After an hour of sleeping in riding the bus from downtown Nikko, we were greeted by this mountain in front of Chuzenji Onsen bus terminal.
It was so beautiful, and with its shape, it kinda reminded me of Mayon Volcano in the Philippines. We were talking of what mountain or probably a volcano this was, but my memory of our talk was nowhere to be found now. If you know the name of this mountain, let me know in the comments.
You might be wondering why we're here in Chuzenji Onsen area. Originally, we plan to spend the afternoon admiring Lake Chuzenji sipping coffee and tea while a friend will soak in the onsen. Coffee and tea didn't happen. But at least, we got to see one of the things we came here for - the waterfall.
One of the famous waterfalls in Nikko, the Kegon Waterfall (華厳の滝, read as Kegon No Taki) is one of Japan's most beautiful falls. I've been meaning to come here during autumn because of its incredible autumn colors but I came here with friends on winter instead. Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything because I didn't know what to see in this season.
The falls wasn't so clearly visible on the ground. It would be such a waste to end our journey here, so when my friends asked if we should take the paid elevator going to the observation platform on the base of the falls, I immediately said let's go!
The paid elevator fee was 600 yen for adults and 400 yen for kids. They're available from 9am~4:30pm. It's actually just a normal elevator going to the basement - 100 meters from the ground.
When the elevator door opened, we were in a tunnel. It's not a scary tunnel you see on Japanese films, just a small tunnel for people to walk in. The exit of that tunnel was the observation deck.
It was one of the best decisions we made that day ever. The views from the this observation platform was completely different from the ground. Here, you could see the waterfalls up close, without distractions.
Did I say we came here on a winter day? Even when it's not autumn, Kegon Waterfalls is looking so magnificent! It's so cold that parts of it froze. Actually, it's almost frozen! What a beautiful sight! Is this art?!
This waterfall is said to be 97 meters, so I understand now why we descended 100 meters from the ground.
There weren't benches to sit on the observation platform so we were standing the whole time admiring the ice shapes of the falls and the surrounding area.
There's a small souvenir shop too but we couldn't find something we like so after a while, we headed back to the ground level.
It was such a fantastic experience I could never forget. Even now when I'm closing my eyes, I could still see how impressive the waterfalls was. It's beauty is now imprinted in my core memory! It's one of Japan's beautiful waterfalls indeed. If you'll ask me if I would go back, I definitely would! I wouldn't mind seeing such a beauty again!
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.
Where is Elsa? Did Elsa freeze the falls? Hahaha! It's beautiful how amazing nature is. Thanks for sharing such amazing story.
Hahahaha! I think Elsa did! 😅
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Hahahaha actually it was very cold when we went there because we weren't prepared for the snow LOL
Sounds like a really fun and fulfilling experience. It’s a good thing you went there during winter, it is something a lot of persons won’t want to do on a regular day, hehe.
Thanks for sharing these views with us.
Hahaa I totally get why people don't want to do that 😅
I'm glad I chose to go and see this beautiful falls!
You did well.
Oh my god it's really charming the frozen falls 😍😍😍
It's charming indeed! Wish you could see it in actual!
Wow! The place is absolutely amazing. It's like nature showing off its elegance and power at once. Thanks for sharing 🥰
That's true! It's so amazing indeed!
Wow, the place must be very cold, but the beauty of the place is really extraordinary with the frozen waterfall looking very cool like we see in an extraordinary painting ❤️🙏
We weren't expecting to be so snowy so yes, it was cold! 😅
It really looked like a painting!
That's a nice place, I wish I could experience that.
I hope you can someday!
Wow these photos are so pretty! I was only in Nikko for a day trip during my visit to Japan and I didn't manage to visit the waterfalls. Hehe.
It's understandable, it's a bit far from the downtown and you had to pass the famous curvy road going back. 😅
Wish you could visit again and not miss this place on your next visit!
That is Mount Nantai, and it is a volcanic mountain like yours back in the Philippines! You can read all about Mount Nantai on Wikipedia 🙂 And OMG, that waterfall is amazing! 😮
I also found the exact spot where you were standing to make the photo of Mount Nantai. 😁 There's a Natural Science Museum there, too!
Love your travel posts! 😊
Amazing! Kittygirl, you must be chatgpt of Hive! 😆
You even knew where I was standing taking this photo! Omg! Incredible!
It’s indeed Mount Nantai! I couldn’t remember what it was, so thank you for helping me!
I am very happy to help! 😊
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What a beautiful place and pictures!! It looks extremely cold! Lol of course, but it really made me feel that weather.
Thanks a lot for sharing such a wonderful experience!
Thank you! It was cold when we went there because of the wrong choice of clothes but seems like other people weren't bother by the cold. 😅
Wow. Seeing these photos I felt freezing😉😉.
Thanks for sharing
With just the right clothing, you won't feel cold 😅
It looks so cold there, but the falls look very cool. The sharp frozen icicles look like teeth of a monstrous mouth. Thank you for sharing!
ohh a monster! 😅 nice nice! i haven't thought about it being like a teeth of a monstrous creature 😅
haha maybe I just have a wild imagination
wow 😍 how I wish I could visit countries with winter season 🫶🏻
one day for sure you will! just be prepared for the cold 😅
The part where it’s almost frozen during winter sounds like a scene from a fantasy movie. I’ve only seen waterfalls during the summer, but now I wanna try visiting one in winter too.
It was also my first time to see waterfalls on a winter day. Never thought it would be this awesome!
Thanks!!
Ito yung tunay na chill lang😅
Hahahahaa chill literally pala
Omg! Breathtaking!!! The [-place is gorjaaaas and amazing! Jaw dropping.
It was really amazing!
I knew you would like it too!
You did a great job with the photos! The beauty of nature is stunning. I shared some winter photos recently, but they were mostly taken from my balcony. Yours are much better ^^
Nah, my balcony doesn't have nice winter photos hahaha I had to travel out of town to see nice looking winter spots 😅
wow , amazing its my first time seeing a frozen falls , your photos really captivating , and nice view , have a great day ahead!
Thank you! It was amazing indeed!
Looks like in a movie where the place is frozen in time. It's so beautiful to see especially if there's summer in the area. Full of greenery and crystal clear waters
I hope to be back in other seasons to see how this place looks like ☺️
The place is very nice and amazing. I wish I could visit places like this, someday. Nice photos.
Thanks! I hope you could visit one day!
Beautiful photos.
Thank you!
Wow, it's indeed an incredible experience of seeing such a big waterfall freeze. Sadly, for some reason most of the photos in your post weren't visible for me, but anyways the waterfall is amazing. Japan is such a beautiful country and I would love to visit it someday! I bet it was cold, but it's worth it, the views are fantastic!
Awesome 😍😍
I envy you for this trip. You don't see such nature beauty every day. I think I saw snow 3 times this winter, for a few hours each time and no way we can get such a nice waterfall. You're lucky dear Witty.
In Tokyo there wasn't much snow either. I had to travel out of Tokyo to see the snow. 😅
It's really a nice waterfall. I wonder if all waterfalls look like this during winter.
I've seen such waterfalls in Italy, up in the Alps, but only in TV. I hope I will see one or many live as well, one day :)
Till then, keep them coming 😉
One day! Hopefully you'll see them soon! And more for me too! 😅