Sgaru Falls, Natural waterfall in Minamiaso, Japan

Sgaru Falls (Sugaru Falls) is a waterfall on the Kurogawa in Minamiaso, Kumamoto Prefecture, where the river drops about 60 m over a 20 m-wide face at a break in the western rim of the Aso caldera. The plunge pool below covers roughly 2,970 m², and the falls can be seen from the Aso Bridge where National Routes 57 and 325 meet.

The falls sit in a break in the western rim of the Aso caldera, where the Kurogawa drops about 60 m before joining the Shirakawa. A myth says Takeiwatatsu-no-Mikoto kicked open the caldera rim to create farmland, and the deer swept over the new falls gave it its name. Another tradition links the name to a hunt held by the Aso clan in 1191, said to have inspired the 1193 Fuji hunt.

The name Sgaru Falls comes from a deer hunt: several deer were driven over the cliff and swept down, giving the falls the meaning "waterfall of several deer." One tradition places this hunt in 1191, when the Aso clan held the Shimononokari hunt, said to have served as a model for the Fuji no Makigari of 1193.

The falls sit where the Kurogawa meets the outer rim of the Aso caldera, a short taxi ride from Tateno Station on the Hohi Line. By car, take Route 57 about 23 km from the Kumamoto IC; the falls can be seen from the Aso Ohashi bridge at the junction of Routes 57 and 325.

The name means "waterfall of several deer": legend says deer were driven over the cliff during a hunt. One tradition places this hunt in 1191, when the Aso clan held the Shimononokari at the site; another credits the kick of Takeiwatatsu-no-Mikoto, who broke the caldera rim to create farmland. The hunt is said to have served as a model for the 1193 Fuji no Makigari.