The Iya Valley

When you think of Japan you might picture flashing neon lights, surging crowds and amazing technology...  You'd be forgiven because before arriving here this is exactly how I pictured Japan too.  Unfortunately in my neck of the woods (rural Japan, also known as "the inaka" or countryside) none of these enduring images is particularly true.  Some would argue that to make up for Tokushima's relative lack of "metropolitan life" it is bestowed with some of the most beautiful natural scenery in Japan.  In search of these wonders of nature, Phil and I journeyed into the west of the prefecture and scoped out the Iya Valley.

The Iya Valley is famous for it's mountains (Mt Tsurugi being the tallest) and gorges (you can even go white water rafting in Oboke Gorge).  It is also home to a few famous vinebridges that date back to Samurai times - though I suspect the steel reinforcement to be a recent addition.  And if you're feeling brave, there is also a Zorbing Centre where you can climb into a puddle of water in the middle of a giant rubber ball and be pushed down the side of a small custom-made, totally-safe mountain track.

Here are some pictures from our day in the Valley:

This is the Iya Vinebridge.  For a small fee (400yen or so) you can walk across this bridge.  The bridge is renovated every 4 years.

For those not game enough to cross (note: you CAN see through the slats on the bridge to the rocks and river below), there is a viewing platform on a regular bridge some 50 metres away.

High up in the Iya Mountains, you can see Manikin Piss Boy.  This statue of a cheeky boy symbolises courage as the sheer drop on the other side of the boy falls hundreds of metres into a ravine.

This is me giving "zorbing" a try for the first time.  For 700yen (about 10AUD) you are given a change of clothes and set tumbling down the hill in a rubber ball.  Inside you slide around in about 20 litres of water - getting completely drenched by the bottom!