Spring in Japan: Did Anyone Mention Cherry Blossoms?

In Japan, April is all about hanami. A sakura-obsessed nation measures the spring by viewing the cherry blossoms, making it a sort of national sport. Well, one where you can lie down on a blanket and enjoy a drink from your picnic basket.

Spring has come to Tochigi Prefecture as well; two and a half hours’ drive away from Tokyo, the town of Nikko offers world heritage sites and temples, but also a possibility to relax and unwind in beautiful nature.

The heart of Nikko National Park is Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls formed from its waters.

When I planned a spring visit, little did I expect that the curves of the serpentine road Irohazaka, leading from Nikko to the park, would shift us back to the winter season. On April 1^st, Japan was playing a joke on me.

Kegon Falls – the beauty to die for

If the sight had not been a beautiful one, and if matcha latte and a chocolate cheesecake in House Toki, the local café overlooking the lake, wouldn’t have been as delicious, I guess I would have had more understanding for the fact that the beginning of the 20^th century saw this area as a favorite suicide destination.

It was Misao Fujimura, a 16-year-old student of philosophy, who carved his farewell poem into a tree trunk before jumping down the 97-meter-high Kegon Falls.

Exemplifying the so-called Werther Effect, close to 200 youngsters attempted to copycat Fujimura’s mortal jump in the following decade only.

USEFUL TIP: The 50 minutes bus ride from Tobu Nikko Station to Chuzenjiko Onsen costs 1150 yen. If you take a 2-day pass at Tobu Nikko Station, you can ride unlimited number of times for 2000 yen only!

How immense the universe is!

How eternal history is!

I wanted to measure the immensity with this puny five-foot body.

Misao Fujimura's last verses

Considered one of Japan’s top three most beautiful falls, Kegon Waterfalls are certainly Nikko’s most important water asset (and they are not the only one!).

Nantai Mountain erupted some 15.000 years ago, dammed the river, and formed the Chuzenji Lake instead. Ojiri River spilling over the sheer cliff created the Kegon Falls.

Sacred misogyny

The mountain and the lake are still considered sacred. The appreciation of the area’s sacredness was so high that, supposedly, up until 1872, horses, cows, and women were not allowed to enter.

The Shinto Shrine Gate before the lake is a giant reminder that this is not just a tourist place famous for its hot springs.

One can smell the sulfur as soon as one exits the bus at the main station of Chuzenji Onsen, the village that got onsen even into its name. It is the place to find one’s inner peace, to connect the body and the soul at the Sea of Happiness, as the Japanese call the lake.

Kegon Falls are a short walk from the bus terminal. Viewing them from the upper area is free of charge, but good luck! Thirteen cascades form such a mist that on April 1^st, after the freshly fallen snow, blinding whiteness was all one could see.

Luckily, since the 1930s, elevators have been serving the facility, and for 550 yen, one can descend 100 meters down and enjoy better views from the lower observation decks.

Two shops selling local souvenirs are great places to warm up your fingers, as you will need their fully operating function to camera-capture this impressively beautiful place.

Japan spring with a winter signature

I’m sure the Falls are equally idyllic in any season, but there is some particular magic being offered in front of your eyes, struggling with spring fogs and winter whiteness.

The scenery looks like a black-and-white movie where only glimpses of blue water and brown rocks occasionally break the otherwise completely desaturated surroundings.

No cherry blossoms, no pink picnics, no la vie en rose.

Chuzenji Lake and Kegon Falls are a perfect place to contemplate in silence, far away from the big crowds.

Fishermen in the shallow waters of the lake could whisper a lecture or two on patience, and then the catch might be much larger than you could have possibly imagined.