Ultimate Seclusion - The Iya Valley - worth the 5 year wait

PART TWO OF TWO

武家屋敷
First built in 1763, this is a restored version built in 1990
It housed the family of a samurai

Sunday, 20th July 2008

After having lunch we continued in an easterly direction. We got half way between Mt. Tsurugi and the Iya Valley where we found the turn off for the samurai house that we were interested in seeing. The sign said it was 3.9km away and I figured that it would be a fairly easy drive on a fairly straight road but I couldn't have been more wrong! The road was steep and full of potholes and blind curves. It was a rough trip UP! UP! and UP! The road was only wide enough for 1 and a half cars abreast and there was no railing at certain parts. I had to alternate between second and first gears for the ascent and luckily managed to make it up there without meeting another car making its way down. There is no way that I would have made it up there alive in winter! The amazing thing is that there are so many homes scattered around the place. Naomi and I were trying to figure out how these people (not only now but in the past) get up this mountain in winter with all the snow. We were also curious as to what they actually do for a living since this place is pretty remote - more remote than Tojo!

In the samurai house there was a lovely lady who showed us around and offered some answers to our questions.

She mentioned that in winter they don't have any problems going up and down the mountain! nor have they ever! She has lived here all her life and told us stories about her younger years.

The small community was and is still fairly self-sufficient, meaning that they grow their own produce for consumption and don't rely heavily on going to the shops for goods. She did say that they do go to the shops every now and then for meat and fish freezing goods for consumption later. They often take turns to go out and buy goods for each other to save the hassle. A lot of the people living there are elderly thus they make daily trips to see a doctor. Their diet consists of rice, mountain vegetables and anything else that they can find. In the past they used to sell daizu - Japanese soy beans, miso – soybean paste and salt to make money. They also used to grow tobacco plants. She mentioned that the leaves of the tobacco plant left a very strong smell on clothes so they used to make tobacco farming only clothes from old cloth which they could dispose of afterwards. In the past they lived on whatever they could grow and life was different to the life we live now where most of us are able to buy things such as fruit when they are out of season and eat the things we like when we like.

you can see how steep the mountain is and also see the pine plantations

In Japan there are many pine plantations in places that make you wonder how they actually managed to get up there and plant the little trees. I asked her about this because there was a section on the mountain range across from where the house was. She said that she helped plant those several decades ago when she was younger. She explained how they use to make a temporary road that traversed up the mountain. There, they carried small pines on their backs and planted them one by one. The work must have been painstakingly difficult.

We spent some more time looking around the place before making our way back down again.

This time we were not so lucky. A car was making its way up and we had to pass each other somehow! After reversing back up a few metres we passed each other and we continued the trip down. We continued, back on what they call a 'main road' but of course its not, to Oku-Kazura Bridge located in pristine surroundings. It had more of a unique atmosphere than the tourist packed Kazura Bridge that we visited earlier that day.

They had a ride called a 野猿 - () where several ropes are connected to two points on both sides of the river. A small wooden box is attached to one of the ropes. The idea is that you have to pull yourself along with another rope inside the box. It's a lot of fun and you need a bit of strength to get the box all the way to the platform otherwise you will swing until someone comes to rescue you!

We had another half hour in the car to go before arriving at our accommodation for the night, La Foret Lodge at an altitude of 1500 metres above sea level located in the area surrounding Mt. Tsurugi. This place is fairly cheap and provides clean basic accommodation for mountain trekkers who will be up early to climb up the rest of the way to the peak of Mt. Tsurugi.

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Monday, 21st July 2008

MT. TSURUGI
剣山
標高１９９５
Altitude 1995m

The next morning we woke up fairly early and headed to the chair lift that takes you almost to the summit of Mt. Tsurugi.

The weather was great in the morning with clear skies but as we sat on the lift the weather started to change and the temperature drop! You can see in this photo that we are as high up as the bottom of the clouds! Pretty cool! Once up the top you can choose from several paths varying in length and difficulty. We chose the shortest but steepest! It took about an hour to get to the top but once there we were pleasantly surprised!

at the top! 1995 metres


from the summit - the roads you can see are at an altitude of 1500 metres. If you follow the lower road it would take you to the Iya Valley where we came from

this path takes you to the next mountain, named JIROGYU　（ジロギュウ）
The mountain peak is slightly lower in altitude - 1929 metres

This path takes you to the mountain directly to west of Mt. Tsurugi -
Ichi-no-mori (一の森)　1879 metres

at the peak there was a group of young people praying

The trip to Mt. Tsurugi was fantastic. You could spend a whole day or perhaps two climbing the 3 mountains which offer breathtaking scenery. The temperature at the peak was 20 degrees and once we were back at sea level several kilometres north the temperature was a sizzling 35 degrees. We really felt the heat. We drove on the highway all the way back home.

from the town directly north of Mt. Tsurugi - you can see the mountain ranges from where we just came from

Tokushima Prefecture has some of the most dramatic scenery I have seen in Japan and there is some exciting driving to be done in remote areas with spectacular mountain drops, hairpin curves and narrow roads that traverse the sides of mountains. You really feel like you have left the hustle and bustle of the major centres where the majority of Japans population lives.

After 5 years living and working in Japan, The Iya Valley - which has given me unforgettable memories - will be and remain as one of my favourite places in Japan.

A clear night and a full moon

Wednesday, 15th October 2008

It was a perfect clear autumns day with clear skies remaining through the early night before the fog set over the town. The moon was out shining slightly above the mountain range where Tojo lies and had a tinge of yellow to it before it rose up higher glowing a bright white.