To the islands

19 – 20 April Miyajima

After negotiating the bedlam that is Shin-Osaka station we board the Shinkansen to Hiroshima, where we have a cunning plan. We are actually headed for Miyajima, an island in Hiroshima bay, but we are only going for one night, after which we were heading back to Hiroshima for a quick look around for half a day en-route to Onomichi where we start our island jumping cycle ride to Shikoku. So rather than be encumbered with luggage on Miyajima or when we are doing our Hiroshima sightseeing, we thought we would just take a change of clothing in our daypacks, and leave the rest of our luggage in lockers at Hiroshima station to pick up just before we head to Onomichi . Quite a clever plan I thought. But we had not reckoned on the over subscription of lockers at Hiroshima station. But not to worry, a lovely station assistant, came quickly to our rescue and suggested that we use the station’s luggage storage facility instead. She then escorted us through the labyrinth of Hiroshima station to the luggage storage facility, helped us to complete the transaction with several very friendly luggage storage professionals, and then escorted us to the platform for our local train to the ferry port at Miyajimaguchi. Customer service par excellence.

On just about any tourist brochure for Japan that you care to look at, you will see an enormous red Tori gate seemingly floating in the sea with a beautiful sunset happening behind it. Well that Otorii gate is part of the Itsukushima Jinja shrine complex on Miyajima island, and gazing at it was certainly a key reason for our visit. But happily Miyajima had many other fine attractions which meant that our small amount of time on the island was very well occupied. We did spend quite a bit of time wandering through the shrine and gazing at the Tori gate, but then we caught a ropeway (the Japanese term for cable car) up towards the top of the very spiritual Mt Misen, with the intention of then making our way back down the mountain on foot. I had some internal misgivings regarding my knee’s capacity to make such a journey, but I was happy to give it a go. Luckily for me Beth was not happy for me to give it a go, and I was sent back to the ropeway to make my descent while Beth, S & C wandered down the hill. Evidently a very nice walk with a very beautiful temple en route. It took me just about as long in the queue for the last ropeway journey down the hill as it took them to descend on foot. A very nice dinner at a little restaurant hidden down a dark alley and then a moonlight walk back towards our lovely hotel to gaze again at the Tori gate all lit up. And because it was low tide we could walk out on to the beach right to its base. All very enchanting.

Next morning we had until midday before our fast ferry to Hiroshima left. To fill in our time we decided to take a walk, despite the miserable weather that greeted us, to yet another temple just out of town, the Daisho-in temple. Strangely the misty rain lent quite an other worldly atmosphere to the visit, and heightened rather than dampened the experience.

We crammed quite a bit into our short visit to Miyajima, but it didn’t feel like we were rushing and we had a lovely time. Although we were quite charmed by the misty atmosphere at the temple, it became less charming as we scooted across the allegedly beautiful Hiroshima bay shrouded in fog, which refused to clear until we entered the Ota river just short of our landing at the Hiroshima peace park. We only had a few hours in Hiroshima, and most of that time was spent at the peace park and beautiful Shukkeien gardens before picking our way back to the Hiroshima station.

Luckily Beth took notice of just where our suitcases were stored in the Hiroshima station, otherwise I think I would still be going in circles looking for them. Once we found the luggage storage facility, the four friendly gentlemen we met yesterday were there again to greet us and return our bags. They offered heartfelt thanks for entrusting them with our luggage, and smiled, bowed and waved to us as we left. I am still getting used to the beautiful nature of the Japanese people.

No Shinkansen to whisk us away this time, just a little local train to rattle along the coast to Onomichi , for the start of our Shimanami Kaido bike ride.

20 – 23 April Shimanami Kaido

The Shimanami Kaido is a 60 km motorway constructed in the 1990’s to link Onomichi on the south of the Japanese mainland (Honshu) with Imabari on the north of the island of Shikoku via a series of massive suspension bridges hopscotching across half a dozen islands in the Geiyo archipelago. Sometime in the last 20 years or so, someone happened upon the idea of promoting the use of the motorways excellent separated pedestrian and cycle pathways as a recreational cycling course, and it has really caught on. People come from far and wide to ride the Shimanami Kaido, not because it is challenging, but just for the fun of it and to enjoy the beautiful views from the bridges. We are here to do the same, but rather than jump straight into it, we decided to spend a couple of nights in the port town of Onomichi . At first glance Onomichi appears a bit scruffy and past its prime, but as is usually the case, scratch the surface and you find gold. We found beauty in dilapidation as we walked Onomichi’s streets and narrow laneways snaking up the steep hill overlooking town, and even more beauty in the views of the port town and beyond that we were rewarded with for our efforts. Finally after lingering in a very nice public garden we made our way further up the hill to a temple of course. Senkoji, which was built to fit the rugged terrain and a little bit quirkier than any temple we had seen previously. It also rewarded us with some splendid views. My injury is still causing me a few problems, but more in the downhill than the uphill, so descending from the temple was a daunting prospect. Luckily the good people of Onomichi had a ropeway installed from the temple town to the port for just these sort of moments, which I put to good use. We also found excellent coffee and a delicious local variation of the okonomiyaki, so what more could you possibly ask for.

