Mototaki Fukuryusui

Mototakispring waterMt. ChokaiNikahomoss

Akita · Nikaho

39.1631°N, 139.9466°E

Rain and snowmelt on Mt. Chokai sink into the volcanic rock, travel underground for decades, and come out here — not over a lip but straight out of a moss-covered rock face thirty metres wide and about five metres high, in hundreds of separate threads. It is not a waterfall in the ordinary sense; there is no river above it. The water simply emerges from the wall.

The moss is continuous over the whole face and holds the light, which is why photographers come. Ten minutes on a gentle path from the car park gets you there, and the air in the ravine stays cold enough through August that people drive up specifically to stand in it. It is free, it is at the foot of the Chokai Blue Line, and the surrounding beech forest is worth the walk on its own.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Open access | Daylight only

Closed: Open year-round | Access affected by snow in winter

Entrance Fee

Free | Free parking

Best Season

May–June for fresh beech green | July–August for the cold air

Visit Duration

45–60 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Sekigashima, Kisakata-machi, Nikaho, near the entrance to the Chokai Blue Line. Car required — turn off Prefectural Route 131 at the signed side road past Shogatsu Hospital. Free to visit, with a car park. About 10 minutes on foot from the car park on a gently undulating path. The ravine stays cool even in midsummer.

Insider Guide

Premium

**It comes out of the rock, not over it.** There is no stream above the face. Understanding that before you arrive changes what you are looking at — this is groundwater emerging after decades underground. **Early morning for the light.** The face is in a wooded ravine and low side light through the trees is what makes the moss and the threads read. **August is why locals come.** The ravine holds cold air and is markedly cooler than the coast. This is a heat-escape site. **Ten minutes on a made path.** Gentle, but it is a forest path and it is wet near the falls. Ordinary shoes with some grip. **Combine with the Chokai Blue Line.** The mountain road up Chokai starts nearby and is one of the best drives in northern Japan.

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