Moopon

Kazura Bridge is the type of "bridges" that consists of a wooden cart suspend on a rope over the river, and were used to transport goods and people.
13 suspension bridges made of mountain vines, called kazurabashi, used to be found throughout the Iya Valley and provided a essential means of getting people and goods across the river in olden days.
Two of the surviving bridges still stand side by side deep in the ravine.
They are known as the Oku-Iya Kazurabashi or myoto-bashi(couples bridges).

The larger of the two bridges, Otto no Hashi (meaning:Husband Bridge), stretches 44 meters across the river next to a small waterfall, while the slightly lower Tsuma no Hashi (meaning: Wife Bridge) is a 22 meter span just a little ways upstream.
The bridges are constructed with steel cables covered within the vines for safety.
They are rebuilt every three years. The bridges are connected to each other by a network of paved hiking trails that also lead to camping facilities on the opposite side of the river.

Another popular attraction is a Yaen Bridge (meaning: Wild Monkey) placed next to the Wife Bridge.
It a human-power ropeway. Visitors can try out the wild monkey bridge and pull themselves across the river.

Access infomation
A rental car is recommended to visit the Oku-Iya Kazurabashi Bridges.

1. Nijukazurabashi bus stop.( The nearest bus stop to around the area)
*From Awa Ikeda Station to Kubo, take a bus and transfer to another bus bound for 
Nijukazurabashi or Mount Tsurugi. Get off at the Nijukazurabashi bus stop.
The one way journey will take 2 hours with a cost of 1790 yen. There are only 4 buses a day. Moreover buses from Kubo to the bridge operate only on weekends and holidays from April to November.

Schedule & Cost
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
Closed: December to March
Admission: 550 yen
The level of English: Good

The Iya Valley (Iyakei) is a sheltered and private mountainous valley along the Iya River in western Tokushima Prefecture.
Its steep forested slopes are connected to the outside world by a zigzag,sometimes incredibly narrow mountain road that leads the valley.
Since the Iya valley located secluded regions, it is difficult to access, however, that is what attracts visitor to the area who want to experience a traditional, nature. 

Historically the Iya Valley has been difficult a place to enter, and used as a refuge for members of the defeated Taira or Heike Clan who escaped to the region toward the end of the 12th century after losing the Gempei War (1180 to1185).
Their descendants can still be found around the tiny mountain villages that dispersedly existing.

The Iya Valley is usually divided into two areas.
Nishi Iya (West Iya) located around the entrance to the valley and is slightly more developed and more accessible as there are relatively frequent buses to some of the major attractions.
Oku Iya (Inner Iya, also called Higashi Iya or East Iya) lies further back into the valley so is difficult to reach without a rental car or other means of private transportation. 

This region is famous for Iya soba

Access infomation
A rental car is recommended to visit the area.

1. To Nishi Iya (West Iya)
 *From Awa Ikeda Station to Kubo, take a bus and transfer to another bus bound for Nijukazurabashi or Mount Tsurugi.
Get off at the Nijukazurabashi bus stop.
The one way journey will take 2 hours with a cost of 1790 yen.
There are only 4 buses a day.
Moreover buses from Kubo to the bridge operate only on weekends and holidays from April to November.
2. To Oku Iya (Inner Iya)
Rental car stores are available around Oboke and Awa Ikeda Stations.
A rental car is recommended, particularly for visiting the less traveled Oku Iya area.
Note: The roads are very narrow and have frequent blind curves, which make driving both hazardous and slow.

The Iya Valley (祖谷渓谷 Iya Keikoku) region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its dramatic mountain valleys and old vine bridges.
The Iya Valley and the inner parts of Shikoku have historically been remote and difficult to enter,
making them a favorite retreat for refugees and defeated Heike warriors although access has improved in recent years.

Manikin Peeing Boy Statue
At the edge of this dizzying, 200 meter high cliff stands the boy statue posed as if he were peeing off the ledge down to the valley bellow.
This statue is placed at a beautiful scenic spot a few steps from The Iya ONSEN HOTEL, where local folklore says travelers would climb out to pee off in order to try to act strong or play chicken. 

