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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.

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.

Higashi Iya History and Folk Museum
The Higashi Iya History and Folk Museum is a history museum at the entrance to Oku Iya.
You will find exhibits and display items like tools, clothes, household items, and other traditional items of the region inside of the facility.

Hours: 8:30 to 17:00 
Closed: Weekends and holidays (Dec to Feb), New Year holidays 
Admission: 410 yen

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.

Kazurabashi Bridge 
Suspension bridges made of mountain vines (kazurabashi) were one of the only ways to easily move people and goods across the river of the of the Iya Valley in the past.
Their origins are unclear but legends say that they were either first raised by Kobo Daishi, who was founder of the Shingon Sect of Japanese Buddhism,
or built by Heike refugees hiding in the area after their defeat in the Gempei War or Genpei kassen (1180-1185) as a means of quickly cutting off access to the valley.

There are only three surviving bridge as though 13 bridges once spanned the valley.
Iya Kazurabashi (祖谷かずら橋), the largest and most popular of the remaining bridges, stretches 45 meters across the Iya River at the center of the valley,
and offers visitors an restless view of the water 14 meters below the open slats of the span.
The bridge is rebuilt every three years and is anchored to tall cedar trees at both ends and has steel cables hidden within the vines for safety.
The bridge a one way street

Hours: Sunrise to sunset (illuminated in the evenings from 19:00 to 21:00)
Closed: No closing days
Admission: 500 yen
The level of English: Good

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.

The Oboke Gorge (Ōboke) has unusual geological strata, including a rudaceous schist formation designated as a natural monument.
Oboke Gorge and neighboring Koboke Gorge a little ways downstream, are narrow, steep sided gorges near the entrance to the Iya Valley.
Their names mean "big dangerous steps" and "small dangerous steps" as their jagged, rocky walls can be dangerous to navigate.
Yoshino River has cut through the Shikoku Mountains over the ages, eroding crystalline schist into winding gorges with myriad shapes and forms,
which almost look like marble statues. 

The gorges are one of the leading outdoor destinations in Japan and are known for their beautiful natural scenery and for the variety of outdoor attractions.

Oboke Sightseeing Boat Cruise

Guides show interesting rocks, many of which resemble different animals, along the way on this gentle 30 minute boat ride down the Yoshino River.
Boats depart and return to a dock a short ways away from Lapis Oboke and Oboke Station.
Passenger requires taking off their shoes and sitting on the floor of the boat during the cruise.

Hours: 9:00 to 17:00 
Closed: No closing days 
Admission: 1080 yen

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

The Art House Project takes empty houses scattered about residential areas, and turns the spaces themselves into works of art, weaving in the history and memories of the period when the houses were homes. Meetings between visitors to the island and the island's people in places where they go about their daily lives also provide occasions for a variety of interesting encounters.

The art houses are scattered throughout town, and most of them are unassuming from the street, blending into the surrounding traditional Japanese neighborhood. The interior of each, however, has been given over to artists to convert into whatever suits their artistic vision.

Closed: Mondays
Open on Mondays for national holidays but closed the next day.
Open Day Calendar
Hours: 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

The Art House project has English information page.

Kadoya  one of the art house project

Kadoya was the first art house completed. This nearly 200-year old house was restored using Japanese plaster, smoked cedar board, and traditional tiles. Artworks on display include a LED display set in a pool of water, a window turned into a digital display and an unconventional Japanese scroll painting.

Works:Tatsuo Miyajima
Closed : Mondays  Open on Mondays for national holidays but closed the next day
Hours: 10a.m-4:30p.m
Admission: 410yen

 Haisha【はいしゃ】
Architecture and Artwork by Otake Shinro
Haisha (literally "dentist"), once the home and office of a local dentist, has been completely transformed by artist Shinro Ohtake into a sculptural or graphic artwork some of which can be viewed from different floors of the two storied house. The artworks include a replica of the Statue of Liberty. Otake also designed the I Love You bath house. Dreaming Tongue, the title of the artwork, represents the process of calling to mind a dream from the tastes and aromas of a morsel in one's mouth.

Shinro Ohtake
He is a Japanese artist who was born in Tokyo and lives in Uwajima, Japan. He paints, creates installations and designs record covers and book covers. He has published dozens of books, such as a dream diary, a picture book, essays and art books.

Closed: Mondays  Open on Mondays for national holidays but closed the next day
Hours: 10a.m-4:30p.m
Admission: 410yen

Kinza 【きんざ】
Designed by Naito Rei
Kinza is a small, 200 year old house that has been converted into an artwork of traditional building design and craftsmanship. Located next door to the Gokaisho, Kinza can only be viewed from Friday to Sunday with advance reservations. Visitors enter Kinza one at a time.

Open:Thursday to Sunday and holidays
Hours:11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., 2:00-4:30 p.m.
Admission:510 yen
Viewing Kinza
Visitors are requested to enter one at a time and finish viewing Kinza within 15 minutes.
A reservation: Required.