Sendan-todoro no Taki, 70-metre waterfall in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Sendan-todoro no Taki is a waterfall in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, where the Kawabe River, a tributary of the Kuma, drops about 70 meters from a rock head. The plunge pool is roughly 8 meters across, and the water then flows into the Nishinoiwa before continuing southeast to the Kawabe. The falls lie within the Kyushu Central Mountains Quasi-National Park.
The waterfall drops about 70 metres from a rock head on the upper Kawabe River, a tributary of the Kuma. Its name comes from a large sendan tree (Melia azedarach) that once stood near the falls, while todoro refers to the thundering sound of the water. The basin below measures roughly 8 metres across, and the stream continues via the Nishinoiwa into the Kawabe. The site is listed among Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls.
The name combines sendan, the chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach) that once stood near the falls, and todoro, meaning "roar" or "thunder" for the sound of the 70-meter drop. The falls are one of Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls, and rhododendrons bloom in early summer while maples color the slopes in autumn.
The waterfall lies along Kumamoto Prefectural Route 52 (Ogawa-Izumi line), about 19 km from the Izumi branch office of Yatsushiro City Hall and 43 km from the Yatsushiro Interchange on the Kyushu Expressway. By public transport, take a Kyushu Sanko bus from JR Yusaki Station to the Yanō Bunkō-mae stop, then a taxi for about 35 minutes. The surrounding Sendan Todoro Park is maintained for visitors.
The basin drains into the Nishinoiwa, which runs southeast into the Kawabe, a tributary of the Kuma; the Kuma then flows northwest into the Yatsushiro Sea, a bay of the East China Sea. The name todoro means "roar" or "thunder", referring to the sound of the falling water.
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