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Some 10km west of Nikko lie Chuzenji-ko and the dramatic Kegon Falls that flow from it. Local buses usually take less than an hour to get here, running east along Route 120 and up the twisting, one-way road to reach Chuzenji, the lakeside resort, though travelling times can easily be doubled - even tripled - during koyo in mid-October, the prime time for viewing the changing autumn leaves, when it's bumper-to-bumper traffic. Both the lake and the waterfalls were created thousands of years ago, when nearby Mount Nantai erupted, its lava plugging the valley. The best way of seeing the evidence of this geological event is to hop off the bus at Akechi-daira, the stop before Chuzenji, where a cable car (daily 9am-4pm; Y390 one way, Y710 return) will whisk you up to a viewing platform. From here it's a 1.5-kilometre walk uphill and across the Chanoki-daira plateau. From the plateau there are sweeping views of Chuzenji-ko, Mount Nantai and the famous waterfalls and you can either walk down to the lake or take another cable car (daily: April-Nov 8am-5pm; Y470 oneway, Y900 return) to just behind Chuzenji bus station. An even better view of the falls can be had from the viewing platform at their base (daily: May-Sept 7.30am-6pm; Oct 7.30am-5pm; March, April & Nov 8am-5pm; Jan, Feb & Dec 9am-4.30pm; Y530). The lift to this vantage point lies east across the car park behind the Chuzenji bus station; don't be put off by the queues of tour groups - a shorter line is reserved for independent travellers. The lift drops 100m through the rock to the base of the falls, where you can see over a tonne of water per second cascading from the Ojiri River, which flows from the lake. Walking west along the shore for around 1km will bring you to the second Futarasan-jinja of the Nikko area. This colourful shrine , which once bore the name Chuzenji now adopted by the town, has a pretty view of the lake, but is nothing extraordinary. To reach the third Futarasan-jinja, you'll have to part with Y500 for being allowed to climb the sacred volcano Nantai-san, which is owned by the shrine. The hike up to the 2484-metre peak takes around four hours and should only be attempted in good weather.
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