Akame is a four-kilometre climb up the Taki river, waterfall after waterfall, with the sound of water never stopping once along the way. The peak runs early to late November. Inland Nabari cools before the coast does, and the difference runs to about two weeks against the better-known sites nearer the sea.

The name counts forty-eight waterfalls, but the number is idiomatic rather than literal — it means many. What it accurately conveys is the rhythm of the walk: the maintained path takes roughly ninety minutes one way, and the falls keep arriving the whole time. The colour comes from iroha maple, other maples and mountain cherry, and it reaches down to the water rather than staying in the canopy, because the valley is narrow enough that the trees lean over the path.

Partway up, a branch trail climbs toward Nagasakayama, and from there the gorge and the ridgelines behind it open out together. It adds real climbing to what is otherwise a walk. Take it if your legs agree.

You return by the same path, though the light has moved by then and the descent does not look like the ascent. Wet stone is the main hazard; wear something with grip. Allow three hours for the round trip if you intend to stop. You will intend to stop.