Yoro No Taki – Yoro Falls in Gifu

Oct 24, 2022

Yoro No Taki – Yoro Falls in Gifu

Yoro no Taki (Yoro Falls) is a great spot to get outside near Nagoya. Any time of the year is fine, but visiting the area in spring and fall is highly recommended, as both the spring blossoms and fall colors do an excellent job decorating the mountains surrounding the waterfall. Viewing fall colors, or “koyo,” is what this area is primarily known for, though, and the trip is a rewarding experience.

Yoro no Taki is Located about an hour outside Nagoya in Gifu Prefecture in Yoro Park in the Town of Yoro. The waterfall is about 32 meters high, 4 meters wide and is one of Japan’s top 100 waterfalls. The water from the falls is famously high quality and is said to have rejuvenating powers. Its powers are legendary.

Yoro’s power is outlined in an old legend about a poor woodcutter who went into the woods to find firewood and discovered the water of the spring had turned to rice wine. He filled a gourd with the spring water and brought it to his aged and ill father, who was returned to good health by the wine. The water-to-sake transformation was believed to be the gods rewarding the son for his dedication to his father.

The Empress Genshō visited the area and renamed the period of her reign after it:

“Yōrō” Exclaimed that “Rei Springs art beautiful springs. And so doth nourish the old. Perhaps it is the spirit of the waters. I hereby give amnesty under heaven and fix the third year of the Reiki era anew to year 1 of the Yōrō era.”

At the base of the walkway to Yoro no Taki, you will find a wooden ladle set out for visitors to drink the water from the spring. You will usually also see people who have brought jugs to fill with the water and take home.

Yoro Park extends from the Falls to a prefectural road that runs along the foot of the mountain. It can be reached by taking the JR Tokaido Line from Nagoya Station to Ogaki Station. From Ogaki, you must transfer to a private rail line for the remaining leg of the journey to Yoro Station. From there, it is about a 20-minute walk to the park. I usually take a cab, though, and it’s faster!

Keep your eye out for “Yōrō Sanroku Cider,” it is made from the local water and is pretty tasty. This is Japan; you MUST buy tourist stuff when you stop somewhere. I think it is a law.

Yoro Station

Washinosu Yōrō-chō, Yōrō-gun, Gifu-ken 503-1261 (map link)

Image: ​WP:Ja user おはぐろ蜻蛉 [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Image: 笙ケ岳＆養老山＆小倉山＆三方山by さぶの気ままな山旅