{"id":88317,"date":"2021-12-23T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=88317"},"modified":"2024-02-27T14:38:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T05:38:22","slug":"shikoku-adventure-travel-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/shikoku-adventure-travel-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adventurer’s Paradise of Shikoku Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The fact that I had made it this far down the canyon, wading and sometimes swimming in the river’s cold waters, was something of a miracle to me. As I stood next to the waterfall, the deafening sound of the river cascading into the pool below, our guide Hiro-san switched on the GoPro and motioned for me to make one last jump into the water 4 meters below. This was not the Shikoku I was expecting when I arrived a few days earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"canyoning<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Even among the Japanese living on Japan’s three other main islands, Shikoku is regarded as an untamed land<\/strong>. It is important to remember that Shikoku was not connected by road to Honshu, Japan’s largest island, until 1988. Before that, it was accessible mainly by ferry and sometimes airplane, neither of which afforded many opportunities for visitors who wanted to explore the island’s interior. It is also historically known as the final battlefield of the Genpei War, where defeated Taira forces retreated into the impenetrable Iya Valley <\/a>to avoid slaughter from the advancing Minamoto army. Such stories of Shikoku’s mysterious interior only strengthened the legend of the island’s wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it should be no surprise that Shikoku is a magnet for those who spend their lives in pursuit of adventure<\/strong>, and the wilderness of Shikoku’s interior is exactly the place where adventure travel opportunities can be found. As I explored Shikoku with my new friends Julien and Tetsuya, we tried three of Shikoku’s experiences for the adventurous: pack rafting, canyoning, and traversing an ancient suspension bridge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pack Rafting in the Yoshino River Rapids<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Yoshino River is one of Japan’s two main rivers for whitewater rafting and has played host to the World Rafting Championships<\/strong>. The Oboke and Koboke gorges in Tokushima Prefecture are where the best whitewater areas<\/strong> are concentrated, and this was our destination with Go Go Adventure<\/a><\/strong> and our guide Hiroki Nishisaka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pack raft is a small one-person inflatable raft that is lightweight and easily carried outside the water. In the water, it resembles a kayak and is steered and propelled using the same type of paddle. Hiroki-san had all of the equipment prepared and tended to by a staff member while he provided wetsuits, helmets, flotation devices, and a GoPro for us before we drove 30 minutes from Go Go Adventure to our launch point at Oboke Gorge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n