Flushed in Eastern Kochi

What?
Eastern Kochi is a difficult place to reach, and that may just be why it can still boast some fairly untouched natural gems. If Shikoku is a bison running east, Cape Muroto would be the hoof of its front leg. Nearby Ioki Cave (伊尾木洞) is a small but pristine looking cave that leads to a small waterfall. The Ryuga Cave (龍河洞) is far bigger in size but passing through feels claustrophobic. And then there are a bunch of waterfalls of which I only visited the 82 meters high Todoroki Falls (轟の滝).
Where?
The eastern area of Kochi Prefecture is in theory accessible with public transport, but you would have to rely on spotty trains and even more irregularly scheduled buses. I highly recommend hiring a car to visit the area, but if you ask in the comments I can look up the current situation of the public transport.
URL
Visit Kochi Kami City Website (JP)

It was almost 2 years since I got hold of my driver’s license. Apart from a drive from one side of Okinawa to the other I never used it. Truth be told, I am not so confident in my own driving skills. Time to change that.
So here I planned a drive from Osaka to a place otherwise very difficult to reach: Kochi. Since long I wanted to see the Ioki Cave and get blown away at one of the many capes. Well, I almost literally got my wish.

The thing is, regardless of when and how you are planning to do something, you are always dependent on the weather. And while the forecast mentioned that a little rain might fall, they didn’t mention that rainfall would be torrential. So all through the night it had poured and poured, and while things calmed down in the morning, the drive to Muroto Cape was more adventurous than I had bargained for, with several small landslides half blocking the route and a lot of puddles that were way deeper than they looked. At Muroto Cape, the sea clearly had not calmed down yet. I enjoyed the strong winds and the crashing of the waves against the rocks though. But there was no real view to speak of, and the beautifully eroded cliffs were... well, they were busy getting eroded some more.

Close nearby is one of the many temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage. While I have no interest in walking the 88 temples, it would be a shame to visit the island and not have seen a single one. Temple no. 24, Hotsumisakiji (最御崎寺), is a nice temple with a small pagoda, an interesting gate and an impeccable public toilet. Despite an ethereal feeling caused by the wet and misty morning, the temple didn’t fully convince me though, but I might just be a bit temple tired. The next door lighthouse and the commanding view from the lookout were only a minute walk though, so I am glad I took the little detour.

And then it was time for me to visit the highly anticipated Ioki Cave! I had already tuned down my expectations because I knew it would be just a very short hike/walk through a cave towards a waterfall, not very far from a big road.
But I wasn’t ready for what was to come... the downpour of the previous night had completely flooded the entrance to the cave! I was thinking of just wading through in my hiking shoes, but the huge snake warning sign made me decide otherwise. I wasn’t going to give up so easily though and looped around in search for the backdoor to the waterfall. At first it seemed a good idea. I heard the thunderous crashing of the water nearby and the path was clear. But in the last stretch down to the base of the waterfall I knew things weren’t going to work out. The path down was turned into a small waterfall itself, and while I succeeded in getting down without slipping, the whole basin of the cave was transformed into a pretty strong flowing river. The waterfall was still very pretty and I looked around for about 10 minutes for a way to cross, but it just seemed too dangerous. What a letdown.

Waves crashing onto Muroto Cape.

Temple No.24 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.

The flooded entrance of Ioki Cave.

I did get to see the waterfall at the back though.

It made me weary for the next destination: the Ryuga Cave. Another cave but completely different. The Ioki cave is small, short and apart from a parking without any commercialism around it. Around the Ryuga cave a whole town of souvenir shops is built! I am not a fan of such exploitation, but seeing it completely devoid of tourists is not something I wish for the merchants. The cave itself was far better than expected. Without having to crawl (which you can try at an “adventure course” for which you have to reserve) you can still experience the claustrophobic feel as you need to duck and squeeze a lot. Despite that, at regular intervals the spaces widen in dazzling high ceilings and even a small pool with waterfall (which I did not succeed in photographing decently). I expected another limestone cave like the Menfudo Cave, but until the waterfall it was just what the name suggested: a cave. A very interesting one though. And if you like stalactites and stalagmites, that comes after the small pool. Too bad though that most of them were fenced off. The route is rather long and takes a little more than 30 minutes but never bores. The light show near the exit might be a little unnecessary but it’s not over the top and added to the versatility of the place. After exiting the cave there is a small museum about the life and artifacts found within (good) and showcase of long tailed roosters in boxes that are most clearly way too small (bad). If you can phase that last bit out, the Ryuga Cave was more than I expected it to be.

I decided to use the time that I won at the Ioki Cave for a drive to a nearby waterfall, the Todoroki Falls. It was a suggestion from the clerk at the hotel where I would be staying. As an inexperienced driver, the road up to the falls was a big challenge; small, winding and crumbling mountain roads where crossing another vehicle is impossible and requires one to drive backwards until a spot broad enough for both cars is found. I persevered though, parked the car and got out. And I became deaf. The waterfall wasn’t in sight but the sound it made almost scared me. The signboard next to the small parking lot showed a loop from the top of the falls towards the bottom, crossing the river and then climbing back up right next to it. I absolutely wanted to avoid driving that mountain road in the dark so I decided not to linger too much. Oh boy, what a stupid decision. Because from the moment a saw the gigantic falls my mouth fell open and couldn’t help stating for more than 20 minutes. How majestic. I liked the Fukuroda falls, but this one clearly deserves a rank higher than that one, no?

When I succeeded in pulling myself away from the observation deck I plunged down towards the foot of the falls. I feared the water would be too wild and crossing might not be possible, but the shaky looking suspension bridge was more sturdy than I gave it credit for. Despite a relative distance between me and the waterfall it still felt like taking a shower though, such was the result of the huge amount of rainfall. Climbing up again a small platform close to the middle pond of the falls stood under water, but the mesmerizing thunderous crashing of water made me forget my wet feet. Climbing further there’s a small shrine before arriving back at the parking lot. I ran towards my car and “speeded” down - backing up twice for oncoming cars- and arrived at a road worthy of that name before nightfall.

The first half of the day was disappointing, the second one great. I finished it off with a good soak in a bath with view on a lake.
Yes, the weather surprised me, but it certainly did not ruin my day!