Harajiri Falls

Harajiri Falls lies in the Ogata district of Bungoono City, Oita Prefecture, on a river in the Ono River system. The falls are about 120 m wide and 20 m high, and they are listed among Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls. Instead of a deep mountain gorge, the water drops suddenly out of flat rice fields, which is why the falls are nicknamed the Niagara of the East.

The cliff is made of welded tuff from the Aso-4 pyroclastic flow, produced by an eruption of Mount Aso about 90,000 years ago. The river eroded and broke the rock, forming the present step, and the cliff face shows columnar joints. The nearby Chinjaku Falls formed in the same way.

The falls are easy to enjoy on foot. A suspension bridge crosses the river downstream, a walking path circles the falls, and visitors can go down close to the plunge pool. Take care on the wet rocks and cliff edges. The Michi-no-Eki Harajiri-no-Taki roadside station on the left bank has a restaurant and shop, and its parking lot can be used when visiting the falls. About 500 m upstream is the five-arch stone bridge built in 1923. In April, about 500,000 tulips bloom in the nearby paddies during the Ogata Tulip Festival, and car access to the falls is restricted. Allow one to one and a half hours. Okajo Castle ruins in Taketa are about 4 km away.