Kegon Falls

Kegon is the drain of Lake Chuzenji, which sits in a basin dammed by lava from Mount Nantai. The water leaves the lake and falls ninety-seven metres in one clean line into a rock amphitheatre, with dozens of smaller seepage streams threading out of the cliff face alongside it. There is a free viewing terrace at the top and a lift that drops through the rock to a platform at the base, where the noise and spray make the difference. The falls freeze partially in deep winter and run hardest after the summer rains. The road up from Nikko is the Irohazaka pair of one-way switchback routes.

What you actually see

• The free upper terrace - the full drop seen from the rim beside the car park.
• The base platform - reached by lift through the cliff, level with the plunge pool.
• The seepage streams - thin falls leaking from the lava layers either side of the main jet.
• Lake Chuzenji - the lake above, with boats and the cone of Nantai behind it.

When to go

Late October brings the colour and the crowds together, and the Irohazaka roads then jam for hours. Summer after heavy rain gives the strongest flow. In January and February the falls partly freeze and the crowds vanish, though the road can need winter tyres. Go early in the day whatever the season, since coaches arrive from mid morning.

Honest expectations

The lift to the base is charged and the queue for it in autumn can run past an hour, while the free upper terrace gives a decent but distant view. Flow drops noticeably in dry spells, and spray or low cloud can blank the whole thing out. The Irohazaka traffic in colour season is genuinely bad, and buses sit in it too.

Nearby

Lake Chuzenji, the Senjogahara marsh boardwalks and the shrines of Nikko below the switchbacks.