Kawazu Seven Waterfalls

What to know

The Kawazu Nanadaru (河津七滝) are seven waterfalls in the mountains above Kawazu Town in southeastern Izu. They range from the 30-meter-tall Odaru ("large waterfall") to the 2-meter-tall Kanidaru ("crab waterfall"). A pleasant walking trail leads for about one kilometer through the forest and past the waterfalls.

Several statues along the walking trail depict the heroine of the short story "Izu no Odoriko" (The Izu Dancer, 1926), one of several works by Kawabata Yasunari (1899-1972), which are set in this area of the Izu Peninsula. Kawabata won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1968. The limited express trains from Tokyo to the Izu Peninsula, which also stop at Kawazu, are named Odoriko after the short story.

At the base of the trail you can find the small hot spring resort Nanadaru Onsen and the imposing Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge, a unique, two-storied spiral bridge along National Route 414 high above the valley floor.

The hourly buses between Kawazu and Shuzenji stations stop at both the upper and lower ends of the trail that leads past the waterfalls. Many people get off at Kawazu Nanadaru Yūhodō Iriguchi bus stop (河津七滝遊歩道上入口, 35 minutes, 800 yen one way from Kawazu; 50 minutes, 1530 yen from Shuzenji) and walk the one hour trail down to the Nanadaru Visitor Center from where (Kawazu Nanadaru Onsen bus stop, 河津七滝温泉) you can take a bus to Kawazu Station (25 minutes, 730 yen) or to Shuzenji Station (65 minutes, 1690 yen).

How to get to and around the Izu Peninsula