16 hours in Mima.

Just out of Iya Valey is the historic town Mima.  The name Mima means “beautiful horse” and refers to the area’s historic role as breeders of quality horses. During the Edo period Mima was a main trading center for the region’s most important income, indigo, used to dye cloth, and the area continues to be known for it. Today, you can still attend small workshop, where you can learn the old dyeing technics.

The oldtown of Mima, the historic part, is located just north of Yoshino River and is a small area of traditional houses and narrow streets with local shops and restaurants. We stayed here after adventures in Iya Valley, since it is located just in the outskirts of this area. We stayed in a guest house, which normally is a really nice way to stay when in Japan, however this particular house I would not recommend to anyone. It served its purpose, but I would never come back. However, the town of Mima as a small stopover I can definitely recommend. Both location and also the historic part of town is nice and can definitely be recommended.

From here we went further north in the direction of Osaka. Before going to Osaka we did a few stops at the famous temples on the Shikoku88 pilgrim route.