Oku-Iya, or There and Back Again

This book follows a five-day road trip and mountain traverse through the remote Oku-Iya region in Tokushima, on the island of Shikoku, Japan. Three people. One car. Too much gear. Not enough space. And a plan that looked reasonable right up until it stopped being that. We drove into Oku-Iya knowing where we wanted to go. We just didn't fully understand what it would take to get there. The route begins at the Oku-Iya Double Vine Bridges, climbs out of the valley toward the Maruishi ridge, crosses Mount Tsurugi (1, 955 m / 6, 414 ft) and Mount Miune (1, 894 m / 6, 214 ft), then drops toward Nagoro before looping back to the start.
On paper, it's a clean line. In reality, it's steep, exposed, water-limited, and unforgiving in exactly the moments where you expect it to ease up. This book is not just about the route. It's about what happens when three very different people move through it together. Packing that never quite works the way it should. Early mornings that feel like bad decisions. Camps where personal space stops existing.
Small arguments, quiet understanding, and the kind of humour that only shows up when things are already difficult enough. Alongside the full structure of the route - distances, elevation, terrain, and planning - this is the unfiltered experience of actually doing it. No polished version. No "perfect trip."Just the reality of a demanding mountain line, and the people moving through it. Oku-Iya itself isn't just a backdrop.
It's a place defined by steep valleys, unstable slopes, narrow roads, and isolated settlements. The vine bridges, the ridges, and villages like Nagoro all belong to the same system. And once you're inside it, you don't experience them separately. You just keep moving forward.