Waterfalls Through the Year: Rain, Autumn Colour and Ice

A waterfall is the most seasonal of sights. The falls in this guide change their volume, their colour and even their shape through the year, and choosing when to go is half the pleasure of visiting them.

Early summer: the rains arrive

Japan's rainy season (tsuyu, roughly June to July) and the typhoon months that follow it fill the rivers. Falls that are slender threads in winter become broad, thundering curtains, and spray can soak a viewpoint. This is also when seasonal falls appear at all: beside Shōmyō Falls in Toyama, the 350-metre giant of this guide, the neighbouring Hannoki Falls — said to reach 497 metres — flows only when snowmelt and rain give it enough water, and vanishes in dry spells.

Autumn: colour around the falls

From October in the north to December in the south, the maples and beeches around Japan's waterfalls turn. The classic combination is Kegon Falls in Nikkō (97 m), where the water of Lake Chūzenji pours over a lava cliff framed by autumn colour; Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki, a broad four-tiered fall, is another celebrated autumn sight. Expect crowds at the famous names on fine weekends.

Winter: ice and quiet

Cold winters transform some falls into ice. Fukuroda Falls is famous for freezing across its whole face in severe cold — an icefall that climbers sometimes ascend — and many northern and mountain falls shrink to still, white sculptures. Paths at this season can be closed or dangerously icy, and some falls are simply unreachable until spring.

Before you go

Flow depends on recent rain, snowmelt and, on some rivers, dams and diversions, so no season guarantees a particular view. Paths near waterfalls are slippery in every season and can close after heavy rain. Treat this article as orientation only: read the individual fall's page here, then confirm access and conditions with official local sources before you travel.

Facts in this article are drawn from the Wikipedia articles for the falls named — see each fall's page in this guide for its full text and credits — CC BY-SA 4.0.