Shiraito Falls

In the foothills of Mt. Fuji, there are many places worth seeing such as the five lakes of Mt. Fuji. Shiraito Falls, located on the west side of Mt. Fuji, is one of them. It was selected as one of Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls in 1990 and is also known as one of the country's a scenic spots and a Natural Treasure. Snowmelt from Mt. Fuji springs out from a cliff that acts as a border between an upper geological layer that allows water to go through and a lower layer that does not. The cliff has a height of 20 meters and a width of 150 meters, and has hundreds of big and small waterfalls flowing off of it. Its has a gentile, feminine appearance so the name, Shiraito (meaning white thread) suites it well. When you stand at the basin of the waterfalls, they look like myriads of silk threads that are hanging down. Shiraito Falls have long been known as great waterfalls, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, who founded the Kamakura Shogunate, praises their feminine beauty in a tanka (a short Japanese poem), ”Above here, what kind of princess is there, I wonder, untying and flowing the strings of a ball, Shiraito Falls”. There is a dynamic and vigorous waterfall, Otodome Fall, nearby that is often seen together with Shiraito Falls for their contrasting beauty. It takes about 30 minutes by bus for Shiraito Falls from JR Fujimiya Station.