The best waterfalls in Takachiho

It was raining by the time we reached Takachiho Gorge, a fine, soft kind of rain that never quite stopped the whole afternoon. I'd pictured sunlight cutting down between the cliff walls, the water lit up green and gold. Instead we got mist clinging to the rock, water beading on the columnar basalt, and Manai Falls sounding louder than I expected before we'd even seen it, like something was speaking from further down the gorge.

Getting there had its own small drama. I'd wanted to book the rowboats directly through the official site, since gliding right up to the waterfall is the main reason people come here, but every slot for the next two weeks was already gone. In the end I found a day tour on Klook that included the boat ride for about 300 yuan and booked it without thinking twice. We met at Kumamoto Station early that morning, loaded onto a bus, and spent an hour and forty minutes getting to Takachiho.

Onto the Water