Kegon Falls

Kegon Falls, in Upper Nikkō (Tochigi Prefecture, Japan) consistently ranks among the most beautiful waterfalls in Japan, if not the world.

Kegon Falls, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

The 97-meter, bridal-veil style fall was created when ancient lava flows from nearby Mt. Nantai diverted the flow of the Daiya River. While most of the water cascades down the face of the lava flow, some of the water filters through the porous rock and emerges near the base of the primary fall, creating more than a dozen smaller waterfalls near the base of the primary falls.

Kegon Falls is open to the public, and accessed via an elevator that descends directly through the lava flow. The temperature at the bottom is often 20 degrees cooler than the air at the top (due to its unique geological conditions, Kegon Falls actually drops into a natural valley below the surface of the surrounding ground).

For those who can’t get there–due to the current coronavirus epidemic or otherwise, here’s a short video of this lovely waterfall, which I filmed in June 2019:

Do you have a favorite waterfall? Or one you’d like to see? Please tell me in the comments!