Japan Day 5- Iya Valley

 This was one of the most memorable days of the trip for sure. Lots of fascinating items all packed into this de-populating area that already has limited population. 

We had some local tour guides today to take us around (Green jacket in the pictures. . . he was super funny and positive but didn't speak great English so his younger helper or our main guide would jump in frequently to deliver his messages in English). They showed up with flags of all our countries to welcome us. Our main guide said they don't get that many foreigners visiting so they make a big deal when we do come. This entire area was pretty remote I can appreciate they are excited for visitors. Also I was served some corn soup for breakfast. It was pretty good! Dang that I could never find it hot (or at all) in any vending machines.  

We went down to an old vine bridge. These use to be all over in this valley the Samurai would build these so that in a war setting they could quickly cut off the bridge if necessary. This is one of the last remaining in the area (but well maintained). I didn't feel unsafe walking across it was a cool bridge! We went down below afterward to the river and skipped rocks. 

We drove up the mountain to some viewpoints to see the overall valley and crossed another (regular suspension) bridge. Lots of the homes in the pictures on the mountain are vacated. 

Lunch was a very unique experience. We went to the house of a lady who makes soba noodles for everyone in the valley. She had prepared a lunch for our entire crew! (Admittedly other than our hotel i'm not sure where a group of ~25 people could've realistically had a meal in this area). We all crammed into her room and she had a wonderful lunch for us and even sang us a song. Her kitchen was tiny i'm impressed she was able to deliver all that food to the group. When we left she came out and wished us goodbye and waved to our bus until we were out of sight. One of the more unique and memorable experiences for sure! Interacting directly with the people in this valley was part of what made this day so unique and great. 

After lunch we visited another unique place. It was a vacated village called Nagoro that literally has only a handful of residents and multiple vacated buildings. One of the residents is named Tsukimi Ayano. She started making life sized scare crows and it has become something of a calling card for the village. There are upwards of 300 life-sized scarecrows all around. Outside, inside, next to traffic signs, everywhere. We walked into the abandoned school and the gymnasium is full of them. A bit eery but also makes sense somebody wants to pass their time with a hobby. Apparently she makes them for others now and teaches classes on how to make them. The town in my mind was more peaceful than eerie but could easily go both ways. 

Our next stop was to the very top of the valley. We went to the top to visit some residents and they treated us to some roasted tee. The view was unreal the pictures truly don't do it justice. One of the most incredible views I've ever seen. The main two guys in the picture are both in their 80's. The guy in the St Louis Cardinals hat kept skipping around it was so funny we were all enthralled with how mobile he was at his age. He apparently used to be the "Mayor" of the area. They were super fun to be around. 

This view and visiting with them made me think of Alaska. The view was incredible but I also thought about what it could potentially be like for them in the harsh winter up here on top of the mountain. Similar and you get the good when it's good but suffer through the bad when it's the cold season. 

Our last stop of the day was a house called Chioori. An expat American raised in Japan named Alex Kerr renovated this property but kept all the historical significance and now they have it available basically like an AirBNB. On the back they added modern facilities but the main house is pretty historical. One of the key items in Japan as far as historical houses is the thatched roof. Our Nat Geo expert commented to us that a home may sell for nearly nothing but if it's designated as a historical site and has to maintain the thatched roof that is where the truly big dollars of expense comes in. The thatched roof is super thick so I can see why it's so hard to replace. Takes growing essentially a field worth of thatch and then finding somebody that knows how to do it which is a dying art. 

None of the stops of today would've been on my radar at all had I attempted to figure out my own visiting itinerary on this type of trip. It was unique to visit with locals and see this type of area of the country I really find myself appreciating it even more now a couple weeks removed.