At first glance from the tea shop, these falls are a disappointment. And maybe they are.
But! if you follow the path at the back of the tea-house and climb up the hill, it gets waaaaaaay better.
There are multiple smaller falls along the river, which itself is beautiful. If you walk all the way up to the bridge, you have one of the best views I have ever seen in Japan. You can see the majority of the river, along with lake Chuzenji and the mountains. It's amazing!
If you follow the river further up it leads you into a serene forest, which has many photo opportunities.
All in all, check this place out. Its super rad!
When I first arrived at Ryuzu Falls, I was a little disappointed. It seemed that to enjoy the view, I had to walk through a gift shop. As a left, expensive gifts in hand, I saw a sign.
Following the sign I found that I was walking up steep steps that stretched seemingly forever. The path of the steps was alongside the waterfall, and offered some of the best views of Ryuzu Falls, and, I might add, up very close. I could almost reach down and touch the water.
A nice bonus was that from the top of the steps, I could also get a great view of Lake Chuzenji in the distance.
A great waterfall, but a disappointing gift shop.