Japan’s Best-Kept Secret – What’s really going on here? 🇯🇵

Japan’s Best-Kept Secret – What’s really going on here? 🇯🇵

You might think that you know Japan, but this 
video could prove otherwise. In a country known for its high-tech cities and neon lights, 
there’s a place so far removed from it all, it feels forgotten in time. Deep in the 
mountains of Shikoku Island lies the Ia Valley, a remote region so isolated that roads 
only reached it in the late 20th century. It’s beautiful, but also strange. Peaceful yet 
undeniably eerie. We came here with no plan, but an idea to see the Japan of the past. 
And what we found is not what we expected. Welcome to rural Japan. We have just arrived 
and found this crazy suspension bridge in the middle of this insane valley. And today we’re 
just going to be driving to see what we can see because this just feels worlds apart from Tokyo 
Anaka and what we really think of Japan. This place is just insane. It is, isn’t it? The area 
we are heading to right now is one of the most remotest regions of Japan or that’s what they 
say. And so the only way to actually really get there is by car. There’s no Shinkansen. I 
don’t think maybe there’s a bus or two, but we have rented a little cube car over there. We call 
them the Japanese cube cars cuz all cars are just basically like squished and they just have a flat 
front just like this one here. Oh, here we go. We’ve been here for genuinely at least 
3 minutes while these two try and get past each other. Feel like it’s like a 
Japanese. They’re just being too polite. Like come on. Like you just drive past 
each other. We’re still here. Look. Oh, finally they’re reversing. They’re reversing like 
a Oh, they’ve gone down the drain. Oh, they’re in the ditch. They’re in the ditch. You actually 
can’t make this up. This is hilarious. And we are on the move. Finally. 10 minutes, I swear. 
At least. Wa! Look at the views, though. Wa! Wow! Wow! Look at that. Look at these two cute little seats. Feel like 
it’s two Japanese grandpas and grandmas sit here. And I’d drink some green tea or something while 
sitting here. Yeah, there is definitely people white water rafting down there. And I feel like 
Are you all right? You’re being eaten by insects. Is that a mosquito? I don’t know. Anyway, I really 
want to try and go white water rafting cuz I’ve never done it and it looks cool and it’ll be safe 
cuz we’re in Japan. Oh, that’s a big thing. What is that? Bit of an insect. You all right? Yeah. 
I don’t know if you see, but there’s a train down there. This sounds like an old train, not like 
the modern ones. There’s not a Shinkansen, is it? I found this local restaurant online, but it looks 
incredibly cute. They’ve got a watermill. How peaceful and is that? In we go. Wow. So cute. Oh, 
thank you. Thank you. Our food has just arrived and mine looks so good. So, this is the sober 
noodles and I’ve got it with wild vegetables. So, there’s like mushrooms on it and maybe a 
bit of tofu. And then I’ve also got some extra tofu here. And I think she said this was 
like made with yams. It looks interesting. So I’ve got the Iya cold sober noodles. So noodles 
are like buckwheat noodles. And Iya is actually the area we’re in. Look at this. I’ve got 
some tempura. I think this is a nettle. Like look at that. And then yeah, I’ve got 
to mix in these bits into this cold noodles. That food was definitely interesting and quite 
unique. My soba noodles had this like sticky, slimy kind of consistency and it was a little 
bit off-putting, but the actual taste was really nice. I think to be honest, mine might have been 
better than yours cuz I went for like the hot noodles. It was just like a hot broth. Had so 
many like mushrooms in and wild vegetables and it was it was quite good. Because we’re going 
to such a rural area, this is going to be the last convenience store. So, we are stocking up 
on some essential supplies. Should we get some coffee? Okay, we’ve got our essential supplies 
and we’re ready to carry on the road trip. Crossing the river to the other side of the 
valley. Look how cute these little towns are. Also, how narrow the road is. These streets look 
like they’re I don’t know all the way back in like the ‘ 60s or ’70s. Like, look at these houses. 
