A Deep Freeze Has Come to the Iya Valley
January 9, 2021
Wow, its cold!
For anyone coming to the Iya Valley in the next few days, be sure to bring your thermal underwear!
Last night the temperature in central Oku-Iya got down to -11C and daytime temperatures did not get above -4C. That may be normal for places like Hokkaido or the Japanese Alps, but down here in Shikoku its pretty frigid!
The cold also brought quite a bit of snow, about 20cm more on top of the 15cm that Iya got a week ago around New Years. It was the third snowstorm of the winter so far, and as of Saturday Jan 9th its still lightly snowing. And possible heavier snow is probably going to come a few days from now on Jan 11th and/or 12th.
Be careful when enjoying the beauty!
If planning to visit the Iya Valley by car in the coming week, please have snow tires, and/or tire chains, and/or 4WD and please be very careful with
ice on roads. Also, be sure to contact where you are staying to ask about any concerns or precautions. And please understand that due to the very low temperatures there have been several issues of pipes freezing, and many roads going up into the mountainside villages have not yet been cleared of the snow, so some accommodations, restaurants, and sights which may usually stay open for the winter may be temporarily closed for now.
Please check our Q&A details about driving in winter on the FAQs page
for more info.
And for a full list of all locations that are scheduled to be closed in winter, please see here.
From January 9, 2024 until February 15 the Iya-no-Kazurabashi in Nishi-Iya will be closed in order to replace the vines.
Several sights and places to stay either fully close or have limited schedules in the winter season from December 1 until March 31, particularly in the Oku-Iya area.
On Saturday morning November 4th the annual Oku-Iya Harvest Festival will be held in the 'downtown' area of Kyojo where lots of Iya foods will be on offer!
Join the fun with the local people this summer at a variety of events that are happening all across the Iya Valley and Miyoshi City area!
As of April 22, 2023 the main road into Oku-Iya (Higashi-Iya) has been patched up and is now passable again, and local bus service is now back to normal.
On April 6th bus service will begin again to and from Oku-Iya, but the necessary road detour will create delays for the entire bus route.
A driving route detour is now necessary for reaching Oku-Iya. Bus access is now possible again, but delays are necessary.
Spring has arrived a little earlier than usually to the Iya Valley, and the dazzling cherry blossoms are starting to paint the valley pink!
On Feb 25, 2023 the 24th Annual Shikoku Sake Festival returns to Miyoshi's Ikeda town, with lots of regional brewers serving their finest sake!