Kazurabashi of Iya

The Kazurabashi of Iya or the Vine Bridge in Iya Valley is a bit of an overstated tourist attraction. It is a small walking bridge that you pay to cross. They even built a pedestrian bridge on the side of the road so you can view the bridge.

Kazurabashi of Iya

Kazurabashi of Iya

The Japanese Wisteria (purple vine in the photos) smells extremely fragrant and although it is very common throughout Shikoku it set the scene very nicely by blooming right in front of the bridge. It smells amazing and pollinators love it so you can almost here their buzz over the crowds of tourits.

Kazurabashi of Iya

I didn't pay to cross the bridge because the view is nicer looking at it but it was incredibly busy and is quite impossible to get a photo without anyone on the bridge. There was usually a line-up to cross and the best was when there was a bit of a lull in customers and I had only a few people or people in dull colours crossing.

Kazurabashi of Iya from behind

The waterfall nearby the bridge is really really close and is just right on the side of the road. It is a small but nice waterfall flowing into a small pool and down into the main river. A lot of ferns, moss and marchanita growing on the rocks with bright green Japanes maples making a nice canopy made the spot look intensely green.

Marchantia

Waterfall near Kazurabashi of Iya

There was a Japanese Brown Frog by the waterfall  that was a lovely treat to see and photograph.  There are a lot of frogs in the genus Rana that look quite similar to this in Japan so I hope my ID is correct on this one. I have been using a Japanese field guide and google translate only works so well with it.

Japanese Brown Frog (Rana japonica)