Day 1 of Winter Travel in Nikko ~ SL “TAIJU,” Kegon Falls, and Lake Chuzenji
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My next stop was Kegon Falls, a few minutes east on foot from Chuzenji-Onsen Bus Terminal.
The Nikko area is known for having 48 waterfalls, but Kegon Falls is the most popular of them all.
The water in Lake Chuzenji comes from another spectacular waterfall, which drops down from a 97-meter height.

The lookout at Kegon Falls is huge and is separated into two sections, paid and free. I started out at the free zone.

I visited in the winter, so the waterfall was frozen.
In May the area is filled with beautiful greenery, while the waters are hopping with groups of house martins in June.

Next up was the paid lookout area. The cost for a round-trip in the elevator is 550 yen.

After taking the elevator down, I arrived at the waterfall observation point.

The free area of the lookout overlooks the waterfall from above, but the paid observation point is somewhat lower.
The waterfall from up close is an absolutely stunning and beautiful sight.

Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls are located on opposite sides of the Chuzenji-Onsen Bus Terminal, making them about a 10-minute walk apart. There’s some lovely scenery along the way that makes for great photos.

I decided to pass on visiting this time due to scheduling issues, but Nikko Futarasan Jinja Chugushi is just a bit further along here.

I finally arrived at Lake Chuzenji.

The area felt a bit lonely since I visited in the winter, but it still was beautifully picturesque.
I also took some pictures of the swan boats from various angles.

The weather was lovely, but it was pretty windy, so the air was really chilly!
However, there are hardly any tourists visiting here during the winter, so I was able to enjoy the winter scenery as much as I wanted without worrying about crowds.

Apparently a Ritz Carlton will open at Lake Chuzenji for the Tokyo Olympics that will be held in July of 2020.

I wanted to stay out here a bit longer, but it was really cold and my camera’s battery was close to dying, so I decided to return to Nikko Station a bit early.

I made it back just in time to catch a departing bus, but the seats filled up really quickly, leaving me in an extra seat in the middle walkway….