Life After 50: Ryuzu Waterfall

Showing posts with label Ryuzu Waterfall. Show all posts

Adventures with Host Family to Nikko, Japan

So funny that Keiko and Audrey had brought gifts for each other. Both were very happy with their gifts......loving their smiles.

Time to leave and Yugi is behind the wheel ready to take us all on a big adventure to Nikko Mountains, Japan. Starting up the mountain it was so curvy thought I was going to be car sick. Check out all these curves, Yikes. This famous road connects Lake Chuzenji with the town of Nikko down in the valley. It ascends more than 400 meters and is named "Iroha Slope" because its 48 turns used to equal the number of characters in the Japanese syllabary, formerly referred to as "iroha".

I was glad when Yugie stopped at this place located at the top of the Irohazaka Winding Road, shortly before reaching Lake Chuzenji. The Akechidaira Plateau is a small parking lot with panoramic views over the winding road and the valley below. A ropeway lifts visitors in three minutes from the parking lot to an observation platform with views of Kegon Waterfall in combination with Lake Chuzenji.

All along the mountain road, the view was so majestic and beautiful. The mountains were covered with green trees and the fog had not lifted yet.

Lake Chuzenji is a scenic lake in the mountains above the town of Nikko. It is located at the foot of Mount Nantai, Nikko's sacred volcano, whose eruption blocked the valley below, thereby creating Lake Chuzenji about 20,000 years ago.

Chuzenjiko' shores are mostly undeveloped and forested except at the lake's eastern end where the small hot spring town of Chuzenjiko Onsen was built. The town is also the site of Kegon Waterfall, the most famous of several waterfalls in Nikko National Park. Another popular waterfall, Ryuzu Waterfall, is located at the northern shores of Lake Chuzenji where Yukawa River discharges into the lake.