By TAKASHI KAJIYAMA/ Staff Writer
July 16, 2019 at 16:05 JST
NIKKO, Tochigi Prefecture--While the many rainy days of late have gotten many people down, things are looking up for visitors to the famed Kegon Waterfall here.
The splendor and power of the 97-meter-high waterfall is even more impressive, with the amount of water being released over the falls increased from last week.
Tochigi Prefecture's Nikko civil engineering office has increased the volume of water spilling over the top from 1.5 tons to 2.5 tons per second, starting from July 12.
As the level of Lake Chuzenjiko, which feeds the waterfall, has recovered to that of a normal year, the office plans to continue the spectacle until the end of August.
It is the first time the office has increased the quantity of falling water at Kegon Waterfall since August 2018, when typhoons No. 19 and 20 drenched the Japanese mainland.
Fumiko Kato, 59, of Toda, Saitama Prefecture, visited the waterfall on the first day that the increased cascade could be seen.
“It’s so powerful,” she said in awe.
Students on school trips also enjoyed the sounds of the epic crashing of water at the bottom of the falls.
This year, the amount of rainfall remained low until May, prompting the office to keep the water volume at 1.3 tons per second.
The office increased it to 1.5 tons per second in June amid a long and wet rainy season.
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Visitors take a picture in front of Kegon Waterfall in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 12. (Takashi Kajiyama)
