Sounkyo Gorge Columnar Cliffs & Twin Waterfalls Ginga and Ryusei

Category: Volcanic Canyon & National Waterfalls | Location: Hokkaido

Carved into the upper reaches of the Ishikari River at the northern foot of the mighty Daisetsuzan mountain range, Sounkyo Gorge is a breathtaking 24-kilometer canyon bordered by monumental 200-meter-high columnar basalt cliffs. Formed roughly 30,000 years ago when catastrophic volcanic pyroclastic flows slowly cooled and fractured into hexagonal stone columns before being incised by rushing alpine rivers, these sheer cliff faces resemble giant geological organ pipes towering majestically over the forested gorge floor. The aesthetic centerpiece of Sounkyo is a pair of twin waterfalls celebrated among Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls: Ginga no Taki (Milky Way Falls) and Ryusei no Taki (Shooting Star Falls). Ginga no Taki cascades delicately down a 120-meter cliff in multiple filigree white threads, embodying graceful feminine energy (Onna-daki); right beside it, Ryusei no Taki thunders down 90 meters in a single powerful torrent through fractured rock, embodying bold masculine vigor (Otoko-daki). Known collectively as the 'Husband-and-Wife Falls' (Meoto-daki), both can be viewed simultaneously in an unforgettable vista from the Sobakudai observation deck perched across the river. Sounkyo also serves as the gateway to the alpine slopes of Mount Kurodake (1,984 meters) via the Kurodake Ropeway and chairlift system. Because of its subarctic northern altitude, Kurodake is celebrated as the site of Japan's earliest autumn foliage, igniting in blazing crimson, amber, and gold as early as early September before sweeping down the canyon cliffs through mid-October. In the freezing depths of winter, these mighty waterfalls freeze into crystalline turquoise ice pillars, setting the magical stage for the famed Sounkyo Hyobaku Ice Fall Festival.