Mist and Magic at Hokkaido's Garo Falls

 --Susan, every other Sunday

Last September, I spent a week on Hokkaido (Japan's northernmost major island), hiking volcanoes and visiting waterfalls with my friend Ido Gabay (who owns a fantastic outdoor adventure and travel tour company called Hokkaido Nature Tours).

One of the high points on our list was Garō Falls, a 70-meter, two-tiered, bridal veil-style waterfall that's ranked among the top 100 waterfalls in Japan (the official list was created by the Japanese government in 1990).  Unfortunately, the forecast called for rain on the day we planned to go, and since the approach to the falls involves a little over half an hour's descent down a forested trail that can get slippery when wet, we headed out with no assurance that the hike was going to happen--and since you can't see the falls from the top of the trail, no hike meant no waterfall either.

By the time we arrived at the parking lot, the rain had stopped, so we started down the trail.

Descending to Garo Falls 

Parts of the trail were overgrown, suggesting not many hikers had been this way in at least a year, and possibly not since the start of the pandemic. Even the "clear" parts of the trail had overhanging branches laden with water from the recent rain, which showered us with drops as we descended.

Much wetter than it looks...

Mist had settled in the valley, and clouds hovered around the peaks, creating a primeval atmosphere. 

The view from the trail.

The trail descends into a valley filled with lush green foliage. Birch trees cover the slopes, while ferns and other low-lying bushes fill the space beneath the trees.

Believe it or not, this is the trail - it follows the hillside to the right of that tree trunk center frame.

Although it (mostly) didn't rain, the foliage was so wet, and so close to the trail, that we were absolutely soaked before we made it to the bottom of the trail. Fortunately, the day wasn't cold,  so it was just a matter of accepting that my clothes were going to be wet for the next few hours--which really isn't that hard to do, if the hike is fun and you know there's a warm hotel and a change of clothes available at the end.

Another view from the misty trail

On the date we made the hike, Hokkaido's mountains already had begun to show their autumn colors, but near Garō Falls, the colors were mostly summer greens, with only a hint of gold beginning to peep through here and there. 

A rare splash of gold among the greens

Eventually the trail flattened out, and we were rewarded with our first view of the falls. Unlike many waterfalls, Garō Falls isn't visible until you've reached the base--and at least on the day we visited, it wasn't possible to get any closer than this viewing point.

One of Hokkaido's largest and loveliest falls

As a waterfall fan, I'll go to great lengths to see water falling over rock, though this was the most extensive dedicated waterfall hike I've made to date. Garō is the ninth of the 100 falls I've visited to date, and I hope to see all 100--and as many of the other "named" waterfalls in Japan as possible (there are over 500, so it would take a bit of doing to see them all).

Another view of Garō Falls

The rain held off until we returned to the top of the trail, although between the mist and the foliage, I'm not sure we'd have been any wetter if it had been raining. Even so, the spectacular views from the trail, the waterfalls themselves, and the unique experience of having the entire place to ourselves made the journey more than worth the extra laundry.

Would you hike through a rainy forest to see more water falling? And are you a fan of waterfalls like I am?