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We weren't able to book seats on the shinkansen, so just got
up as early as possible and wedged ourselves on to the first available trains.
By 2pm we had arrived at Awa Ikeda and decided to ride the remaing distance,
firstly an hour following the main road/railway line, and then turning off
to the Oku-Koboke
Onsen, which described itself as 7.5km up a valley from the nearest station.
This turned out to be an extremely steep 9km climb that took us 40 minutes
each of the 3 nights we spent there. Here it is on the left.
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We had a very comfortable stay there, wallowing in the hot baths and
enjoying a huge feast of Japanese style food each night (I'm sure we weren't
actually expected to finish it all). Here's a taster...
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The next morning, we set of for the famous Kazurabashi, a bridge
made of vines so that retreating warriors could quickly cut it down to escape
from their enemies. It was a bit wobbly but nothing too dramatic
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There was also a decent waterfall nearby, but more importantly a noodle
shop. The noodle shop was less photogenic though, with an outside toilet that
appeared to empty directly into the lovely clear(ish) water of the river below.
I hope we were mistaken about that!
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As well as the bridge
itself, there were lots of beautiful views like these on the way there and
back. As we were slogging our way up one of these hills, a group of nihonzaru
came to check us out but we didn't manage to take any pictures. Which perhaps
was a bit silly as it's not every day we get to see wild monkeys.
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Next day, we rode up the Iya valley to the Iya Onsen which is perched
up on the edge of a gorge. To take a bath, you drop down into the valley via
the cable car which is just visible as a partially hidden white smudge dropping
down the 45 degree slope below and to the left of the onsen. However we didn't
have much time to spare with the short winter days, so we just had some lunch,
and then returned home. For some obscure reason, there is a little statue
on a rocky outcrop near to the onsen, and also lots of signs warning about
the dangerous tandemers...
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On the third day, it was time to move on. We pedalled steadily
up the main valley again, pausing only for brief snacks and to admire the
sunny views. We got to Kouchi by lunchtime, and had time for a quick visit
to the castle before getting a train for the remaining trip to Kubokawa
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Back to the home page.
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On to Part 2 |