Shikoku Island

Shikoku island is the smallest of Japan’s five major islands and has a population of 3.8m – just a million less than the island of Ireland! It is encircled by a 1200km Buddhist temple pilgrimage route with 88 temples to visit. We only had three days here so we elected to visit the Iya Valley, a remote mountainous area in Western Tokushima. The secluded valley is characterised by steep mountain slopes and deep gorges which were traditionally crossed by vine bridges – think Carrick-a-Rede! Due to its remoteness the valley served as a refuge for members of the Taira Clan (also known as Heike) who escaped to the region after losing the Gempei War (1180-1185) at the end of the Heian Period.

Getting there started with a train ride to Akashi where we hired a car. It cost four of us £36 for the train to Akashi and saved £250 on the car hire compared to taking one from Kobe – three of us are pensioners so it was a no-brainer to do it this way!! I think this is a pertinent point to comment on our tour guide….

From Akashi we crossed the Akashi-Kaikyo bridge to Awaji Island, then crossed the Naruto Straits to Oge Island and Konaruto Bridge to Shikoku Island.

The Narato Straits are famous for the whirlpools created by the large volumes of water moving between the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean between high and low tide, combined with the unique underwater geography of the narrow strait – sorry, couldn’t get a picture of them because of the bridge!

Once off the freeway our journey continued along the Old Iya Highway known as route 32. The road is unbelievably narrow, mostly single track, clinging to the side of the mountain with frequent passing points. Not for the faint hearted driver that’s for sure….

Our accommodation in the Iya Valley was the Yoki Guesthouse – from the love hotel to the basic hippy b&b! It was clean, comfortable, our host, Ousin, was extremely helpful and friendly – and could rustle up a good fried chicken dinner and pork teriyaki. We slept in real Japanese style on a padded mattress called  a shikibuton, with a quilt, called a kakebuton, and a pillow filled with beans, called a makura!! Two mattresses made it much more comfortable but there was nothing helped improve the pillows. We shared a kitchen, sitting area and bathroom and were glad to get two loads of washing done and dried!!

As we arrived at the guesthouse the villagers were celebrating a matsuri (festival) involving a mikoshi, people bear the mikoshi on their shoulders by means of poles. They bring the mikoshi from the shrine, carry it around the neighborhoods that worship at the shrine, and in many cases leave it in a designated area, resting on blocks called uma (horse), for a time before returning it to the shrine. There is an expectation that the homes and businesses they visit will offer a gift in the hope of good fortune and health – the handing over of the small brown envelope was reminiscent of what we at home would refer to as a protection racket!

On Sunday we went to visit Fuji-san, a friend of Michelle’s brother, who runs the Missi Sippi restaurant in Motoyama along with his wife. What a man and what a collection of stuff!! He is an artist who is widely travelled and very much in to jazz music.

We returned to Iya Valley through the Kagamiyoshihara mountain area – try saying that after a glass or two if wine! The scenery was stunning.

This was the day we saw a monkey crossing the road in front of us – I know some won’t believe us but it did!

Monday we continued up the Higashi Iya (deep Iya) Valley going east on route 439, just as windy and narrow as 32, to the main trailhead of  Mount Tsurugi-san at Minokoshi. Tsurugi-san is the 2nd highest mountain on Shikoku and is one of Japan’s top 100. The summit, known as Heike-ro-baba, served as a 12th century training field for military horses of the local Heike warriors. A chairlift and 40min hike takes you to the summit – one look at the chairlift and it was a no from us!!

There used to be 13 suspension bridges made of mountain vines (kazurabashi) throughout the Iya Valley which provided a vital means of getting people and goods across the river in the past. Only three survive. We visited two which still stand side by side deep in the inner valley. They are known as the Oku-Iya Kazurabashi and Oku-Iya Nijū Kazurabashi or couples bridges. The larger of the two bridges, husband (Otto no Hashi), stretches 44 meters across the river next to a small waterfall, while the slightly lower wife bridge (Tsuma no Hashi) is a 22 meter span just a little ways upstream. Today the bridges are constructed with steel cables hidden within the vines for safety and are rebuilt every three years. A path on either side of the gorge connects the two bridges and a “wild monkey bridge’ – a wooden cart suspended on a rope over the river and used to transport goods and people.

As you travel along route 439 towards Nagora village you will come across people working in the fields, sitting by the roadside, waiting for buses – your eyes won’t deceive – these people are actually scarecrows! The work of village resident Ayano Tsukimi, the scarecrows memorialise former inhabitants of the village. The body is made of newspaper, hands and faces of cotton and the clothes have been donated by people and companies. Today there are 27 people living in the village and 300 scarecrows.

Japan consists of 6800 islands and has a population of approximately 126 million. I have been totally blown away with the tiny rural bit we visited in Shikoku. Fantastic place to visit…