Gorgeous Rafting In Central Shikoku, Japan

Not just rapids, but stunning beauty as well

It’s hard to imagine a scene being painted anymore beautiful than this. Located about an hour from Kochi city (but still in Kochi prefecture) by car, or alternatively by train with a bit more time, this area has a healthy handful of rafting outfits to choose from.

Happy Raft, however, with its homebase perched above the very river you will be rafting, is bar none in both eponymous vibe and quality of offerings. The view above, taken from that very happy homebase, shows the kind of beautiful scene you can expect to be greeted with should you go in spring or summer.

Rafting is run from spring through fall, but do try to avoid July and August weekends, as the crowds can put somewhat a damper on your experience.

On to the river!

Happy Raft has both half-day and full-day courses (the latter with a lunch in the middle), but either way, it will not be too long of a drive to the put-in. And you can be sure it won’t be very long from that point until you are enjoying scenes like above!

Depending on the water level and conditions of the day, the force and share of the rapids may vary, but your chances of running some thrilling stretches of bouncy river are very high!

Need a little more adrenaline rushed in?

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more thrilling than barrelling through churning whitewater, you find yourself paddling towards a very tall-looking rock. “Who wants to jump?” goes the call, and it is only the very frightened that will be unable to heed it. That is to say, everyone will do the jump.

Six meters (20 feet, or so) doesn’t seem that high from the bottom, but once you are poised to plunge from this petrifying precipice, well, things might appear a little differently at that point. Obviously, there’s no turning back, so off you go!

Still got some time to spare after rafting?

If you’ve gone for the half-day course, do it in the morning so that you have the afternoon at your leisure. This little hamlet deep in the mountains is known for a very special type of short soba noodle that is made without using any flour.

A delicious broth and tasty accoutrements don’t do any harm either! You can find a string of restaurants selling this type of soba from about a 5 minutes’ drive downriver. If you’ve still got time, consider driving the thirty minutes or so to Iya Onsen, with its lovely riverside, open air baths, and indoor pools as well.