A Trip to Hottai Falls!

This weekend, I went to see Hottai Falls, the tallest waterfall in Akita Prefecture. Getting there was quite an adventure! Armed only with a less-than-detailed map of the general vicinity, some verbal instructions from one of my JTEs, and the intermediate language skills of a couple of bumbling gaijin, a friend and I set off to find the waterfall.

During a stop to get gas in case we got horribly lost (a scenario I deemed reasonably likely...) my traveling companion managed to ask our gas attendants for some more detailed directions. Good on ya! The map and instructions we received were immensely helpful - and one guy even flagged traffic for us to make it easier to hang our right turn back onto the road! So sweet. :-)

Hottai Falls, which as I said is the tallest waterfall in Akita Prefecture, is gorgeous. There is a small restaurant, serving homemade noodles, fish grilled over open charcoal, nabe (hot pot or stew), and a variety of convenience foods like chips, candies, corn dogs, or the option we went with for our snack - sweet potatoes in sesame syrup! The restaurant looks over a large lawn leading to the bridge and short hike up to view the falls. Many elderly people were sitting on the lawn painting pictures of the falls.

It was very beautiful there, and I intend to return later this month for the Hottai Autumn Colors Festival, when the fall leaves will be in full swing and locals will be celebrating with a barbecue bash. Stay tuned!

To see Hottai Falls and the trip thereto, check out the slide show!