Vine Bridges of Iya River, Miyoshi, Japan
One of Japan’s three “hidden” valleys, West Iya Valley is home to the kind of misty gorges, clear rivers, and thatch-roofed houses that one imagines from a Japan of 100 years ago. Remote and difficult to enter, the valley was a favored hideout of refugees, bandits, and disgraced warriors. To get across the Iya river that splits the rough valley terrain, these bandits, warriors, and locals created a very special, if unsteady, type of bridge — a vine bridge.
Epic Japan Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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