Otaki and Metaki Waterfalls

These paired waterfalls along the old Nakasendo route are named for male and female: the left fall is taller and broader, the right more delicate. In Yoshikawa Eiji's classic samurai novel Musashi, the hero plunges beneath the male waterfall to clear his head of romantic distraction and refocus on swordsmanship. Photographs from the 1920s show the male fall was once considerably larger, with a deep pool at its base. The Nakasendo once ran below the falls before floods forced the route upward. Both falls sit within easy reach of the walking path through this mountain stretch.