The lower deck
Right before the falls.
Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan — CC BY 2.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0 · Ray in Manila — CC BY 2.0 · Joli Rumi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Uraomote yamaneko — CC BY-SA 3.0 · LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Inazakira — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mauricio V. Genta — CC BY-SA 4.0
A waterfall at Lake Chūzenji in Nikkō National Park, formed when lava flows rerouted the Daiya River. It is about 97 metres high and drops into a sheer rock gorge, with about twelve smaller falls seeping through cracks in the rock behind and beside it. In 1927 it was chosen as one of the «Eight Views» that best represented Japan and its culture, and it is on the Ministry of the Environment's 1990 list of Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls. The upper viewpoint looks at the falls from afar, while a lift descends about 100 metres through the rock to a lower deck close to the base, where the water plunges right in front of you. It is at its finest in autumn colour and in early summer when the flow is strongest, and partly freezes in winter. The upper viewpoint is free; the lift to the lower deck costs about 600 yen return, per visitor guides. Buses climb from Nikko Station on a winding mountain road that can be very congested in autumn.
Right before the falls.
Through the rock.
Around the gorge.
At the outlet of Lake Chūzenji, Nikkō National Park
The upper viewpoint is free but distant; the lift (about 600 yen return per visitor guides) takes you to a deck near the base, where the water falls right in front of you.