Why travel to Shikoku? Shikoku has always felt mysterious to me—no one I knew had been there, and it’s rarely mentioned in blogs or magazines. This summer, I finally embarked on this Shikoku journey. Shikoku… What was the reason for going? No one seemed to go there. Few blogs or magazines talked about it. But this summer, I set off on a trip to this place. Shikoku—why did so many people speak so highly of it? The highlights here are incredibly rich. In just one day, without even seeing many people, I experienced dense forests and mountain valleys. One of the most impressive sights was seeing a traditional Japanese house nestled deep in the mountains. This one highlight alone made the trip meaningful. It also gave me a taste of the uniquely serene atmosphere found only in rural Japan.
One of Japan’s three most mysterious places, Iya Valley, located in Tokushima Prefecture, is quite different from another mysterious spot, Shirakawa-go. Although Shirakawa-go is considered a hidden gem, it’s actually full of tourists. In contrast, due to its inconvenient transportation, Iya Valley remains a true hidden treasure. This was my first time traveling to the rural parts of Japan, and it gave me a completely new feeling.
Peeing Boy Statue
It was my first time visiting Shikoku, and I found the transportation arrangements here were not easy at all. Fortunately, Japanese public transport is mostly very punctual, so the day’s itinerary went smoothly. We started our journey from _ and headed towards one of the mysterious spots, arriving at the Peeing Boy Statue after about an hour. This is the landmark of Iya Onsen. From here, you can see the scenery of the deep mountains. It’s just a short walk—10minutes—from the Peeing Boy Statue to Iya Onsen.
Iya Onsen(Washinosu Ryokan)
Iya Onsen(Washinosu Ryokan), one of Japan’s three most mysterious hot springs. A major feature of this hot spring is that it’s located by the Iya River in a valley, and you need to take a5-minute cable car ride down the mountain from the cable car station next to the ryokan lobby. Due to limited time, we didn’t stay overnight, but the ryokan offers a same-day hot spring package, including lunch and a soak in the hot springs. We thought it would be crowded during summer vacation, but this is truly a hidden gem—there were only a few of us at the hot spring. There were only a few of us on the cable car too, and we had to operate it ourselves by pressing the control button.
This is the view from the hot spring. Although the hot spring is small and the water isn’t very hot, the scenery is so beautiful and there were only a few of us—it felt like the view belonged just to us. That’s the essence of traveling to a mysterious scenic spot, isn’t it?
Kazurabashi Bridge(Vine Bridge)
Kazurabashi Bridge(Vine Bridge)One of Japan’s three most unusual bridges, it is45meters long,2meters wide, and15meters above the ground. The bridge is woven from the branches of the Actinidia arguta (hardy kiwi) vine. Of course, for safety reasons, the load-bearing parts have been replaced with steel cables, which are then wrapped with branches.
There’s about a two-T gap between the foot planks. The bridge is fourteen meters above the ground, with the mysterious Iya River below. Through the gaps in the suspension bridge, you can see the clear river water. The adults among us crossed step by cautious step, but we saw Japanese children whose feet were even smaller than the gaps running across the bridge quickly, shaking it vigorously and making the experience even more thrilling for us.
Biwa Waterfall (Biwa no Taki)
After crossing the bridge, turn left to reach Biwa Waterfall. Legend has it that during wartime, people who missed Kyoto would play the biwa (a traditional Japanese lute) in front of the waterfall, hence the name.
Opposite Biwa Waterfall is a staircase that leads down to the Iya River. There were many Japanese children playing in the water, giving off the vibe of a Japanese drama scene where families spend their summer holidays in the countryside.
Oboke Gorge
Oboke Gorge is located in the _ area of Shikoku. The dangers here mostly come from the thrilling boat rides and scenic cliffs. In the past, building roads here was considered a dangerous and difficult task, which is why it was named Oboke (meaning “great danger”). The cliffs on both sides of the gorge consist of rocks formed one to two hundred million years ago under the sea, which were pushed up to the surface due to crustal movements forty million years ago, forming the landscape we see today. As such, it’s a unique sight in Japan. Because of the distinctive rocks on both banks, Oboke Gorge is described as a “beautiful canyon sculpted by the hands of nature,” and it is designated as a Natural Monument of Japan.
Oboke Sightseeing Boat, with a voyage duration of30It takes about 30 minutes. Although there’s only a Japanese-speaking guide, they provide a Chinese script when you buy your ticket—just follow along with that.
The Ōboke cruise boat is a bit far from Ōboke Station, so we took a bus back.JRTo Ōboke Station.
Trains at Ōboke Station are infrequent, with limited express services to Takamatsu, Okayama, and Kotohira. If coming from Tokushima, you can transfer at Awa-Ikeda Station, but after arriving by train, you still need to take a bus. It’s recommended to go directly to Ōboke Gorge by bus from Awa-Ikeda Station.
Awaodori Museum Awa Odori Museum
(Text appears garbled or incomplete — kept as is due to unclear context)In the evening at the Awa Odori Museum in Mitsugiyama Park, there’s an Awa Odori performance.
They also invite the audience up to the stage to learn the Awa Odori dance. Although everything was in Japanese and I couldn’t understand it, I still went up and joined in—it was a great experience.
Naruto Whirlpools (Naruto no Uzushio)
The last stop in Shikoku brought us to the Naruto Strait to see the world’s largest whirlpools. There are two ways to visit the Naruto Whirlpools: one is to take a boat from Naruto Tourist Port to get close to the whirlpools under the Naruto Bridge, and the other is to look down from Uzu no Michi on the bridge itself. However, Naruto Tourist Port and Naruto Park (which leads to the bridge) are quite far apart—you have to take a bus, and unfortunately, the buses only run once an hour. Also, we had to hurry back to Osaka, so we only took the sightseeing boat and didn’t go to Uzu no Michi in Naruto Park.(There are also sightseeing boats at Uzu no Michi, but the service is very infrequent.)
The spot to view the whirlpools is right under the Naruto Bridge, which connects Shikoku and Awaji Island—and it’s also the route we took to leave Shikoku and return to Osaka.
The size of the whirlpools varies depending on the tide schedule. Due to time constraints, we didn’t get to see the largest ones.
Original text:
[Shikoku Tokushima] Hidden Gem: Iya Onsen, Kazurabashi Bridge, Ōboke
[Shikoku Tokushima] Naruto Whirlpools, Menbō, Awa Odori Museum
Traveling through the Last Pure Land of Shikoku, Japan
[Shikoku Kagawa] Takamatsu, Ritsurin Garden, Ranmaru Toriten
[Shikoku Kagawa] Kotohira, Kompira Shrine, Old … (text cutoff)
[Shikoku Tokushima] Hidden Gem: Iya Onsen, Kazurabashi Bridge, Ōboke
[Shikoku Tokushima] Naruto Whirlpools, Menbō, Awa Odori Museum
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Text Photos: Travis To