Oku-Iya Hotel & Cafe

旅の宿 奥祖谷
Area:
Type:
Hotel
Cafe and Restaurant
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Located in the small "downtown" village of Kyojo in Higashi-Iya (aka Oku-Iya) the Oku-Iya Hotel and Cafe is the place to go if you are looking for great local food at an affordable price. For sure, the restaurant here is where locals go for lunch and you will definitely get a down-home experience that is far from touristy.


The welcoming family who own the place have done so for generations, and they are proud of their local Iya dishes featuring seasonal vegetables, Iya tofu, locally grown millet, and even fresh deer meat that was caught by the owner himself in the surrounding mountains. If going in the spring you will also be served up whatever sansai (wild mountain sprouts) that they have recently picked.

They also have a couple banquet rooms for groups which can be reserved in advanced, along with special meal sets that should be reserved beforehand if you are coming with a larger group. They also have lunch boxes (bento) available with prior request.

Overnight guests are in for a classic style experience, but do realize that this is more of a traditional style inn (and not a 5 star resort). Rooms are tidy but the baths are shared with other guests. The dinner meals are pretty nice and feature several reservable options (overnight prices are based on the meal plan). The owners only know a few words in English, so knowing some Japanese would be very helpful.
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Price:
Lunch meals range from 500yen to about 1000yen, but special reserved sets are about 1500yen+. Large groups should reserve in advance.
Rooms start at about 7000yen per person, but for special dinner meals it can be a couple thousand yen more depending on what you reserve. 

Hours:
The cafe is open for lunch daily, 11:00am to 2:30pm.
My trip
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Local Points
The  Oku-Iya Hotel & Cafe  is located within the small "downtown" section of  Kyojo  in Higashi-Iya (Oku-Iya).
There are several shops along the main street here, including the small  Kajimoto Shouten   Grocery store and the neighboring  Eneos Gas Station The  post office & ATM  are just up the road inside the local government building, while the  Oku-Iya History Museum  is a bit further up the street within the same building as the local  Health Clinic.
Access by Car
By car coming from  Oboke,  take Rt 45 eastward and continue east (to the right) as it merges into Rt 32 in  Central Nishi-Iya.
 A few minutes later, turn left at the  Kazurabashi Junction  and then just keep following Rt 32 as it goes back and forth from one-lane to two-lanes. After about 15 minutes you will reach  Tochinose  where Rt 32 becomes Rt 439, and from here go through the long Kyojo Tunnel.
 About 3 minutes after the tunnel, the red building for the  clinic  and  museum will be on the right. Turn left here onto the side road for "downtown" Kyojo, and about a minute down the street you will see the  Oku-Iya Hotel & Cafe  on the left.
Access by Bus
The  Oku-Iya Hotel & Cafe  is pretty convenient for public transport. Buses connect the nearby  Kyojo Bus Stop  along the main bus line, with four buses a day direct to Oboke (35 min) and Ikeda (1 hour). Also, the local Municipal Buses for Oku-Iya also serve the Kyojo Bus Stop if looking to go to the deepest points in the Iya Valley such as the  Double Vine Bridges  (Niju Kazurabashi) or  Mt. Tsurugi  (Minokoshi).
You can find out more on Oku-Iya Hotel's website, but its only in Japanese (and room reservations should be made in Japanese as well).