It does feel older here. I’ve never met such polite drivers. Every time you go past them, 
they bow at you. I’m I’m kind of I’m bowing back now cuz it is it’s not just in like when 
you’re driving, but bowing is considered very um what’s it word? polite. Polite. We’ve 
also just found this button and it doesn’t do anything apart from this. I think this is 
the best sound I’ve ever heard a car make. Hours of entertainment. We just thought 
we’d stop off and walk through this town. The reason the Iya Valley is quite unique 
is because up until the late 20th century, there was no roads accessing this part. So to 
get over these big mountains was very hard. So it’s actually been very isolated historically. In 
parts of the Iya Valley, roads didn’t reach some villages until the 1990s. Cut off for centuries, 
people have built a way of life entirely on their own. It’s said that in the 12th century, defeated 
samuris came here to hide and many never left. I think this is the perfect example of why they 
have cubed cars in Japan. Like, if it wasn’t this flat at the front, there’s no way it would 
fit in that garage. No way. But thanks to the cubeness and the flat front, it does. That’s such 
efficient space, isn’t it? It’s literally flat. So unerodynamic. You want to? Yes. Oh, yeah. Ooh. I 
never normally use vending machines. It’s just I use them in Japan just cuz it’s Japan. They’re 
cooler in Japan. The water is so still. Yeah, it’s suddenly like almost stagnant here. This is 
cool. Yeah, it’s like an old shrine or something. It’s so weird here though because there is no one 
about. It’s like this village is deserted and it was only, you know, in use maybe 20, 30, maybe 
more years ago, but it’s still in like such good condition. But there is no one about. Everything’s 
shut. We’re now driving up this very thin, winding, one-way road. And this is actually 
known as Route 32 in Japan. And basically, it’s the road that takes you deeper into the 
ear valley. Just pulled into this little layby with this view. It’s just to me, it’s just amazing 
how green and all these different shades of green there are. We should have bought a picnic to have 
here. This is amazing. Wow. We’ve just come to one of the highest points on the route and this is the 
peeing boy statue. Here we go. And it is literally a boy pee. So the reason why there is a statue of 
this is apparently uh local children used to pee off the rocks to show their bravery. I don’t know 
how true it is, but they made a statue out of it and it’s quite funny. Beautiful. And there’s 
a little plaque saying it was made in 1968. Good morning. So, last night we stayed in this 
traditional Japanese tatami mats. Are they called? Tatimi room, I think. So, kind of. It’s 
a style of room where you roll out the beds and you sleep on the floor. It’s actually comfier 
than it sounds. We were quite surprised by the price because this was I think it was £65 a 
night which is quite expensive for this kind of room considering our room in Tokyo was a lot 
cheaper. But it’s kind of interesting that these types of rooms are very very common especially 
here in the mountains and in the little villages. We are heading down to what is supposed to be a 
vine bridge. It’s a bridge made out of vines. So, quite literally just like vines from the trees and 
stuff they used to craft it. That’s pretty crazy. Yeah. Let’s go have a look. You’re going the wrong 
way, though. Oh, okay. Wo, this vine bridge looks so cool. It looks like we’ve arrived in Disneyland 
or something. But this is naturally naturally growing vines. It kind of looks closed, but I 
think you just have to go around and buy a ticket. But this looks incredible. One way crossing on 
the Kazbashi restriction. £250. Oh, that’s not too bad. But it is a better price if you are in 
a group of 20 people. So, we should have bought 18 of our closest friends. It’s a lot of people to 
be fair. I don’t think we have that many friends. Two. Yes. Here we are then. We’ve got our 
tickets and we can go across this naturally natural bridge. That is the weirdest thing 
ever. Obviously, it’s made completely of vines, but you can also see they’ve used these old tree 
trunks to kind of anchor the bridge either side, so it’s actually strong. And then there is like 
wooden planks that we’re going to walk across, which looks a little bit scary. Yeah, this 
is not really for the faint-hearted because you’re relying on nature. Are you going first? 
I don’t know. I was you, but maybe I have to. How’s it feel? Does it sway? It doesn’t sway. It 
feels so solid like under my feet. Just don’t miss the gaps. Yeah. What do you mean it doesn’t sway? 
