Nature and History
Daisen Falls
In 1990 Daisen Falls was selected as one of Japan’s 100 most impressive waterfalls. The falls originally consisted of three cascades, but a flood in the first half of the twentieth century reduced the number to two. A typhoon in 2011 damaged the falls again, creating their current form. The spray and thunderous roar of Daisen Falls are especially impressive when viewed up close.
Kawadoko Trail
The Kawadoko Trail (Kawadoko Michi), along with the Odaka Trail (Odaka Michi) and the Yokote Trail (Yokote Michi), is one of the old historic pilgrim routes at Mt. Daisen. The trails, laid out around 400 years ago, were also used to bring livestock to the thriving markets that by then had developed on the mountain. The Kawadoko Trail passes through Daisen’s extensive beech forests, connecting the central part of Tottori Prefecture and Daisenji Temple. The stones paving the trail were added by local residents between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.
Activities
The Ikkoganaru campground is a convenient spot for accessing the Kawadoko Trail historic pilgrimage route, which takes about four hours to hike. The distance from the campground to the Daisen Suspension Bridge is about 800 m, and from there to Daisen Falls is another kilometer. The trail offers excellent bird watching and beautiful autumn colors.