Iyo City, Ehime Prefecture
A Drive to Yellow Hill at Inuyose Pass Taking it slow with a snack among the flowers
I drove to Yellow Hill at Inuyose Pass to see the spring flowers. On a mid-March afternoon, I wandered among the rapeseed flowers in my mint jacket with some jakoten I'd brought along for a snack. I stopped to admire the blooms, and before I knew it, even snack time had slowed down.
A spring afternoon with jakoten in one hand and rapeseed flowers all around. Come wander with me as I look back and forth between the flowers and my snack.
SpringA mid-March afternoon
One more look at the flowers before my next bite
One March afternoon, I stepped onto the path at Yellow Hill and found the whole slope in front of me covered in rapeseed flowers. Cedar trees rose above them, with glimpses of sky between the branches. I'd expected to look down over the flower field, but I hadn't expected the view from below to feel so vast. As I adjusted the sleeve of my mint jacket, I found myself stopping at the first bend.
I'd brought jakoten from Futami. I eased a little of it out of the white paper and took my first bite. The fish flavor filled my mouth, and I couldn't help narrowing my eyes with pleasure. I'd come to see the rapeseed flowers, but I was getting just as wrapped up in my snack. I glanced at the half-eaten piece in my hand and decided to take a proper look at the flowers behind me before another bite.
I heard the hill had once been an orange grove, and that the unused land was later turned into a flower field. After hearing that, I found myself looking at the shape of the slope beneath the flowers, too. Orange trees used to grow here. With the hillside full of flowers now, it was hard to picture what it must have looked like before, so I traced the ground with my eyes through the gaps between the blooms.
After looking at the flowers beside the path, I turned my attention to the top of the slope. Up close, I could make out each bloom; farther away, they overlapped until they seemed to go on and on. 'They're blooming all the way up there,' I heard myself say softly, and I smiled again.
A breeze stirred the flowers, and a touch of cool air brushed my sleeve. I loved not having to hurry through anything on a spring afternoon. Walk a little, have a snack, stop again. The chance to spend so long looking at the flowers started to feel like the day's greatest luxury. I decided to savor the jakoten a little at a time instead of taking big bites.
After the last bite, I folded up the white paper and put it away. Only then were both my hands free. I still wasn't ready to leave, though, so I walked a little farther along the slope I'd been looking up at. If I'd only driven along the mountain roads, I might have driven right past this hill. On the walk back, after an afternoon of stopping for flowers and snacks, I thought I'd like to make room in next spring's plans for this place again.
The story sections are fiction inspired by this location. For accurate information, please consult official tourism and information websites.
Local specialty
Futami Jakoten
At Futami Jakoten, they mince just enough fish from the Iyo-nada Sea for each day's batch and season it with salt to make their jakoten. The shop is on the coast at Futami. I brought some to the hill and savored it a little at a time. Whenever I looked at the flowers, I stopped eating; then I'd remember the fish flavor and want another bite.
Highlights
From orange grove to flower-covered hill
Work to revitalize the local community began in 2012, and after two years of preparation, the hillside was covered in rapeseed flowers in spring 2015. Remembering that story as I looked up at the flowers made me even gladder I'd stopped here.
Flowers on the slope, seen from below and above
Along with rapeseed flowers, the hillside is planted with yellow blooms such as mimosa and wintersweet. I started with a single flower beside the path, then looked up at the whole slope. Even the same flowers feel different up close and spread out across the hillside.
Driving at a glance
A drive with a stop at Yellow Hill
- From central Iyo City to the hill
- About 15 minutes by car
- From the hill to Monikodo 2
- Around 20 minutes by car
One option is to climb the mountain road from town to see the flowers, then head to Cafe “Monikodo 2,” which is included in Iyo City's recommended route. It's fun to take your time with the flowers and then plan the rest of your trip.
These are drive-time estimates for two separate stretches listed in Iyo City's city-promotion article and sightseeing route. Plan separately for the drive to the flower hill and the stop afterward.
More Spot Guides
If you enjoyed this story, you might like these places too. I've gone back to each of them in different seasons, again and again.
