Nunobiki Falls : Things to See & Do

Walk north from Shin-Kobe Station, and within ten minutes the world shifts from concrete to the sound of running water. Nunobiki Falls is a collective name for four waterfalls — Ontaki, Meotodaki, Tsuzumidaki, and Medaki — and ranks among Japan's Three Sacred Falls alongside Nachi and Kegon. The main Ontaki, with its 43-meter drop, is genuinely awe-inspiring: a column of white water that cleaves through ancient rock. This place has been celebrated in Japanese literature since the Heian period. Poets of the caliber of Ariwara no Yukihira, Ki no Tsurayuki, and Fujiwara no Teika all composed waka here, and the falls appear in the classic Tales of Ise. The basin beneath Ontaki holds a vast natural pothole said in legend to lead to the Dragon King's undersea palace. The trail connecting all four falls is well-maintained and walkable in sneakers. Beside Ontaki stands Ontaki Chaya, a teahouse that has been open since the Taisho era, where you can sit with a cold beer and listen to the falls. It is one of those rare experiences that lives up to the romance of the setting. If time and energy allow, continue deeper into the mountains to Ichigahara, a hikers' rest stop in the forest, and beyond to the Nunobiki Herb Gardens — making this the entry point to Kobe's great north-south hiking corridor. Few visitors realize that from central Kobe you can be standing beneath a 43-meter waterfall in under thirty minutes. Give this walk a half-day and it will be the memory you carry home.