We have been trying to get out and explore the beautiful natural areas around Sasebo on the weekends. One of our must do's was to go see Ryutosen Falls in the Chiwata Ravine. It took us about 50 minutes to get there, but it was worth it! Chiwata Ravine has a series of four waterfalls as you walk down the riverbed. We hit three of them (one of the falls is above the bridge on the map below, we will go see that one next time), and it was a beautiful hike. If you have little ones you definitely want a baby carrier because the hike would be very difficult without your hands free.
Chiwata Ravine is nestled in between steep cedar covered mountains. The stairs down to the waterfall are small and uneven but it is really pretty walking through the tall trees. We were making fun of how small and short the steps were on the way down, but when we were tired and winded we were thankful for the small steps on the way back up.
The first fall we stopped at was Ryutousen. It is the tallest fall with an awesome deep pool on the bottom. Some people climb and cliff jump but it isn't very safe. There is a better place to jump in further down.
The next set of falls is Konohaukabazubuchi. It has a nice rope where you can swing into the cool pool below. The hike back up is steep and rocky so you want to make sure you have good water shoes. We didn't so we saved jumping in for our next trip.
This is the path that you follow down the river to the rest of the falls. It gets very narrow and slippy in some places, but there are a lot of great places along the way to stop and enjoy a picnic lunch.
Lastly is Donkubuchi falls. In the spring after the rains these falls are a lot fuller with the entire rock face covered in white water.
We were so thankful for the baby carrier on some of the more interesting parts of the trail. We kept joking that this is why we never use a stroller.
Here's a little video montage of the falls!
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| Look how pretty this drive is! |
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| From the overpass looking down at the ravine and the falls. |
The falls and the whole river valley was so grand and gorgeous it was almost like it was made for a theme park. We loved being able to go explore in nature and get some fresh mountain air! As always Eisley was happy to tag along.
Along the way back we watched the sun set over the coastline and the huge full moon come up! It's always fun to come home and see Huis Ten Bosh all lit up.
We can't wait to go back again and actually get in the water and play next time! We just have to make sure we give ourselves a full day to do it.
Here's some map locations for those that would like to go on their own. There is a nice campground/sports park right next to the ravine. There is also two ways to go to the falls, you can park at the top and walk down or park at the bottom and walk up. There is a nicer parking lot at the bottom so we will probably go that way next time.
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