Minoo Waterfall

Dogs Unknown

Features Fall Colors · Historical Significance · River/Creek · Waterfall · Wildlife

Mino Park (also spelled Minoo and Minoh) is easy to get to from downtown Osaka. Take the Hankyu Takarazuka Line from Umeda Station to Ishibashi Sation and transfer to the Hankyu Minoo Line to Minoo Station - about 30 minutes. Hike past cute shops to the beginning of the trail.

The first half has limited access to cars, but they travel very slowly. You'll pass a lot of shops selling momiji tempura: deep fried maple leaves, a specialty of Mino. Ryuanji Temple is about halfway up the trail and is worth stopping at. The trail will narrow a little, but remain paved and not very steep. This section is more wooded than the bottom half and feels more natural.

Finally you'll come to Minoo Waterfall, a 33-meter falls surrounded by maple trees that create fantastic colors in mid-November. The waterfall is named after the winnowing process (separating grain from husks). There are monkeys here, but not as many as years ago - they'd gotten too "familiar" with people and had to be removed but are now coming back. Do not engage or feed the monkeys.