On the second day of the travel to Hiroshima, Ehime, and Kagawa, I travelled in the Geiyo Islands along with the Shimanami Kaidō by ship, bicycle, and bus.
The Shimanami Kaidō Cycling Road, connecting City Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture and Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, goes through nine of the Geiyo Islands in Seto Inland Sea (Mukaishima, Innoshima, Ikuchijima, Ōmishima, Hakatajima, Michikajima, Ōshima, Mushijima, and Umashima) in parallel with the Setouchi Shimanami Kaidō Expressway.
The Cycling Road was on world-famous guide books, Lonely Planet and Michelin Guide. In addition, CNN News introduced it as one of the “Most Beautiful Cycling Roads”.
From Onomichi Port, I boarded “Citrus” ship to Setoda Port in Ikuchijima. It took about 45 minutes via Innoshima.
On Ikuchijima, I visited Kosan-ji Temple, taking a 10-minute walk from the port.
The temple was constructed in the Shōwa Period by the first chief priest, Kōzō Kosanji, to show his thanks to his mother. In addition, he wished the temple to become cultural property in Ikuchijima.
The “Miraishin-no-oka” garden paved with marble is farthest from the gate (fourth photograph).
The marble sculptures and monuments in the garden were created by Itto Kuetani, a sculptor born in Hiroshima. The marbles were mined in Carrara, where his studio is located. The sculptures and monuments were shipped by sea.
Some Japanese TV show has introduced the garden as an exotic place.
After visiting the temple, I went to the tourist information centre near the temple to rent a bicycle.
Once going back to the Setoda port, I cycled southward along the Seto Inland Sea. On my way, I sometimes saw prolific Satsuma mandarin trees.
The first bridge during my cycling was the Tatara Ōhashi Bridge between Ikuchijima and Ōmishima. In the middle of the bridge, I passed the border of Hiroshima and Ehime (fifth photograph). The six islands from there (Ōmishima, Hakatajima, Michikajima, Ōshima, Mushijima, and Umashima) are part of Imabari City, Ehime.
I dropped a rest stop near the exit of the approach from Tatara Ōhashi Bridge for lunch.
Before eating lunch, I photographed the view of the Tatara Ōhashi Bridge (sixth photograph).
I chose a hamburger with fried red sea bream.
The red sea bream is one of the most popular fish in Ehime Prefecture. People in Ehime have caught and farmed the bream and sometimes eat cooked rice with the bream or raw sliced bream topped with the cooked rice.
After finishing lunch, I restarted cycling toward the next island, Hakatajima. In Ōmishima, the cycling road spreads along the sea. A long upward slope started from the Seto Port to the entrance of the approach to the Ōmishima-hashi bridge. Crossing over the bridge, I came to Hakatajima.
Going down the approach, I follow the cycling road to a rest stop. I returned the bicycle and ate salt-flavoured twisted ice cream because Hakatajima is famous for the salt industry.
After my rest, I got on the bus to Imabari Station at the bus stop near the rest stop. The bus went and came to the Shimanami Kaidō Expressway and the general roads.
I saw a skilful steerling at the first bus stop in Ōshima, which stands in the bus garage. A bus driver changed the bus direction, paying attention to not crashing the buses staying in the narrow garage.
Going up the Miyakubo Path, the bus went into the south part of the island, the Yoshimi Area. Passing the Kameyama Bus Stop, the bus went up to the Shimanami Kaidō Expressway again to cross the Kurushima Kaikyō Ōhashi Bridge.
After crossing the bridge, the bus went down to the general road in Imabari City. Going southeastward, the bus arrived at Imabari Station terminal.
My first travel to the Shimanami Kaidō was very impressive, especially cycling.