Shiramizu Falls
Shiramizu Falls is located in Hakusan National Park, just downstream from the emerald-green Lake Hakusui at the end of a road that leads up to the national park area from Shirakawa-go. The 72-meter falls were shaped by an eruption of Mt. Haku, when lava flowed down the slopes and hardened, forming steep cliffs along the Oshira River. Named for the somewhat cloudy, mineral-rich water plummeting into the river below, Shiramizu (“white water”) Falls was the main tourist attraction in Shirakawa-go before the area became famous for its traditional gassho-style farmhouses. A scenic lookout near the Shiramizu Falls parking lot provides the best views of the falls and the forested hills around it, which are bright with colorful foliage in autumn.