Rachel's Blog from Japan

Shikoku Continues                                       June 4, 2005

Shikoku Island was shaping up to be thoroughly entertaining.  We had intended to head into the forest to explore and hike.  As we left the main road, the way became considerably more narrow and winding and we realized that our itinerary was going to be blow to bits and we might never make it out the other end.  Luckily, when traveling by car one can change course.  We decided to drive down the coast to one of the capes of the island, Muroto, said to be the doorway to the land of the dead.  Along the way we saw beautiful coastlines, craggy cliffs, smooth sand beaches tucked amid secluded inlets, aquamarine water, crashing waves and myriad surfers.  Luckily, the true identity of the cape did not reveal itself, I guess that only happens during storms. 

After our coast visit we re-entered the forest of the Iya Valley for a shorter, but no less exciting adventure.  We headed to Kazuribashi to visit a replica of a vine bridge that was built (and quickly cut down as protection from marauding invaders) during ancient times.  Crossing the bridge rivals the most exciting amusement park ride.  The bridge was about 40 meter above the river, and was constructed of intertwined vines and wooden slats.  The slats were about 6 cm wide and the spaces between them were about 12 cm.  Of course the bridge swayed, bounced, twisted and lurched as we crossed.  While I held on for dear life, some other tourists walked across as if they were walking along the sidewalk.  

Driving to the bridge and along the Iya Valley gorge was as exciting as walking across the bridge.  The road hugged the slope, was one continuous hair-pin turn, and had unbelievably steep drop-offs.  Its width was frequently no wider than a compact car and there were road-side mirrors to navigate the hair-pins.  Amazingly enough, a full-sized bus traversed the road daily, and local traffic careened down the road, while I was driving a cautious 10 – 20 km/h.  Luckily, we only encountered on-coming traffic on the infrequent straight-aways, which had small turnouts.  Someone was watching over us!!  Nonetheless, the views of the gorge were spectacular and the forest had a wonderful diversity of vegetation. 

The last stop was a small town that boasted a temple that was accessed by climbing 800 steps.  When we arrived at the town, Kotohira, we checked into a minshuku where we were fawned over by our room mother.  She served tea and cakes and explained everything about the minshuku and its onsen.  She was very taken by Nate and kept talking to him despite his clear lack of understanding.  By the time she finished, the heat of the day (30^oC) was abating, although the humidity was still oppressive.  The walk was very enjoyable as most of the tourists had gone, and the way was sprinkled with small, picturesque shrines.  The shrine at the end was very modest, but the views of the valley were terrific, with numerous perfectly shaped cinder-cone mountains.