is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

Fujinomiya is a city located in central Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 132,507 in 56,655 households, and a population density of 340 persons per km². The total area of the city is . History The city name comes from ...

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

, near

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is part of

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park covers . Rather ...

and has been protected since 1936 as a Japanese

Natural Monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...

. The falls were regarded as sacred under the Fuji cult. Another waterfall, the

Otodome Falls is a waterfall in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, near Mount Fuji, Japan. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Another waterfall, the Shiraito Falls is about a five-minute walk away. The name "Sound Stopping Waterfall" comes from an ...

is approximately a five-minute walk away. The Shiraito Falls is listed as one of "

Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls is a list of waterfalls in Japan compiled by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990. Background According to the Japanese government, there are 517 named waterfalls in Japan. Many of these waterfalls are located in remote mountain lo ...

", in a listing published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990. It was also selected by the

Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

and

Osaka Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

. as one of the 100 Landscapes of Japan in 1927. In 2013 the waterfall was added to the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site. Shiraito Falls - Panoramic photo

References

* Southerland, Mary and Britton, Dorothy. ''The National Parks of Japan''. Kodansha International (1995).

External links

Fujinomiya home page
Waterfalls of Japan Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park Landforms of Shizuoka Prefecture Tourist attractions in Shizuoka Prefecture World Heritage Sites in Japan Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Places of Scenic Beauty {{Shizuoka-geo-stub

See also

References

External links