And in the falls...

There was a kami! A kami is a Shinto spirit of some kind. Shinto is a collection of traditional Japanese beliefs which basically revolve around the existence of many spirits - in nature (rocks, mountains, waterfalls such as this one), as deceased persons (ancestors), and what we more traditionally think of as "gods." It's not exactly a "religion" as we in the West tend to understand it, and yet it is. Very curious indeed. At any rate, this kami is probably a representation of the spirit of the waterfall. And while Shinto is no longer central to most Japanese lives, it is still honored. As we sat on a nearby bench and took a break, two men approached the waterfall and prayed in the traditional Shinto way: bow, bow, clap, clap, pray, bow, bow.