Tsukimachi Falls

Tsukimachi Fallswalk behindDaigowaterfallsoba

Ibaraki · Daigo

36.8049°N, 140.3706°E

Tsukimachi is 17 metres high and 12 metres wide and comes down in three separate strands, and its local name is the fall seen from behind — because you can walk in behind the curtain of water without getting wet. That is rare in Japan and rarer still without a ticket barrier and a queue.

The falls sit on a tributary of the Kuji River in Daigo, the far north of Ibaraki, and the whole thing is free. A tea house called Momijien stands at the foot of them and is the reason a lot of locals come: it serves soba and, in summer, all-you-can-eat somen noodles eaten within sight and sound of the water. Autumn colour arrives from late October through late November. Nearby Fukuroda Falls draws the coaches; this one does not.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Falls accessible during daylight hours | Momijien tea house 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Closed: Falls open year-round | Momijien closed Wednesdays, with irregular closures May–August and in November

Entrance Fee

Free | Free parking | Tea house food priced separately

Best Season

Late October–late November for autumn colour | Summer for the cool air behind the falls

Visit Duration

45–60 minutes | 90 minutes with a meal

Getting There

Access Information

1369-1 Kawayama, Daigo, Kuji District. Car recommended. Free to visit with free parking. Momijien tea house open 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM, closed Wednesdays, with irregular and occasional additional closures from May to August and in November — phone 0295-72-3993 to confirm before a long drive.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Walk behind it.** The path around the back of the falls is the point of coming and is easy to miss if you only view from the front. You stay dry; the noise from inside is considerable. **The tea house is half the visit.** Momijien does soba year-round and all-you-can-eat somen in the warm months, served within sight of the water. It closes at 5:00 PM and takes Wednesdays off, with extra unscheduled closures in the summer and in November. **Late October to late November for colour.** The gorge turns later than the Ibaraki lowlands. That is also the busiest window, though busy here means a full small car park rather than a crowd. **Skip Fukuroda if you want quiet.** Fukuroda Falls, twenty minutes away, is one of Japan's three great waterfalls and is served by ticket gates, a tunnel and coach parking. Tsukimachi is the one people from the area actually take visitors to.

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