Cycling Day 34: Iya Valley
Plus some sightseeing and sitting in the sun by the waters edge
View from our viewpoint camp spot
Next viewpoint along
2 May 2026 - 10:39
2 May 2026 - 10:43
One of the main sights in the valley 😉
Apparently he's been here since 1968!
2 May 2026 - 11:14
First vine bridge
2 May 2026 - 11:44
2 May 2026 - 11:49
2 May 2026 - 11:54
2 May 2026 - 12:57
Ochai Village
One of the steepest villages in Japan. Even living at the top of Nine Tree Hill doesn't prepare you😉
2 May 2026 - 16:33
Food...
We have hit a snag. The last little shop before heading up to the double vibe bridge campsite was closed, so we didn't have food for an evening meal or solid to stay at the campsite for a couple of nights (to hike Mount Tsurugi).
Suchern had the great idea to go into a soba (noodle) cafe here and, although they closed 15 mins after we arrived (4pm), they prepared us some soba balls to take away. Definitely better than not picking any extra food up and running out even sooner!
There is a cafe opposite the campsite, so we should be able to get some food tomorrow, but opening hours are unknown.
2 May 2026 - 17:18
2 May 2026 - 17:43
Scarecrow Village
2 May 2026 - 18:08
2 May 2026 - 18:21
High up campsite!
We finally reached the campsite, but it was the other side of the vine bridges and there was a big sign saying we weren't allowed to cross after business hours 🫤
We didn't have much choice but to disobey... hopefully they won't be too upset if we pay in the morning...
Crossing the bridge with our luggage was quite scary!
There was a couple who speak Chinese staying the night too and they had a fire going. Suchern speaks Chinese and they welcomed us to join them by the fire. They only had instant noodles after an 8 hour journey from Osaka which should have been 4. We were able to share the miso paste I picked up as an experiment (failed - it wasn't good on bread!).