No... I was hysterical.

Day 6

As far as I am concerned there are only 2 problems with traditional Japanese houses: no black-out and no heating. Too much light coming into the room at dawn can be avoided by an eye mask. Lack of heating however is a problem. All is well when you are under a duvet, all turns very cold when you get out.

Mountains are still cold in Spring. It didn't take me long to get out of the bedroom and into the common room and start drinking a hot tea.

Our bedroom is in another building, like an annex, not in the main building. The main building has 2 rooms for 2 people each. The annex has 2 rooms that can be joined together by removing the middle wall and is therefore able to accommodating us 4. We found out in the morning that the Japanese male guest staying overnight was a heavy snorer. Thin walls meant that the English guests had little to sleep…

Breakfast was as delicious as dinner.

We spent the day together. The 4 of us. Jorge and Will are having a day away from their bikes. After all they have done a few hundred kilometres by now so deserve a rest.

The Iya Valley is a secluded valley along the Iya river with steep mountain slopes and deep rocky gorges which were traditionally crossed by vine bridges.

Driving along winding mountain roads, from valley to valley, was a very technical experience. The roads are sometimes very narrow and have blind bends. One can expect some blind bends in mountain roads but, in the Iya Valley, 7 out of 10 bends are blind bends. All have mirrors and they are absolutely essential!

Iya Valley doing a V-shaped bend:

Manikin Peeing Boy Statue is an unexpected sight! It’s almost like we’re back in Brussels. Local folklore says passing travellers would climb out to pee off the same ledge 200m up from the valley below as a testament to their bravery.

Tourist bus that does the route of the top attraction in Iya:

Suddenly Manuel says ‘Service light is on, we are on reserve’. What?!? Jorge says in an assertive voice. ‘Let’s pull over and check the map’. Will sounds annoyed looking through Google maps for petrol stations. I laugh! It’s so Manuel, letting situations get really bad and then sit back and enjoy the mayhem…

We were in the middle of nowhere, on mountain roads and only had petrol for 30km. Hum…

Will spotted a petrol station a few kilometers down the road and we relaxed a bit. When we got there we saw an abandoned petrol station, rust and everything. There was a silence, a very silent silence for a few seconds, until Will saw that there was a new petrol station behind. Uff!

Petrol stations in Japan have the  fuel deposits on the roof and the nozzle is electronically lowered. They have a very clean look and are always attended by a very helpful employee.

We stopped for one of the last 3 vine bridges of the Iya Valley: Iya Kazurabashi. Once there were 13 bridges. 

Well, not before ice cream!

Iya Kazurabashi is the largest and most popular of the remaining bridges stretching 45m across the Iya river. It attracts a small army of tourists and we were shocked to find out you have to pay ¥550 (£4, €4.5, $5) for the privilege of crossing it on foot. We were expecting it to be free!

Group decision: we were not going to pay for it. We descended to the river level 14m below and decided to play around in the (cold) water and pebbled riverside.

Biwa waterfall:

The mountain slopes are covered in several shades of green. Plenty of maple trees, some of them with beautiful red leaves. All tourist guides say that Autumn in the valley provides an amazing sight of shades of gold, orange and red. Mental note: must return!

Truth being told, we all wanted to cross one of Iya’s vine bridges so we decided to leave Nishiiya (West Iya) behind and head off to Okuiya (East Iya, aka Inner Iya aka Higashiiya), an even more remote part of the valley.

There was a pit-stop for lunch of course. In a small little village on the way we found a small hotel restaurant. It was almost 2pm and only one table full of women having tea. We asked for a table, sat and chose our food. All women immediately stood up and went to the kitchen. So, the women weren’t guests, they were the work force!

The menu advertised local deer meat: curry and croquettes. Both dishes were tasty but you couldn’t  really taste the deer. The curry was curry! The croquettes had too much potatoes.

Iya’s double vine bridges, Okuiya Niju Kazurabashi, also ¥550! We were hoping it would be cheaper but at least you get 2 bridges for the price of 1.
The larger of the 2 bridges, Otto no Hashi (Husband Bridge), stretches 44m across the river next to a small waterfall, while the slightly lower Tsuma no Hashi (Wife Bridge) spans 22m just a little upstream. The bridges are constructed with steel cables hidden inside the vines for safety and are rebuilt every 3 years. Maybe the money is worth it!
It provides some relief to see the steel cables before crossing the bridge. What doesn't provide any relief are the wooden boards you have to step on. I have small feet and the gaps between the boards were almost the length of my feet.

I crossed the Husband Bridge, very slowly, holding the side, one wooden board at a time, screaming my way through it. I was not a happy puppy! The bridge was high!!

I was hoping that by the time I got to the other side the Wild Monkey Bridge (Yaen) would be available. This is a wooden cart suspended on a rope over the river which was used in the past to transport goods and people. You have to pull a rope that runs through it to get from one side to the other.
It's by the side of the vine bridges and it would take me to the other side without having to cross the Female Bridge. That was the plan but by the time I got there Jorge and Will were already in it crossing to the other side and laughing at me.
So I had to cross the Female Bridge on foot, screaming my way through again. Oh, have I mentioned that fear doesn't usually stop me doing things, I just do it screaming? Yes, I am noisy!
I eventually got to the Wild Monkey Bridge and hoped it would be easier. I hoped I wouldn't be hysterical. No... I was hysterical.
Is it worth mentioning I was the only one screaming?

And that was it. My body had had enough. Crossing a vine bridge had sounded like such a good idea. I wasn't expecting it to be so scary. My bowels mimicked my feelings and I had to run to the toilet. Constipated I was no more!

Onsen stop on the way back, this time at Iya Onsen Hotel. The hotel is set on a high steep slope overlooking the Iya valley but it's onsen is by the river, 170m below. Getting to the onsen involves taking a cable car from within the hotel, which we operate ourselves. It's mighty steep and provides a good view.

The onsen's water is not very hot but it has very good views to the river gorge. I was alone so I was very sneaky and took some pictures. Then I perched on the ledge of the onsen, enjoying the warm water, the view and the breeze.

Dinner. Magnificent. Again!

Pilgrim tally:

Still 5/5. No pilgrims seen in the mountains today.