The Iya Valley is usually divided into two areas.
Nishi Iya (West Iya) located around the entrance to the valley and is slightly more developed and more accessible as there are relatively frequent buses to some of the major attractions.
Oku Iya (Inner Iya, also called Higashi Iya or East Iya) lies further back into the valley so is difficult to reach without a rental car or other means of private transportation. 

The image is Sobamai zosui (buckwheat porridge), which is the local specialties of the Iya region made from dechaffed buckwheat berries in place of rice. 

Access Information
A rental car is recommended to visit the area.

1. To Nishi Iya (West Iya)
 *From Awa Ikeda Station to Kubo, take a bus and transfer to another bus bound for Nijukazurabashi or Mount Tsurugi.
Get off at the Nijukazurabashi bus stop.
The one way journey will take 2 hours with a cost of 1790 yen.
There are only 4 buses a day.
Moreover buses from Kubo to the bridge operate only on weekends and holidays from April to November.
2. To Oku Iya (Inner Iya)
Rental car stores are available around Oboke and Awa Ikeda Stations.
A rental car is recommended, particularly for visiting the less traveled Oku Iya area.
Note: The roads are very narrow and have frequent blind curves, which make driving both hazardous and slow.

The Iya Valley (祖谷渓谷 Iya Keikoku) region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its dramatic mountain valleys and old vine bridges.
The Iya Valley and the inner parts of Shikoku have historically been remote and difficult to enter, making them a favorite retreat for refugees and defeated Heike warriors although access has improved in recent years.

Shin-Iya Onsen Hotel Kazurabashi 
This hotel is located one of Japan's three major least visited regions.
The sky-high open-air bath is accessed by a cable car. It provides local dishes which are popular amongst guests.
The hotel has three outdoor baths, one for each gender as well as a mixed gender bath in which you can watch nice views out over the Iya Valley.
The baths are found high up on the mountainside above the hotel.
The can be accessed by a short cable car from the main building.

Daytime Hours: 10:00 to 16:00 
Daytime Admission: 1200 yen 
Overnight Stay: from 14,000 yen per person including 2 meals

Food
The image is Local dishes 

The Iya Valley is usually divided into two areas.
Nishi Iya (West Iya) located around the entrance to the valley and is slightly more developed and more accessible as there are relatively frequent buses to some of the major attractions.
Oku Iya (Inner Iya, also called Higashi Iya or East Iya) lies further back into the valley so is difficult to reach without a rental car or other means of private transportation. 

Access Information
A rental car is recommended to visit the area.

1. To Nishi Iya (West Iya)
 *From Awa Ikeda Station to Kubo, take a bus and transfer to another bus bound for Nijukazurabashi or Mount Tsurugi.
Get off at the Nijukazurabashi bus stop.
The one way journey will take 2 hours with a cost of 1790 yen. There are only 4 buses a day.
Moreover buses from Kubo to the bridge operate only on weekends and holidays from April to November.
2. To Oku Iya (Inner Iya)
Rental car stores are available around Oboke and Awa Ikeda Stations.
A rental car is recommended, particularly for visiting the less traveled Oku Iya area.
Note: The roads are very narrow and have frequent blind curves, which make driving both hazardous and slow.

The Iya Valley (祖谷渓谷 Iya Keikoku) region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its dramatic mountain valleys and old vine bridges.
The Iya Valley and the inner parts of Shikoku have historically been remote and difficult to enter, making them a favorite retreat for refugees and defeated Heike warriors although access has improved in recent years.

Iya Onsen Hotel
The Iya Onsen Hotel is located high up on the steep slope overlooking the Iya Valley.
A notable point in the hotel is that its outdoor hot baths located along the river and you have to take a cable car some 170 meters below the hotel itself. 
The bath water is a lukewarm 39 degrees Celsius.

Daytime Hours: 7:00 to 18:00 (Last entry at 17:00) 
Daytime Admission: 1500 yen (including outdoor bath, indoor bath, and cable car) 
Overnight Stay: from 12,000 yen per person including 2 meals
Level of English: Good English website is available.

Food
The image is Kaiseki ryori (Traditional multi-course Japanese meal), which is used Local products.

