 600m or so of the adventure involved more obstacles and hazards.
It started off with a rope-assisted climb to get around a cascade obstacle with a deep plunge pool.
Then, we pretty much rock-scrambled and waded in the river where the worst sections might have been about knee-deep.
I recalled that there was one section where we went through a knee-deep section though there was a rope-assisted ledge to cling onto in the event this part of the river might get too deep or fast-moving.
Eventually, we rounded a final bend to the right, and we found ourselves right a somewhat open area backed by the impressive Tataki Waterfall.
Aided by a large log and some stacked rocks (kind of acting as a dam of sorts), the plunge pool fronting the waterfall was certainly deep enough for a refreshing swim.
There was even a Tarzan rope set up off to the shadier side of the plunge pool to its left, where it was possible to cross the river and scramble up to its elevated swing off point.
When we showed up in the late morning, we happened to catch a faint rainbow in its mist, and we shared this place with two other couples.
So it didn’t feel busy nor crowded at all, but we did visit on a weekday so I should caveat that statement since I’m sure this place would be way busier on the weekends or holidays.
After having our fill of the Tataki Falls, we went back the way we came while being careful to remember the obstacles that we encountered so as to not make the return hike any harder than it was.
When we returned, we wound up spending just over 2 hours away from the car so we did have to pay the extra 50 yen above the two-hour base cost of 500 yen.
But then again, these were modest costs (especially when you consider the very weakened yen compared to the US dollar as of our visit in late 2024).
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that this excursion used to be free and a rather wild excursion (which some of the internet literature that’s outdated still reflects).
However, the infrastructure regarding the car park and signage was completed in 2016, and even as of our late 2024 visit, there was still some construction going on around the river entry point.
So it’s possible that by the time you visit this waterfall, there could be more changes seeking to improve access or to provide more amenities than what’s already there.
Authorities
Tataki Falls resides between Nago City and the village of Ogimi on Okinawa Island in the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It may be administered by the local authorities of Ogimi Village. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the official Ta-taki Falls website.
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