Hilma

Where Hilma would send you

1. 1 Iya Kazurabashi (Vine Bridge) Attraction Oct 1
   Iya Kazurabashi (Vine Bridge)

   ★★★★★ Hilma's pick

   The vine bridge that defines the valley — woven from wisteria vines and rebuilt every three years, sagging over the Iya Gorge in a way that no photograph can prepare you for. The story says the Heike built it to cut behind them. The river below is the colour of old iron. Cross it at four in the afternoon when the light hits the gorge wall and the bridge starts to hum with the wind — a low, stringed sound like the bhuta of its own history. The entrance fee is ¥550, and the feeling of crossing is worth ten times that.

   162-2 Zentoku, Nishi-Iyayama, Miyoshi, Tokushima 778-0102, Japan
2. 2 Yamaya Restaurant Oct 1
   Yamaya

   ★★★★ Hilma's pick

   A cafe, bar and guesthouse set in a restored kominka (old farmhouse), with indoor and outdoor seating, daily set meals, drinks, and — rare in these mountains — actually good music playing. The owner clearly curates the playlist; on my visit, someone had put on a fingerpicked folk record that sat perfectly against the creak of old floorboards and the sound of the river outside. Lunch served Tues/Thurs/Sat only; open 11:30am–10:30pm, closed Wed & Sun.

   573 Ōkawamochi, Yamashiro-cho, Miyoshi City, Tokushima, Japan
3. 3 Momiji-tei Restaurant Oct 1
   Momiji-tei

   ★★★★ Hilma's pick

   A soba restaurant in a restored thatched-roof farmhouse at WestWest in Koboke, overlooking the river and gorge. The noodles are handmade, thick Iya soba in the old style, served in a broth that tastes of the mountain. The building itself — dark beams, irori hearth, the smell of woodsmoke — is half the meal.

   1468-1 Nishiu, Yamashiro-cho, Miyoshi City, Tokushima, Japan
4. 4 Oku-Iya Double Vine Bridges Attraction Oct 1
   Oku-Iya Double Vine Bridges

   ★★★★ Hilma's pick

   Two vine bridges side by side in the eastern reaches of the valley — quieter than the main Kazurabashi, fewer visitors, deeper forest. The approach is a walk through cedar groves and mossy stone walls. One bridge is for crossing; the other, legend says, was for the horses. Together they form the most beautiful single composition in the valley, a pair of arcs suspended over a stream that runs clear enough to drink.

   Higashi-Iya, Miyoshi, Tokushima, Japan
5. 5 Ochiai Preserved Hamlet Landmark Oct 1
   Ochiai Preserved Hamlet

   ★★★★ Hilma's pick

   A cluster of eight restored thatched farmhouses in a remote eastern hamlet, registered as a national preservation district. The terraced rice paddies climb the hillside behind them; the walking paths between the houses are the same dirt-and-stone lanes the Heike would have used. There is nobody selling tickets here — people actually live in these houses. Go at dusk, when the kitchen lights come on one by one, and watch the valley turn from green to indigo.

   Ochiai, Higashi-Iya, Miyoshi, Tokushima, Japan