The Iya Valley is usually divided into two areas.
Nishi Iya (West Iya) located around the entrance to the valley and is slightly more developed and more accessible as there are relatively frequent buses to some of the major attractions. Oku Iya (Inner Iya, also called Higashi Iya or East Iya) lies further back into the valley so is difficult to reach without a rental car or other means of private transportation. 

Access Information
A rental car is recommended to visit the area.

1. To Nishi Iya (West Iya)
 *From Awa Ikeda Station to Kubo, take a bus and transfer to another bus bound for Nijukazurabashi or Mount Tsurugi.
Get off at the Nijukazurabashi bus stop.
The one way journey will take 2 hours with a cost of 1790 yen. There are only 4 buses a day.
Moreover buses from Kubo to the bridge operate only on weekends and holidays from April to November.
2. To Oku Iya (Inner Iya)
Rental car stores are available around Oboke and Awa Ikeda Stations.
A rental car is recommended, particularly for visiting the less traveled Oku Iya area.
Note: The roads are very narrow and have frequent blind curves, which make driving both hazardous and slow.

Inujima (犬島, literally: "dog island") is a small island off Okayama in the Seto Inland Sea that is named after a large rock resembling a sitting dog. Like nearby Naoshima Island, Inujima has become known as a site for modern art in recent years and serves as a venue of the Setouchi Triennale modern art festival. Due to its small size, the peaceful island can be explored entirely on foot.

Before turning to modern art, Inujima was mostly an industrial site. During the feudal age it produced granite blocks for castle construction, and in the early 20th century a copper refinery was supposed to bring prosperity and people to the island. However, copper prices plummeted within ten years of the refinery's opening and led to its premature closure and a drop in the island's population.

The refinery was not demolished after its closure, and despite being out of business for almost a century, its ruins still characterize Inujima's landscape. Designated as a "heritage of industrial modernization", the ruins with their exposed brick walls, overgrown power plant and crumbling smokestacks can now be explored by tourists.

In 2008, the refinery ruins were converted into the Inujima Seirensho Art Museum ("seirensho" is Japanese for "refinery") by tastefully incorporating an art gallery into the ruins. The gallery is located mostly underground and uses local materials such as granite and discarded bricks from the refinery. Among the small number of artworks on display are an intriguing tunnel of mirrors and a tribute to the late novelist Mishima Yukio, which consists of pieces of Mishima's former residence suspended in midair.

Admission tickets to the art museum are purchased at a Inujima Ticket Center next to the ferry terminal, a 200 meter walk from the refinery's gates. While in the past it was necessary to make advance reservations for a guided tour of the site, it is now possible to explore it on an individual basis without prior appointment.

The rest of Inujima is occupied by a small rural village, which is home to about one hundred people. Scattered across the small, peaceful village are the five galleries of the Inujima Art House Project which were built for the art festivals in 2010 and 2013 and have become permanent attractions on the island. They can all be explored in a pleasant 1-2 hour walk through the narrow lanes of the village.

Dining, shopping and lodging options are highly limited on the island. A couple of small restaurants are found in the proximity of the port, including a cafe inside the Inujima Ticket Center. The Seirensho Art Museum also has a cafe on its grounds, but outside of summer it is sometimes closed even when the museum is open. A beach with campground is found on the opposite side of the island, about a ten minute walk from the ferry terminal.

From Okayama   (How to get to Okayama)
Take the JR Ako Line from Okayama to Saidaiji Station (20 minutes, 240 yen, two trains per hour) and change to a bus bound for Higashi Hoden (東宝伝). Get off at the Nishi Hoden (西宝伝) bus stop (1 hour, 510 yen, 3-4 departures per day), which is a short walk from the ferry terminal from where ferries leave for Inujima once every 1-2 hours (10 minutes, 300 yen one way). See timetable.

From Naoshima   (How to get to Naoshima Island)

Three ferries per day operate between Naoshima (Miyanoura Port) and Inujima, except on Tuesdays from March to November. In winter, the ferries operate from Friday to Monday only. Ferries operate on national holidays, but not on days that the art facilities are closed. Some ferries make a stop at Teshima along the way. The one way trip between Naoshima and Inujima takes about 40-60 minutes and costs 1850 yen.

Inujima Seirensho Art Museum & Inujima Art House Project
Hours: 10:00 to 16:30 (entry until 16:00)
Closed: Tuesdays (around the year), Wednesdays and Thursdays (from December to February)
If a national holiday falls onto one of the above listed closing days, the museum is open on the national holiday but closed on the following day instead. If a national holiday falls onto a Monday, the museum is also open on Tuesday but closed on Wednesday.
Check official website for opening calendar.
Admission: 2060 yen

Matsuyama Castle (松山城, Matsuyamajō), also known Bitchu-Matsuyama Castle to differentiate it from Matsuyama Castle in Shikoku, stands on a steep mountain north of Takahashi's town center.

It is the oldest surviving castle in Japan and the only mountaintop castle among the twelve original castles which have survived the post-feudal age intact. At an elevation of 430 meters it is also Japan's highest.Matsuyama Castle was originally constructed in 1240 when castles primarily served as defensive fortresses and, accordingly, were built on steep mountains that were difficult to attack.

They were not the great status symbols and administrative and cultural centers yet that castles became in the 16th century when the lords started to build them on more easily accessible hilltops and in the flatlands.
Even today, Matsuyama Castle is not easily accessed, and visitors must hike for about 20 minutes to reach the castle keep from the nearest parking lot.

The approach passes the ruined foundations of former castle structures and then leads through multiple successive circles of defense before reaching the innermost castle grounds and the castle keep.

Views over the town can be enjoyed from several points along the way, but not from the castle keep itself.Typical for mountaintop castles, Matsuyama Castle's keep is with only two stories relatively small.

Inside the keep there are displays explaining the history of the castle and the efforts to preserve it in Japanese, including interesting photographs about the big renovations of 1940, 1960 and 2003.

By car
On weekdays, cars can access the castle's upper parking lot from where it is a 20 minute walk to the castle. On weekends and holidays from March to late December, however, private cars are only allowed as far as the lower parking lot from where it is a 45 minute walk or five minute shuttle bus ride (300 yen round trip, departures every 15 minutes) to the upper parking lot.

By taxi
Take a taxi from Bitchu-Takahashi Station to the castle's upper parking lot (15 minutes, 1500 yen from the station) from where it is an additional 600 meter, 20 minute hike to the castle.
Alternatively, from March to November Takahashi Kanko operates four scheduled "shuttle taxis" per day between the station and the upper parking lot for 430 yen one way per person.
Reservations are required, but can be made upon arrival at the station.

By bus
Take the Youme Town Shuttle Bus (100 yen) or Takahashi City Loop Bus (160 yen) from the Takahashi Bus Center next to Bitchu-Takahashi Station to Matsuyamajo Tojoguchi or Matsuyamajo Tozanguchi bus stop respectively, from where it is a two kilometer, one hour climb to the castle.
 

On foot
It takes about 80 minute to walk all the way from Bitchu-Takahashi Station to Matsuyama Castle.
Hours: 9:00 to 17:30 (until 16:30 from October to March)
Closed: December 28 to January 4
Admission: 300 yen (castle only) 
900 yen (castle, Raikyuji Temple, two samurai mansions and Takahashi Historical Museum)
 

Raikyuji Temple (頼久寺, Raikyūji) is a temple of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen Buddhism in Takahashi's old town.
The temple once served as the residence of Kobori Enshu, a local feudal lord who was also active as a renowned architect, garden designer and tea ceremony master.
Kobori Enshu or Masakazu  designed famous castles, palaces and gardens across Japan, especially in Kyoto.

Some of his most famous projects include the renovation of the local castle and the design of Nagoya Castle, Sumpu Castle and numerous gardens across Japan including those at the Sento Palace, Nijo Castle, Kodaiji Temple and Daitokuji Temple.

Kobori Enshu also designed the dry garden at Raikyuji Temple.
The garden incorporates elements such as islands representing a crane and turtle (symbols of longevity and health) and borrowed scenery, which he commonly employed in his designs.
Visitors can view the garden from the temple building.   
                                                                            
Hours: 9:00 to 17:00
Closed : No closing days
Admission: 300 yen