Kotobus Iya valley 1-day tour from Osaka

Kotobus Iya valley 1-day tour from Osaka

6:30　 Meet guide at Shin-Osaka station
6:50 　 Departure from shin-Osaka by Sakura 543
7:40 　 Arrival Okayama station
7:55 　 Departure from Okayama Rapid Marine Liner 9
8:50 　 Arrival Takamatsu station
9:00 　 Departure from Takamatsu station
12:10　 Iya Kazurabashi vine bridge
Take free lunch
14:30 Enjoy Oboke valley on a pleasure cruise
19:00 Arrival Takamatsu station (Dinner at here)
19:40 Departure from Takamatsu station Marine liner to Okayama
20:35 Arrival Okayama station
21:03 Departure from Okayama to Shin Osaka Mizuho 610
21:47 Arrival Shin-Osaka

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: Takamatsu, Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku

Takamatsu Station Connections
Takamatsu Station is a busy, major rail intersection and a major route between Shikoku and Okayama Station on Honshu.

Takamatsu Station is on both the JR Yosan Line to Marugame, Tadotsu, Matsuyama and Uwajima and the Kotoku Line to Tokushima via Yashima, Ikenotani and Sako.

The Yosan Line runs west from Takamatsu Station to Matsuyama Station (2 hours, 30 minutes) in Ehime Prefecture and then south west to Uwajima. The Kotoku Line connects Tokushima Station with Takamatsu Station in about 70 minutes by limited express train.

JR Marine Liner trains from Okayama Station run south to Takamatsu over the across the Seto Ohashi Bridge in 55 minutes, Tokushima (with a change in Takamatsu to the Uzushio Express) in around 2 hours, Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture on the Shiokaze Limited Express in 2 hours, 40 minutes and Kochi on the Nanpu Limited Express in 2 hours, 40 minutes.

Connection times from Takamatsu Station are 2 hours, 30 minutes to Matsuyama Station and 2 hours, 33 minutes to Kochi Station.

A short walk from Takamatsu Station is Takamatsuchikko the terminus for the Kotoden Kotohira Line for Kotoden-Kotohira Station. From Takamatsuchikko there are also trains to Yashima via Kawaramachi Station (two stops from Takamatsuchikko Station) to Kotoden Yashima Station on the Shido Line. There are three trains an hour from Kawaramachi Station to Kotoden Yashima Station.

There are less frequent trains direct from JR Takamatsu Station to JR Yashima Station, a little to the south of Kotoden Yashima Station. A shuttle bus from JR Takamatsu Station via Kotoden Yashima Station runs up the hill to Yashima.

Stop At: Iya Kazura Bridge, Nishiiyayamamura Zentoku, Miyoshi 778-0102 Tokushima Prefecture

In the past, suspension bridges made of mountain vines (kazurabashi) were one of the only ways to easily move people and goods across the river of the of the Iya Valley. History is unclear about their origins, but legends say that they were either first raised by Kobo Daishi, founder of the Shingon Sect of Japanese Buddhism, or created by Heike refugees hiding in the area after their defeat in the Gempei War (1180-1185) as a means of quickly cutting off access to the valley.

13 bridges once spanned the valley, but only three survive today. Iya Kazurabashi (祖谷かずら橋), the largest and most popular of the remaining bridges, stretches 45 meters across the Iya River at the center of the valley, and gives visitors an unsettling view of the water 14 meters below the open slats of the span. The bridge, which is rebuilt every three years, is anchored to tall cedar trees at both ends and has steel cables hidden within the vines for safety. The bridge can be crossed in one direction only.

Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes

Stop At: Oboke Koboke, Yamashirocho, Nishiu, Miyoshi 779-5451 Tokushima Prefecture

On this gentle 30 minute boat ride down the Yoshino River, guides point out interesting rocks, many of which resemble different animals, along the way. Boats depart and return to a dock a short ways away from Lapis Oboke and Oboke Station. Passengers take off their shoes and sit on the floor of the boat during the cruise.

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes