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Joshin’etsukogen NP, Nagano
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A rock shelf lets you walk behind the 30m waterfall and watch the torrent through its water curtain. Continue past it for a full view from the far side—hence its nickname Urami-no-taki, “Back-View Falls.”
On the old Kusatsu road, travelers heard this waterfall but couldn’t see it. In 1909, village youths aged 17–25 roped down a cliff to discover its full cascade.
In 2021, Kaminari Falls had a cameo in Sazae-san’s Nagano-themed opening: animated Sazae walks behind the falling water and gets sprayed. The scene playfully mirrors the real path behind the waterfall.
Kaminari-daki means “Thunder Falls,” named for the roar of the Matsukawa as it plunges about 30m. A local account says snowmelt swells the flow, so spring brings an even louder thunderclap.
The falls entered fiction in 1919: Seiji Tanizaki, younger brother of novelist Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, set his novel Kekkonki here. A Takayama Village museum curator recorded this unusual local literary connection.
Silicification hardened the tuff breccia beneath the falls, slowing erosion. Still, the village says the cascade gradually retreats upstream—as if this waterfall is slowly moving house.
The stream’s lip is only about 2m wide, but the falling water spreads to roughly 5m as it plunges 30m. Snowmelt makes the curtain fuller still, adding a seasonal surge to its roar.
