Fukuroda Falls, Tiered waterfall in Daigo, Japan.
Fukuroda Falls is a waterfall on the Taki River in Daigo, Ibaraki Prefecture, dropping 120 metres in four tiers across a 73-metre width. The water falls over a dark cliff of hard volcanic ejecta, separating into thin parallel streams that collect in foamy water above wet black rock.
The cliff behind the falls is made of volcanic ejecta, including the hard Nantai-san volcanic breccia layer, that solidified on the seabed about 15 million years ago and resisted erosion for millions of years. In the Edo period the area belonged to the Mito Domain, and Tokugawa Mitsukuni, known as Mito Kōmon, is said to have visited the falls.
The falls are also called Yodo-no-taki, "the waterfall of four times": one explanation says the name comes from the Taki River dropping over the rock in four tiers. Another tradition holds that the monk Saigyo, who visited the site, said the falls must be seen once in each of the four seasons to grasp their true character.
A tunnel measuring 276 meters leads to two observation platforms connected by an elevator. The lower viewpoint sits closer to the base of the falls, while the upper level provides an overview of all four tiers.
The falls are also called Yodo-no-taki, "the waterfall of four times", either because the Taki River drops in four tiers or, by another account, because the monk Saigyo said one must come once in each season to grasp its true character. Full freezing, once nearly annual, was last recorded in 2012; in recent winters water runs beside the ice.
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