Dragon's Gate Waterfall

Located in the middle reaches of the Amigake River, this majestic and beautiful waterfall is 46 meters high and 43 meters wide. It has been selected as one of the 100 best waterfalls in Japan. It is also called “Ryumon-no-taki” (Dragon Gate Falls).

It is said that the name was given to the waterfall by a Tang Dynasty person who saw it and commented, “It is like seeing the Dragon Gate Falls in the Han Dynasty.

The waterfall was so famous that Tachibana Nan’an praised it in his travelogue “Journey to the West” and the Confucian scholar Yasui Suken wrote “Ganfaku no Fu” (A Record of the Observance of Waterfalls). At night, the waterfall is illuminated, creating a fantastic sight. There is also an observatory across from the falls where the Taki Kannon (a city-designated cultural property) is located.

Amikakegawa River is located at the outlet of the Shirasu Plateau flowing into the Aira Plain and is in a relatively open area, so it can be seen from a distance even from inside a car traveling on the Kyushu Expressway. The water volume fluctuates greatly depending on the season and weather because water is taken upstream for agricultural use. Especially during the busy farming season from the end of May to September, when there is little rainfall, the flow of the waterfall can be almost nonexistent. The Longmen Falls Hot Springs are located near the waterfall. In addition, the area along the mountain stream upstream to Itaide Falls in the northern part of Ryumon Falls and to Ryumonji-zaka, a stone-paved road in the west, has been named “Ryumon Falls Forest.

The bedrock of Ryumon Falls is made of andesite, which was formed by magma that penetrated the Kokubu Formation during the Pleistocene Era and cooled and hardened, and has beautifully developed columnar joints. About 1 km southeast of Longmen Falls rises Mt. Zao, a volcanic rock neck formed by similar magma intrusion.

This waterfall was named “Ryumon Falls” because of its resemblance to the Chinese Dragon Gate Falls. It is known as the most famous waterfall in the Satsuma domain, and the Confucian scholar Yasui Shuken once visited it. A statue of the Kannon (Goddess of Mercy), which Hisacho Shimazu, lord of Kajiki Castle, had erected on a hill near the waterfall, still remains today.

Legend has it that long ago, when the waterfall was surrounded by forest, an old woman was washing her clothes in the basin of the waterfall when a huge wave broke out and a giant snake appeared. After that, it is said that no one washed their clothes in the waterfall basin anymore. It is also said that a tortoise 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) in length once inhabited the waterfall.

In 1989, a promenade and azalea garden were established around the falls, and on April 12, 1990, the falls were selected as one of the 100 most beautiful waterfalls in Japan.