Kazura-ya
is located about a 10 minute walk from the Kazurabashi Vine Bridge.
In between the bridge and the inn is the Biwa Waterfall,
and across the road from Kazura-ya around the Iya Kazurabashi Camp Village
there is a walking path along the river where it is possible to access the Iya River in case you feel like splashing about in the water or just enjoy the views from the riverside.
A bit beyond the Vine Bridge are the scattered restaurants of the Kazurabashi Arcade
and a bit up from there is the Visitors Center.
Its pretty smooth to get to Kazura-ya
by car from Oboke
and the road is well maintained and two-laned almost the whole way.
By going eastward up over the hill via RT 45
from Oboke, it takes about 15 minutes to reach Central Nishi-Iya
where the road merges with Rt 32
(to the right) and then another 5 minutes to get to Kazurabashi Junction
where you need to drive straight through the intersection here. Soon after going over the broad bridge here, you will pass the big Parking Area & Visitors Center
on the left. From here the road narrows and gets a bit curvy, so slow down and be careful of people walking to/from the vine bridge.
At the bottom of the small hill about 30 seconds after the parking area, go to the right towards Biwa Waterfall
and follow the river (and do not go left over the bridge). This narrow road first goes past the Vine Bridge exit and then past the waterfall, but there will probably be no other traffic other than some people walking. About a minute after the waterfall, the entrance to Kazura-ya
is on the right.
There are a few bus stops close to Kazura-ya.
The closest (but very confusing) is Kanjo Bus Stop
and we explain using this annoying stop under point 3
below.
And even though they are farther, you'll probably be better off using one of the other two bus stops with both being about a 15 minute walk, but both have short hills to climb (both ways), so it may not be so easy if you have large baggage or in bad weather (but it is a pretty walk.)
1 -
The main Kazurabashi Bus Stop
has four Shikoku Kotsu Buses per day which connect to Awa-Ikeda Bus Terminal
and to JR Oboke Station.
Buses from here also go deeper into the Iya Valley to the east for points in Oku-Iya.
2 -
The Kazurabashi Yumebutai Bus Stop
has three Shikoku Kotsu Buses per day which connect to JR Oboke Station
(but these buses do not go to/from Ikeda). These 3 buses take an indirect route to/from Oboke that also goes in and out of Iyakei Gorge
to Iya Onsen Mae Bus Stop
where you can get to points like the Peeing Boy Statue.
-
There are also some local municipal buses
that go between JR Oboke Station
and the Kazurabashi Yumebutai Bus Stop
but these are mainly just large vans used mostly for school kids and go indirectly via back roads. One of these local buses per day goes to Kanjo
Bus Stop (explained below).
3 -
The Kanjo Bus Stop
is terribly confusing, even though it lets off just in front of the Kazura-ya
hotel. No buses go to here on Sundays
.
-One very early bus comes to Kanjo Bus Stop from Ichiu Bus Stop
at 7:26AM and then turns around to departs immediately back to Ichiu and onwards to Oboke Station
(this is the only departure per day from here).
-A second bus comes in the late afternoon (arriving about 5:15pm to 6:15pm) from Oboke, but it travels an indirect route that takes nearly an hour, and the times for this bus change seasonally, and they also have different times on Saturdays, (and again, no buses go on Sundays). Please carefully check our Bus Timetables for the exact seasonal and daily operating times for Kanjo before attempting to use the local bus (van) for here.