Overview
Kyukai Falls lies in the Moriyoshi area of Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture. True to its name, it is a nine-tiered cascade: the upper section splits into eight small steps, while the lowest ninth tier slides in a single sweep for about 60 meters down a mortar-shaped slab of solid rock. There is no hiking trail leading directly to it, and it can only be reached by stream-climbing, earning it the nickname the Phantom Falls.
Highlights
- ●The rare form of a nine-tiered stepped cascade
- ●The power of the lowest tier sliding about 60 meters down a slab
- ●Its seclusion as the Phantom Falls and God's Stream
- ●Nearly 2 km of continuous slab rock in the Sama-no-sawa headwaters
History
Along the Sama-no-sawa headwaters that feed Kyukai Falls, a sheer wall of monolithic slab rock runs almost continuously for nearly two kilometers. Ascending from downstream is extremely difficult, blocked by this slab and two unnamed falls, and even the local Matagi hunters revered the place as the God's Stream, said to have been unapproachable since ancient times. This inaccessibility gave rise to its byname, the Phantom Falls.
Access
The falls are set deep in the mountains of Moriyoshi, Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture. There is no direct climbing route; instead one ascends the comparatively gentle Akamizu-sawa and, weaving between the slabs up to the ridge, gains a distant view. As this is advanced terrain requiring stream-climbing skills, gear and experience, do not enter alone, and confirm current conditions and routes with official information or experienced guides.
Best season
The suitable season for stream-climbing centers on high summer, when the risk of high water is relatively low and water temperatures rise. Even so, conditions depend heavily on weather and flow, so whether you can enter the gorge is decided by the day's situation. Do not push your luck; plan around the weather and water levels.
Map
39.9720, 140.6592 · Wikidata
Suggested itinerary
- 1Enter the mountains of Moriyoshi, Kitaakita City, and confirm your plan
- 2Ascend the comparatively gentle Akamizu-sawa
- 3Weave between the slabs up toward the ridge
- 4Take in the distant view of Kyukai Falls from the ridge
Did you know?
💡 The Matagi are people who long made their living hunting in the mountains of the Tohoku region. That even the Matagi, who knew those peaks intimately, are said to have kept away makes Kyukai Falls a legendary secluded cascade hidden in the deep mountains of Akita.
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