What is Kirifuri Fall?
Kirifuri Waterfall is located in Tokono, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, on the Kirifuri River, a tributary of the Itana River in the Tone River system. Along with Kegon Falls and Uramitaki Falls, it is one of the three most famous waterfalls in Nikko[1]. It is also selected as one of the 100 best waterfalls in Japan.
The upper waterfall is 25 meters long and the lower waterfall is 26 meters long, making the total length of the waterfall 75 meters. The width at the top is about 3 m, but it widens to about 15 m at the bottom. From the viewing platform on the south side, there is a path leading down to the base of the waterfall, which takes about 40 minutes round trip (as of December 2008, the path is closed all year round). The rare insect Galois beetle, discovered by the French diplomat Galois in 1915, lives near the falls.
How to get there
By train and bus
The nearest stations are Tobu Nikko Station or JR Nikko Station.
From there, take the Tobu Bus bound for “Kirifuri Kogen/Osasa Ranch” and get off at the “Kirifuri Waterfall Entrance” stop. It takes about 10 minutes.
From the bus stop, it is a 15-minute walk to the viewing platform. Basically, there are no dangerous spots, but be careful not to slip after it has rained.
By car
From near Tobu Nikko Station or JR Nikko Station, take Prefectural Route 169 leading to the Kirifuri Plateau for about 10 minutes, and you will see a sign for Kirifuri Fall along the road, and the first parking lot is just ahead of the sign. There is a large parking space here. A little further in and to the left from the bus stop is the second parking lot. It is not very spacious, with a capacity of about 20 cars, but the road to the viewing platform is closer from this parking lot.
Conclusion
How was Kirifuri Fall? The distance from the viewing platform to the waterfall is a little far, but the power of the waterfall is still very powerful because of its large size, and it was great to be able to view the waterfall from a bird’s eye view of the beautiful surrounding mountains.
If you visit Nikko, why not extend your visit not only to Kegon Fall, but also to Kirifuri Fall!
