You can’t see Talofofo Falls unless you pay to get in to Talofofo Park. The admission price is steep; it’s $20 per person. I want to say it’s worth it, but it’s not much of a park.
There is a very small garden of “sexy” statues which is sort of like LoveLand in Jeju, but much smaller and closer together.
I don’t like to be negative, but if I am honest, it’s a really small area with a few very generic statues. It doesn’t add much to the park.
There is a very small haunted house under the cable car entrance. In the style of haunted houses worldwide, it has a few things that pop out at you.
When you finish walking through the haunted house, you can go up to the cable car. Take it over the waterfall, and down to the trail head that lets you walk down below the waterfall.
After that, you can walk over a bridge to the side of the pool. At the top of the stairs, you go up and are faced with two choices:
1. You can walk straight and go into a “museum” full of dioramas depicting the Japanese occupation and the US occupation. It’s very small and not historically accurate, but I suppose it’s good for a laugh.
2. You can head left and walk down a long path to see a reproduction of Shoicho Yokoi’s Cave. Really, it’s just some bamboo lashed together and a hole in the ground (which you cant get close to.) The most interesting part is the shrine next to the “cave,” where Japanese tourists leave coins and gifts.
It’s not that there isn’t a lot to see. There is a lot of walking and you should bring plenty of water and maybe a snack. The park definitely covers a large area.
It’s just that all the attractions are sort of cheesy and second-rate, so you walk away feeling disappointed even though you have seen a lot of things.
I went with my friend Mel, who had just finished a tour of North Korea with a Chinese tour company. As she put it “There are better amusement parks in North Korea.”
If you like cheesy though; this is your thing. Neil Gaimen said in American Gods that roadside attractions are the best part of America. If you are the sort of person who would be excited to see the world’s largest ball of twine or a giant frying pan, then you will probably enjoy Talofofo Park.
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