The Iya Valley area in Tokushima Prefecture is a secluded place, where legend holds that the defeated soldiers of the Heike clan hid from their pursuers deep in the mountains in the 12th century. This valley is famous even now for the traces that have come down to us, symbolized by the Iya-no-Kazura Bashi Vine Bridge.
The defeated soldiers wove a suspension bridge, 45 meters long and 2 meters wide, over the Iya River, with a plant called hardy kiwi (actinidia arguta), so that the bridge could be cut at any time in order to evade their pursuers. You can actually cross this bridge; there are gaps between the planks large enough for your leg to go clean through, and the bridge swings and sways with each step you take, allowing you to experience a thrill that may even instinctively make your knees weak.
See silky wisteria in the spring, fresh greenery in the summer, red leaves in the fall, and snowscapes in the winter. The scenery of the four seasons that color the bridge is breathtakingly beautiful.

The taste of traditional food lives on unfalteringly in Iya, a secluded area deep in the mountains. One dish is “Iya soba.” As a “tsunagi” (binder) is not generally used, the scent of the buckwheat is strong, and one characteristic of this food is that it is easy to cut here and there; it is a celebratory dish served on happy occasions or to welcome visitors.
There are many eateries that offer Iya soba, and there are also facilities within some of these where you can experience making soba. In an “old-style soba-making experience,” you can enjoy grinding the buckwheat seeds with a quern, kneading the flour and making dough, and cutting and boiling the dough. After the experience, relax and eat your freshly made and boiled soba with “heike gozen,”served with hand-made side-dishes of mountain vegetables and wild game caught in the vicinity.

The Oboke and Koboke areas, in the vicinity of Iya, are dotted with places known for allowing you to freely experience the beauty of nature. Of these, the quintessential beauty spot of Oboke Gorge is located in the valley, where the crags and strangely shaped rocks, eroded over a hundred million years, extend over 5 km. You can also sail on a sightseeing boat, and see the wonders of the valley up close. The beauty of the surface of the river, sparking emerald-green, is exceptional, and the natural show of strangely shaped rocks that appear, one after another, is overwhelming.
In addition, there are hot spring villages in this area, where good-quality hot springs gush up. Elegant onsen inns are scattered around, and in many you can enjoy a day trip for bathing. Among the numerous inns, Iyaonsen, a Japanese-style inn reachable by cable car, is exceedingly popular, and is famous for its open-air bath on the valley floor. The milky-white, thick waters are continuously flowing. The precipitous cliffs of Iya Valley stretch out before your eyes; enjoy the famous waters here, in a location suitable for a place known as a “hidden” hot spring.

(This information is as of March 2018)