Takanosudani Sawanobori (鷹ノ巣谷）8/30/2026

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We struck out towards Takanosudani (鷹巣ノ谷) on a late day in August. This route marked the second Beginner+ level route for us, and I was pretty psyched for the 20m big waterfall (大滝) halfway through the route.

Knowing we had a 20m climb ahead, good judgement would dictate we bring adequate gear for belaying and building anchors. Nevertheless, I was unable to find my carabiners or ATC and my climbing partners, it turned out, had lent all theirs away, so we ended up rawdogging it.

I took off about 7AM from Shibuya and took the Odakyu line to Shinjuku for the 7:44 Ome Holiday Rapid. I meet the group there, and we journeyed to Okutama station where we took the 9:50 bus 21 to the last stop, Higashi Nippara. From there it was only a 5-minute walk down the road to the start of the approach.

For some reason, the main trial in and out of the stream has been closed for many years, so the entrance is roped off. Seems like people still pass through pretty often, so I didn’t get the sense that we were intruding. The approach to the river was straightforward, and once we arrived to the off shoot, we suited up and got wet (~10:45).

The water was pretty awesome and super clear. I’m always amazed by how crystal clear the water in Okutama is. Although this is a somewhat short and supposedly beginner route, the physicality low key wrecked me. It is short, but it is dense. Compared to other beginner routes, this one has almost non-stop climbing covering ~1000m of elevation in only about 2-3km.

What’s cool is that there was a ton to see. The waterfalls are solid, and the rain from the day before provided just enough flow for some excitement without getting too sketchy. We also ran into 5 or 6 abandoned wasabi farms!

We moved smoothly through the first half, getting our footing and enjoying the little boulder problems on each of the bigger falls. We all were able to climb almost every waterfall independently! Maybe not that meaningful for the other guys, but coming off my long climbing hiatus, I was very satisfied. There was only one waterfall, likely one of the 4m ones, which gave us some trouble. It was bolted, but the slings on the bolts were spaced just far enough that you could not grab from one to the next. Our group’s best climber did us the great service of powering through and helping the rest of us up with a sling. We then elected to leave a sling behind to help those coming after us.

We pushed on past many 3m and 4m falls and skipped right up the 10m fall before hitting the 20m big waterfall (大滝). As an American, I admit I have a somewhat weak understanding of meter lengths over about 5m. So, when we hit the big fall, I was a bit shocked. It was, in fact, huge. Beautiful and magnificent? Yes. Terrifying? Absolutely. Every guide I could find indicated that this waterfall was very easy. Maybe like 5.6 with one 5.8 move in the middle. But still, I would never do that un-roped in a gym.

Anyway, baby boy fears aside, we saddled up, and each of us elected to free climb. Likely well worn by sawanobori kings of the past, every move felt straightforward and clear. All three of us made it up with no issues and it felt like a solid accomplishment.

Coming off the big waterfall, we started to move reeeaaallll smooth. The earlier worry in our feet, the slipping, sliding, time taking to find the right footing, smoothed out. It felt like we glided through the back half. The crash of the water made difficult to talk so we moved forward, enjoying the moss under our fingers and encountering critters like mice and giant frogs!

We followed our GPX data past the several forks in the river until the water pretty much dried up. It’s difficult to say that I enjoy the end bit of a sawanobori route, often referred to as the tsume (詰め). If waterfalls give me life, then the tsume is there to remind me that life is pain…

This one was actually not terrible. Muddy, rocky, rooty, and slippery, but not terrible. We dug our way out, and I eventually found a short game trail which helped me get back up a bit easier. The sweat accumulating in my wetsuit unfortunately has a nasty habit of attracting flies, so I was a bit swarmed, but after getting changed, they died down a bit.

By the time we had packed up it was about 4PM and we knew there was a bus at 4:22PM. Accompanied by two monster trail runners, the obvious ambition was to cover the ~2.5km and make the bus. If you have ever attempted to navigate no-longer-maintained trails in the Japanese countryside, you might know that this thinking was at best, wishful. At the worst, it’s a bit dangerous, and our overzealous trail runners got us a bit lost before we found the proper course.

Needless to say, we missed that bus completely. Not only that, but the rough nature of the trail also delayed us much more than expected. We only just made the 5:30 bus after Luke and Nikhil ran ahead to ask them to wait. I made it RIGHT at 5:30 and ran to the finish. Nausea and dehydration notwithstanding, it was great that we made it, but that bus ride was rough.

Overall, I think this was an excellent route. It worked the hell out of my entire body, and I can’t think of a more apt analogy than feeling like I had been through a washing machine. Nevertheless, it was a great time, and the big falls content was a welcome addition.