Canyon Boulders and Roasted Tea Trail
- 3 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Private tour
Highlights
Located at the foot of the Shikoku Karst, the Iwayagawa Gorge is a breathtaking canyon featuring a striking landscape of sharply split, massive boulders. The sight of water pouring vigorously from the crevices of these giant rocks and the crystal-clear pools are truly magnificent! Visitors can enjoy fresh greenery in spring and vibrant foliage in autumn while walking along the trail maintained as a prefectural park. After the hike, the program offers a chance to roast tea and taste "Irimochi," a traditional local tea sweet, providing a wonderful opportunity to interact with the locals..
Inclusions
What's included
- Local guide
- English speaking guide
- Irimochi sweet
- Hojicha tea experience
Itinerary
We will start our hike from a secluded hamlet in the mountains. The trail follows a stream bed strewn with boulders accumulated over millennia as the mountains above tumble down. Scattered about like a giant’s playpen these megaliths will make you feel strangely small as the scale of your surroundings dwarf you. Your expert guide stops to point out something clinging to the crag. In this landscape of giants it takes a moment to focus on the tiny flower. As your eyes finally zero in, you are enchanted by the intricate beauty of a miniature orchid. As the journey continues, your guide reveals the secret history carved into the canyon walls. Fine lines and striations on the craggy rock faces offer proof that these mountaintop boulders were once part of an ancient seabed. Armed with this knowledge, your surroundings become even more profound as you contemplate the unfathomable eons required to shape this dramatic landscape.
Refreshed, you continue to the end of your hike. As you come out of the woods you find a teahouse on the side of the stream. Stepping inside, a toasty aroma of roasting tea reaches your nose. With gentle instruction you will roast your own tea! Tea roasted, sit by a window overlooking the flowing water and enjoy a sip. Next try a bite of ‘Irimochi,’ a traditional sweet made with tea. All too soon our day together is coming to an end. Take this moment to savor it!
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Your guide will be waiting for you at Akiba square tourist parking lot. , holding a board with the logo of "Kochi Escapes".
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Kochi Escapes
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Availability: March to November.
- Start time: Flexible between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
- The Iwayagawa River trail has slippery sections; even strong hikers must be careful.
- You will walk about 1.2 km upstream along the canyon trail.
How it compares in Kochi
- Its from-price is 38% below the median of the 34 experiences we list in Kochi.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Kochi
Kochi, on the Pacific coast of Shikoku, is a castle town known for seared bonito, a long Sunday market and its ties to the hero Sakamoto Ryoma.
Kochi stands on the southern coast of Shikoku, facing the Pacific, with mountains rising immediately behind. Kochi Castle, in the middle of the city, keeps its original wooden keep from the 18th century, one of the few left in Japan, and from the top there are views over the rooftops. Sakamoto Ryoma, a samurai who helped bring down the shogunate in the 1860s, was born here, and his statue looks out over the ocean at Katsurahama beach.
Special offers in Kochi
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
