The best waterfalls in Kumamoto Prefecture

This is from last August, a trip without the kids, and it's stuck with me ever since. A local told us about it. Ta-taki Falls, deep in the mountains of northern Okinawa. Barely any visitors from home seem to know it exists.

I've done plenty of river treks back home. Most of them are developed within an inch of their life. Paved paths, railings, gift shops at the end. Ta-taki isn't like that. The valley's basically untouched. No real commercial development, no rubbish anywhere along the river, just water and wind through the trees. The only thing built by human hands is a rope at a couple of the steep, rocky bits, bolted in to help you climb. That's it.

The trail follows the river upstream, so you're wading for most of it. Knee-deep in places, along the Henan River. Wildlife everywhere. Small lizards darting across the rocks and through the grass the whole way up. Not scary at all, just shy — leave them be and they go about their business.