Three Years in Iya

Nishiiyayama-son is a tiny village nestled in the central mountains of Shikoku, home to maybe 1800 people, several nice hot spring baths, a famous vine bridge, and an almost-as-famous statue of a peeing boy. The greater area of the Iya Valley was settled some 800 years ago. It is split these days into two parts, east and west, and for three years, I lived in the west. Iya's a very different place to my home in Australia, but I largely got used to many aspects of life there. Having a car. Tiny schools. My own apartment. Onsens. Speaking Japanese more than English. Snow in the winter. Cherry blossoms in the spring. And the people. I was surrounded by great people. I think I was very lucky. So here's a few web pages about my first home in Japan. If you come and visit me, I'll be glad to take you there and show you around. HOME OF THE HEIKE About the people who ran away to Iya A SONG ABOUT SOBA A famous little Iya ditty IYA-BEN The quirky dialect of Iya