It has been raining quite heavily over the last week or so in Saga, because it is spring, and we usually get most of our rain in this growing season, and in the wet season of early summer. And all of the rain means that Saga's many waterfalls are running faster, and a thousand dormant ones will be running again. A short drive in any direction in Saga, or for that matter just about anywhere in Japan, will take you within easy access of many of them.
Obuchi falls, just a few minutes drive to the North of Saga city limits, runs quite hard during summer.
There are several large falls in Saga, at places like Kannon no taki, and Mikaeri no taki, which both run and roar pretty hard in summer, and even have plenty of water in them during the off seasons. But there are many, many smaller falls that become quite spectacular during the spring and summer rains. And there are countless numbers of small, beautifully hidden falls deep in the forest, shaded over by thick growth, but that can still be reached by a short walk.
The last stage of the seven steps falls at Furuyu, and two typical small falls coursing through the quiet forest after spring rain.
You can find them best by walking slowly down into the gullies - slowly, because snakes live here, and some of them are quite dangerous - and listening for the gentle splashing of the water. They are often quite hard to see, surrounded by thick, blue-flowering hydrangea bushes, and the canopy of maples, birches and pines.
Or finding the exit of a fast running creek, and following it upstream, uphill, until you come to a fault line, where earth movement of some kind has broken the stream, causing it to pour down over the rocks, or even small cliffs.
The fast running water below Kannon falls, near Karatsu, in summer and early autumn. Two sheer rockfaces where the earth has been traumatically shifted, and the water spills down the exposed rockfaces.
The water cascading over them is usually cool, and clear, and occasionally tastes slightly of minerals, where some spring below the ground is feeding some of itself into the stream. It is probably very drinkable down here in Saga, but I rarely take the chance. But they are very peaceful, and quiet places to sit and relax, and watch the many varieties of dragonfly that frequent such places, especially in the summer. The dragonfly is the emblem of Saga, and rightly so. They are everywhere, and can be very spectacular, in all colors imaginable.
A man-made spillway in the peaceful valley above Yamato, Saga, contrasts with the rushing white water of the Mikaeri falls after a summer storm.
You certainly don't have to go far from the city to find them. Up through Yamato to the north, just a few kilometers past the city limits, you can drive right up to the Obuchi waterfall, which runs down a steep rocky cliff for more than fifty feet, and gets up a decent head of steam in the summer, during the wet season. You can see where it flows into the river, at a very picturesque spot that families use for picnics. And across the river, and just a fifteen minute drive through the onsen town of Furuyu, you can walk in to the seven stages falls, that tumble a long way down the
mountainside. And they are truly beautiful, surrounded by wild hydrangeas, with large maples hanging over the bottom pond.
Noiseless falls trickle down into the summer hydrangeas, the crashing fury of Kannon falls, a small spill into a deep black pool in Ureshino, and a narrow stream runs into a still pond just above Saga city.
So if you visit Saga, and want a relaxing escape from the city heat, seek out the waterfalls. Or for that matter, anywhere in the Japanese countryside, where there are mountains. They usually easily reached on foot, and are worth it.
RK
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