Well, now you’re on it. I can feel more. I’m not that heavy. You’re heavy fitted. I guess as we 
go more towards the middle, it will sway a lot more. It’s kind of scary that it’s just made 
out of like nature. So, the reason they built this bridge out of vines is that apparently 
back in the olden days, if the enemies came, they could just quickly chop it down and then 
you’d be protected cuz of this big gorge, it would be really hard to kind of scramble across. It’s 
just crazy how much they wrapped the vines around it. Some of them always look like they’re falling 
apart, but I bet they are so strong. It does feel pretty sketchy just like walking across here with 
your feet on these planks. There’s moss growing on that one. You don’t want it to deteriorate 
at all. So, the reason these bridges were built is because all of the gorges and the villages 
around here were se separated and isolated from each other. There’s only three of these bridges 
in Japan and the three are all in this area. And I think we’ll actually go to the other two later 
on to ensure a little bit more safety. Nowadays, they put a little bit of iron just to clamp 
some of it together, but traditionally they wouldn’t do that. So, they could cut it off. What 
a fairy tale. It generally feels like something that is made up, but is actually real. So 
cool. Look out of Tarzan or Indiana Jones or something like that. Look at the color of 
the water. It’s magical. Magical, right? Yeah. We are now driving deeper into the Iya Valley. 
And this part of the valley is where a lot less tourists go. Partly because you you can’t go on 
a tour. You need to have a rental car. So already we’re seeing far less cars on the road. There’s 
these abandoned vehicles which look like haven’t moved in like 10 years. This is almost creepy 
around here. Where are we going? I don’t know. Oh, there’s an edge. Blimey. A little bit 
plain, isn’t it? We arrived to a small, seemingly empty village. And it turns 
out this small little house represents how people lived in 1901 before this area 
was joined up with the rest of Japan. This is a house for a wealthier family, showing 
where they cooked, slept, and stored food. Because we’ve increased in elevation, 
I feel like you can start to see the change in the colors for autumn. I think we’ve 
just arrived at the creepiest place in Japan. So, this village may look like your average 
abandoned village in this part of Japan. However, it is extremely special because 
there is only 30 human residents, but there is over 350 residents that 
are actually scarecrows. All right, take me inside this this place. Oh, wow. 
What? No way. This is the creepiest place. So quiet. That one actually looks real. Is 
that a person? almost. Hello. Hello. I feel like someone’s going to jump out at me. 
I know. This is like a horror movie. This one’s very life-sized. This has got to be one 
of the strangest places we’ve been. This is crazy. What is this place? I think it’s a school 
hall. This is literally for horror movies. Wa! I do feel like I’m in a horror movie. It’s just 
the fact that I feel like a real human could just be hiding under one of these. By now, you might 
be wondering why there’s so many scarecrows here. And the story is pretty interesting. As younger 
people moved out the villages to the cities, an older generation passed. The village was left 
virtually empty till one woman decided to bring them back in her own way. She started making 
life-sized scarecrows that looked just like her family and old neighbors. One by one, she 
placed them around the village, quietly filling the empty space with familiar faces. Now, Nagoro 
is known as the Scarecrow Village, a haunting but beautiful reminder of a once lively community 
kept alive through her handmade memories. So, as you can see here, you’ve got Mr. Dawn. 
Over here, you’ve got Joe, and then you’ve got Luke. I guess everyone’s moved out now, 
and they just don’t need these buildings. Like, they don’t need a school cuz there’s no one 
here. It’s just an empty village full of over 300 scarecrows. We have some construction workers 
here. I wonder what this little gathering’s for. I know. They’re all chilling out by the firewood 
by the looks of it. Me and my best friends just chilling out here. Does freak me out. It’s not 
just this village in Japan which has lost a lot of its residents. All throughout Japan, it is a 
massively aging population and so people in the villages who used to do farming are moving into 
the cities and the younger people are moving out and obviously the older people eventually pass 
away. So villages like this in Japan are becoming a lot more empty. But it is very interesting 
what this place has done to feel like it’s still being occupied. I think I’ve seen enough 
scarecrows for one day. Me. Bye scarecrows. Well, I can safely say that I’m not going to forget 
that experience anytime soon. Was one of a kind. What did you think of the scarecrows? Creepy, but 
kind of sad that, you know, these beautiful little villages in the mountains are actually getting 
abandoned. Very caught up. Hey, look at me. What? Can you So, obviously we showed you the Vine Bridge 
earlier, but there is actually three in this area. And I think they are the only three 
in this area of Japan. And these two, there’s actually a female and a male one. I’m 
not really sure of the relevance of the gender. I know we saw one a few hours ago, but again, 
these bridges are just so impressive. The one earlier was kind of had like concrete buildings 
around where this feels completely in the nature. So, this one does have actually iron going across 
the bottom. So, it probably is a lot safer, whereas the other one earlier didn’t 
really have much metal on it at all. So, I feel like I can trust this one just that little 
bit more. Even though it’s been renovated and I’m sure it is safe, it still feels sketchy. It 
really does. Obviously, these bridges are around 800 years old. That’s when they were primarily 
used, but I think they’re safety checked like every 3 years. I’m just slowly making my way 
trying not to fall. This one feels more sketchy and I don’t know why. It feels like the vines 
are breaking a bit more. This one’s definitely not in as good condition. Look at the mushrooms 
growing on the edge of it. It’s a little worrying, isn’t it? Wow. Right here we have a self-propelled 
wooden cart, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s in order right now, so we can’t use it. 
