Every discussion of height among Japanese waterfalls ends at Shōmyō Falls. At 350 meters, it is the tallest waterfall in Japan, descending in four stages of 70, 58, 96, and finally 126 meters from the Midagahara plateau in the town of Tateyama, Toyama Prefecture. Its waters rise in the Tateyama mountain range, and after the plunge they gather into the Shōmyō River before joining the Jōganji River. The falls have a taller seasonal twin: neighboring Hannoki Falls runs 497 meters but carries water only from April to July, fed by melting snow on Midagahara — the two cascades stand almost facing each other. Shōmyō itself peaks in early to mid-summer, when the Tateyama snowpack melts.
Visiting Shomyo Falls
The falls are in the town of Tateyama, Toyama Prefecture. Water volume is greatest in early to mid-summer during the Tateyama snowmelt; between April and July the seasonal Hannoki Falls flows alongside, letting visitors see the twin falls together.
