Iya Kazurabashi

The bridge is woven from about six tonnes of shirakuchi kazura, a hardy vine gathered on the frozen hillsides in winter, and it hangs 45 metres across the Iya River, 2 metres wide and 14 metres above the water. Gaps between the slats show the river below. It is rebuilt every three years and is a national Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property.

Stories differ on why it was built. One says the Heike, fleeing after their defeat at Yashima, made a bridge they could cut down behind them. Another credits Kobo Daishi with building it for villagers on his travels. Biwa Falls, about 40 metres high, is 50 metres to the left once you cross.

Take the JR line to Oboke and the Shikoku Kotsu bus to the Kazurabashi Yume Butai stop, or drive about an hour from the Ikawa-Ikeda interchange. Upstream in Higashi-Iya, the Oku-Iya double vine bridges hang as a pair called the husband and wife bridges.