Hiking to the Hyakuhiro Waterfall in Okutama
On a dreary overcast day last week I decided to check out a towering waterfall in the Okutama watershed. One of the major drawcards hiking Mount Kawanori is passing by the rather impressive Hyakuhiro Waterfall 百尋の滝. Located in a rather remote corner of Okutama near the Nippara limestone cave the waterfall drops 40 metres in an upstream portion of the Kawakoketani River.
From the Kawanoribashi bus stop walk along the gated Kawanori Forestry Way for 45 minutes to the first rest stop. Recently the hiking trail suffered landslide damage and requires a further 30 minutes of roadside walking from here. Look out for a signpost veering off to the right which heads down to the waterfall.
Negotiating the wooden steps to the waterfall’s plunge pool thankfully has some ropes to grab hold of to steady your footing in the wet. Not surprisingly, I could enjoy the waterfall without the usual hordes of hikers that no doubt congregate in better weather. Wintertime photos show the falls frozen, though they can be accessed and enjoyed anytime of the year.
Access: take a 15 minute bus ride from Okutama Station (bus stop 1) and get off at the Kawanoribashi bus stop (260 yen).
.
.
Went there yesterday, awesome place but quite difficult to reach
anyways worth the pain
Glad you enjoyed the waterfall Asad even though it’s a bit of an undertaking get out there.
It’s definitely a pain to get out there! I went today – thanks for your helpful information! Just for your records, as of my trip at least, the hiking trail is repaired and I was able to continue on to the falls from the rest area. The trail seems a bit precarious at parts, certainly better make sure not to slip in some areas, but the waterfall was beautiful. Thanks again!
Good to hear you made it out to the falls safely. You’re right its quite an ordeal getting there, though the upside I guess is less people milling about. Thanks very much for sharing the information about the trail reopening.
I’ve been there twice now in May and June 2018. Quite easy to get to but I guess part of the trail was washed out a few years ago? I’m confused about the access road…the first time I went there were a few cars parked near the rest area. The second time, no cars parked but we did see one driving up. Appeared to be workers. The gate below was chained but not locked. Is it legal to drive to the rest area? I’d like to do that to make getting to Kawanori a bit shorter.
When I first did the hike back in 2015 part of the trail from the rest area to the waterfall was washed out but a year later it had reopened. Unfortunately you can’t drive to the rest area as the road is restricted to management vehicles and you risk the chance of being locked out.