But basically, you can use it to propel yourself across the river. Kind of like the 
bridge, but basically used for rope. These things were used to transport goods across. 
Across the female bridge we go. I feel like I’m trespassing cuz I’m not not a female. This one 
feels smaller, actually. It does. Don’t wobble it. We are just hanging on a bridge right now which 
is made out of vines. This is so cool. This is genuinely feels like a fairy tale. It does swing 
quite a bit this one, doesn’t it? Yeah. Oh, the next morning the weather was not on 
our side. As it poured down with rain, we drove to a new area where we came across 
something interesting on Google Maps. I guess it’s this way. Well, I can’t read 
anything. Probably. It says waterfall. I have absolutely no idea where we’re going. 
Although the weather this morning is amazing because it rained. It’s like wa. You see 
that butterfly? Wo. That was pretty. It’s huge. But the weather this morning is 
like super misty because it rained. So, it feels like a proper like rainforest 
almost. It’s quite cool. I just saw like a red frog. Normally, they’re the poisonous ones. Whoa, he’s gone. It’s a waterfall. It looks amazing. I found this waterfall on Google Maps and it 
looked cool. So, I thought we’d come here cuz I think a waterfall is a good place to come when 
it’s raining cuz doesn’t matter as much. Look at that. Look at how beautiful the water is. 
I can’t believe we had this all to ourselves as well. I think there is just loads of these 
beautiful waterfall pools on this island. The sun has just come out and it’s now in the 
light. Look at it. It looks so incredible. If you know us, you know we love a wild 
swim. And since there’s no one else here, I think this is a perfect time to get in the 
water because it looks so beautiful. It’s a little bit nippy as it has rained today, but 
I think it’s all right. What do you think? Um, it’s feeling a little chilly, 
but I know I’ve done colder before, so we’re going to we’re going to go 
for it. We’ve done way colder before. Woo! Woo! There are so many incredible waterfalls 
around this area. And if you just look on Google Maps, you will find loads if you 
are looking to come to this part of Japan, which I highly recommend. It keeps 
flies on a lens all the time. After spending 3 days in this remote region 
of Japan, we completely fell in love with the feeling of exploring and seeing where we’d 
end up. Letting our curiosity lead the way, we discovered the beauty, the weirdness, and 
even the slightly creepy side of this untouched island. And we can’t encourage you enough 
to explore this side of Japan for yourself.

Most people think they know Japan — but hidden deep in the mountains of Shikoku Island lies a version of Japan almost no one ever sees.
A place that feels lost in time… where mist covers vine bridges, tiny villages cling to cliffs, and silence tells stories of the past.
This is the Japan you didn’t know existed.
We set out with almost no plan — and what we found was beautiful, strange, and at times, genuinely eerie.
Join us as we explore the mysterious Iya Valley, one of Japan’s most isolated regions — and uncover a side of Japan travel that feels worlds away from Tokyo or Kyoto.
🇯🇵 Hidden Japan. Off the beaten path. Untouched.
If you love cinematic travel, undiscovered places, and real adventure, this is for you.

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0:00 – Intro
0:45 – Heading into the wild
4:55 – Abandoned rural village
7:15 – A very weird statue…
8:40 – We couldn’t believe this…
12:55 – Creepy village
16:35 – Double vine bridge
19:00 – Our final spot in Shikoku