Fukiware Falls

photo by Σ64 · CC BY 3.0

photo by TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋) · CC BY 2.0

A 7 m drop and more than 30 across: a Natural Monument since 1936, seen from above.

The water does not fall over a step but cuts a passage through the tuff of the Katashina River bed: hence the name, ‘the waterfall that splits’ (吹割), and the nickname ‘Niagara of the Orient’, because, as with the original, you look at it from above and from the side, not from below. The drop is only 7 metres, but it is more than 30 wide. A loop trail of about an hour takes in three different viewpoints along the gorge. Since 16 December 1936 the stretch (gorge and waterfall together) has been a national Natural Monument.

吹割の滝 lies in the gorge carved by the Katashina River through volcanic tuff, in Numata. On 16 December 1936 the then Ministry of Education designated the gorge and waterfall together (‘吹割渓ならびに吹割瀑’) a national Natural Monument, for the erosion of the tuff and the beauty of the whole. It is typically closed from mid-December to late March for the winter season, and the path is not lit at night.

ℹ️ Access and path free of charge. Typically closed from mid-December to late March; check the exact dates; the path is off limits at night. Free car park with about ten spaces at the traffic lights before Fukiware Bridge, plus paid private car parks nearby. By car, about 25 minutes (16 km) from the Numata interchange on the Kan-etsu Expressway; by bus, about 45 minutes from JR Numata Station (Kamada line) plus 3 minutes' walk.

🚉 吹割の滝 · 13 min walk

Sources: online.bunka.go.jp · numata-kankou.jp

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