Fukiware Falls inverts the usual proportions of a great waterfall: it stands only 7 meters high but stretches 30 meters wide, where the Katashina River pours into a cleft in its own bed near Numata, Gunma Prefecture. The national government recognized the site early — on December 16, 1936, the then Ministry of Education designated "Fukiware gorge and Fukiware falls" as both a Natural Monument and a Place of Scenic Beauty, and the 1990 Ministry of the Environment list added it to Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls. Gunma locals know it from the 'ta' card of the Jōmō Karuta card game, and a national audience saw it in the opening titles of the 2000 NHK taiga drama Aoi: Tokugawa Sandai.
Visiting Fukiware Falls
The falls are on the Katashina River in the city of Numata, Gunma Prefecture. The extracts consulted here do not describe specific trails or viewpoints, so confirm access arrangements locally.
