It was about a 3 hour drive to where the rafting company was located. We were a bit nervous as the weather in Shikoku was actually quite cold (68 degrees) and drizzling. But they loaded us in 4 different layers of wetsuit clothing and sent us on our way. I was quite nervous at this point when I saw the transportation vehicle to the starting point. I felt like we were getting loaded into the Scooby Do Mystery Machine.
The scenery was gorgeous. We would like to go back and explore the area further as it is very beautiful and has some interesting scenic areas to check out.
The rapids started off pretty tame but we worked our way to Class IV rapids. There were 15 of us total, so Matt wound up in the same boat with Emily and I was with 4 other of our friends. While it would have been fun to be in the same boat, I think we had more fun watching each other get dumped out of the raft. And believe me, that happened many times. Rafting is much harder than it looks.
Part way through the trip we stopped to allow for some cliff jumping. Myself and 3 others choose to abstain from jumping. Everyone else jumped from either 5 meter (16 feet) or 10 meter (32 feet) high cliffs. It was quite scary watching Emily jump from the higher cliff. Having said that, I am just happy she didn't follow the young Aussie guide to the 20 meter (49 feet) cliff.
Despite the cooler weather and freezing cold water, we all really enjoyed the trip and would love to do it again. Don't we look like a cold, yet happy, group?
Afterwards we were taken back to the Happy Raft building where we got to put back on our real clothes, look at the promotional photos and video they shot, and had a fantastic homemade bagel lunch. Heck, I would do the trip again just for the bagels.
So overall, I give this little adventure two thumbs up. Much better than any silly hike or mountain climb.
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