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Joshin’etsukogen NP, Nagano
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The Zako River, which flows through Okushiga Gorge, is managed without hatchery fish releases. Instead, the local fishery cooperative protects natural spawning beds and closes many tributaries to fishing, helping native iwana char reproduce naturally.
Harmonica Falls got its nickname from anglers: they thought the water spreading across a broad rock slab looked like a harmonica. The name turns a familiar piece of fishing-world imagination into a feature of the gorge.
Zako River is not just scenery: its water serves nearby drinking and irrigation needs. Local residents have also helped build and maintain the gorge’s trail, linking this popular walk to everyday community care.
Mawariai-no-taki, or “Reunion Falls,” is named for a real meeting: it stands where the Zako and Mankai rivers join. Downstream from their watery rendezvous, the channel widens and swings into broad bends.
The green beneath the water is rock, not a trick of reflection: the gorge trail passes an exposed bed of green tuff, a broad, nearly continuous rock surface over which the stream flows.
At Okushiga, the waterfall written 大滝 is read Ōzen, rather than the more familiar Ōtaki. The resort describes this Zako River cascade as a dramatic, two-tier waterfall.
