2020-05-20

Shasui Falls

Located near the head of the Tanzawa River, this waterfall is part of Saishō-ji, a Buddhist temple that is located nearby.

The waterfall is only a 5-minute walk from the parking area provided for tourists located shortly downstream. 

Location on Google Maps:

The falls are used by the clergy and monks of the nearby Saisho-ji Temple, and is also a holy site for Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. Members of both traditions stand directly under the fall and endure the water striking the head and upper body during a purification ceremony.

Unfortunately, super typhoon, Typhoon Hagibis, wreaked havoc on this area (as well as the rest of Japan) back in October 2019. As of this posting, there is still a substantial amount of debris and damage to the trail and bridges leading to the waterfall. 

The only way to access it now is to risk injury climbing along the damaged banks, or climb up the middle of the stream if the water current is not too strong or too deep. 

Fortunately, when I visited with my dog, the stream was not deep at all and most of the debris seemed securely lodged into their positions creating a kind of staircase to the upper portion of the river where you can stand next to the falls. 

I reached this location about an hour before sunset after a 4-hour drive. If the evening sun ever shines through the forest canopy, I was too late to witness it. 

Due to the encroaching darkness, all of the shots were taken with long exposures to capture as much light as possible. I feel that the large boulders were a bit overwhelming in my composition. Maybe if there was more water volume, or maybe if I had come before the typhoon there would be less rock visible. 

One advantage to visiting a location that has been damaged by a natural disaster is the lack of tourist buses and the crowds that debark from the. Although these shots are not very good and seem more cluttered than I'd like, being alone with my dog at this location was definitely worth the time and effort to get here. 

Shasui Falls
Flooding caused by Typhoon Hagibis back in October 2019 caused some damage to the verillon bridge leading up Shasui Falls, which is one of tributaries of Tanzawa River.
Pentax KP 46mm ISO 1600 for 0.6 sec. at ƒ/18
#waterfall #river #bridge #NationalPark #Shasui #Japan
#滝 #川 #橋 #滝沢川 #洒水の滝 #日本の滝百選 #全国名水百選
Fine art prints available at pix4japan.darkroom.tech.

Bridge to Shasui Falls
The bridge to Shasui Falls remains damaged and littered with debris from the super typhoon that came in October 2019.
Pentax KP 40mm ISO 100 for 30.0 sec. at ƒ/14
#waterfall #river #bridge #NationalPark #Shasui #Japan
#滝 #川 #橋 #滝沢川 #洒水の滝 #日本の滝百選 #全国名水百選
Fine art prints available at pix4japan.darkroom.tech.

Clastic Sedimentary Rock
Erosion has exposed the clasts that helped build these huge boulders that now rest downriver from Shasui Falls.
Pentax KP 18mm ISO 100 for 25.0 sec. at ƒ/16
#river #stone #boulder #NationalPark #ShasuiFalls #Japan
#川 #石 #滝沢川 #洒水の滝 #日本の滝百選 #全国名水百選
Fine art prints available at pix4japan.darkroom.tech.

Purification Falls
Used by monks from the nearby Buddhist temple for a purification ceremony where they stand directly under the fall as the water strikes their head and upper body.
Pentax KP 18mm ISO 100 for 6.0 sec. at ƒ/11
#ShasuiFalls #purification #Buddhism #Japan
#滝沢川 #洒水の滝 #浄化の滝 #日本の滝百選 #全国名水百選
Fine art prints available at pix4japan.darkroom.tech.

Tanzawa River
Japanese-style vermilion bridge crossing the Tanzawa river downstream from Shasui Falls.
Pentax KP 40mm ISO 100 for 30.0 sec. at ƒ/4.5
#river #bridge #NationalPark #ShasuiFalls #Japan
#川 #橋 #滝沢川 #洒水の滝 #日本の滝百選 #全国名水百選
Fine art prints available at pix4japan.darkroom.tech.


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