Exploring Sogi Falls A wide waterfall and autumn among the rocks

There's more water spilling down over there, too. As I arrived at Sogi Falls in autumn, I looked right and left beyond the wooden railing. I'd pictured one enormous waterfall, but here the water was pouring down in streams between the rocks. Each time I shifted my gaze, a different stream caught my eye. Before I even took my first photo, I found myself standing there watching for a while.

I held my coat collar shut over my white top and followed the water from the walking path. I could see it between the rocks in the foreground and farther back, too. The falls are a full 210 m wide and 12 m high. I got a better sense of the falls' size by looking from side to side than I had from hearing how high they were.

In the trees between the rocks, I could see autumn leaves. Even with the water roaring, I felt myself slowly unwind as I began noticing the shape of each leaf. My gaze had been following the water; now it wandered over to the trees beside it. I'd heard that ginkgo and maple leaves add color to the view in autumn, but seeing them with the falls made a much stronger impression than I'd expected.

I'd started walking away when I turned back to the wooden railing. At first, I'd been focused on the force of the water; this time, I wanted to take in the shapes of the rocks, too. I watched the water split around the rocks, then come together again farther on. Even though the view was the same, I ended up spending my time differently depending on what caught my eye. It still felt too soon to leave.

After taking in the falls, I had sobajui, a local specialty from northern Satsuma. At Hanamushiro in the park, the sobajui is a dish of handmade soba and vegetables simmered together for a long time. As I lifted a mouthful of steaming soba, I remembered the autumn air outside. After the roar of the falls, stepping away to enjoy my meal at my own pace felt just right for this trip.

Even after I finished eating, I remembered looking from one side of Sogi Falls to the other. A photo can capture the whole view at once, but standing there, my eyes kept traveling from side to side. I'm glad I could see the water between the rocks and the autumn leaves together, rather than separately. Next time, instead of taking a photo straight away, I want to take it all in from one end to the other first.