After careful consideration, even though the bike ride was not challenging in either distance or terrain, I was probably flirting with danger if I participated, so I regretfully took a decision to tackle the Shimanami Kaido by bus and on foot instead. So after picking up bikes, I accompanied the rest of the team on the cross river ferry to the start of the ride. Then they went their way and I went mine, which was a walk of a few kilometres to a bus stop, and then a bus ride to a little café near the on ramp to the Ikuchi bridge between Innoshima and Ikuchi islands where we had arranged to meet for lunch. I was a little early, so I had a bit of a wander around town. Nothing remarkable about the small industrial town, but quite nice just strolling. I greeted the petrol station attendant (driveway service at petrol stations is still a thing in Japan) as I walked past and he responded with a cheerful Konichiwa and a wave. As I walked back we exchanged pleasantries again. This time just a bit of a wave. B, S & C were still a little way off when I returned to the café, so I set off on another little stroll. This time an awkward smile was all I got from the attendant. To save embarrassment I crossed the road for my return journey.

After a pleasant lunch at Café Will, the declared plan was that I would catch another bus to our destination for tonight at Setoda. My plan though was to walk across the impressive Ikuchi Bridge and then follow the bike trail to our room at the top of Ikuchi island, a plan which I executed without incident. A long, but pleasant walk, punctuated by a matcha ice cream stop along the way to replenish drained energy stores. Although I am walking pretty well, my knee is still a law unto itself, so my constant companion is a walking pole, which I have become quite attached to and adept at wielding.

The final day of our island hop takes us across three more islands and four more bridges to Imabari on Shikoku Island. Again we have cleverly packed a change of clothes in daypacks and arranged for our luggage to be forwarded from Onomichi to Matsuyama, our next stop after completing the bike ride, so there is no messing around with luggage in the morning and we can hit the road early. There are really no convenient spots to meet for lunch today, so we agree to meet at the end of our ride in Imabari, so the bikers go their way and I go mine. I really did enjoy walking across the big suspension bridge yesterday and admiring the view, so my plan today is to catch a bus to the pedestrian on-ramp of the Tatara bridge between Ikuchi island and Omishima, then walk across the island a little and catch a bus to Imabari. Things did not run quite as smoothly for me today as yesterday, but at the end of the day it all worked out fine. Buses only went clockwise around the island when I wanted them to go anti clockwise. I put my faith in google and almost missed a bus because I was sitting at the wrong bus stop, then had to move quickly to cross the motorway to the right bus stop by clambering over barriers placed to prevent reckless lame pedestrians from putting their lives in danger. Finally, I misunderstood our agreed end of day meeting point and took the bus further than I was meant to. So instead of lounging in a café waiting for the bikers to arrive, I had to hurriedly backtrack from Imabari main station to a tiny little railway station in the Japanese equivalent of Woop Woop. The relaxing coffee and a bit of lunch that I had planned for the end of my day ended up being a prepackaged sandwich and coffee from 7-11consumed on a road guardrail repurposed by me as a seat. Despite my misadventures I did manage to cross the mighty Tatara bridge, which was a joy, and I did have a lovely walk along the coast of Omishima and then a bucolic ramble up hill and down dale along country lanes passing orange groves, vegetable patches and farmhouses and patches of forest along the way. And we did reconvene at Woop Woop and connected with the exact train we had always planned to catch to Matsuyama. Miracles do happen.

23 – 28 April Matsuyama, Takamatsu

Our interest in Shikoku (the smallest of the main Japanese islands), was initially piqued by the potential for a pilgrimage walk which visits 88 temples dotted mostly around the perimeter of the island. But that interest was tempered somewhat when we realised the pilgrimage involved about 1300 kilometres of walking, which I think we would struggle to make a significant dent in with the 5 days allocated to Shikoku. So rather than chase temples, we decided to use the cities of Matsuyama in the west and Takamatsu in the north as bases to explore Shikoku.

The main drawcard in Matsuyama was the Dōgo Onsen hot springs, which has a recorded history dating back more than 1000 years. The current Dogo Onsen public bath house was built in the late 19th century and is quite impressive, as are all the other bath houses that have popped up around it and the resort style town that it has spawned. A little fairy tale land on the edge of a bustling city. Since we have been in Japan, Beth and I have been trying to summon up the courage to participate in the Japanese custom of public bathing, which of course involves sharing a bath in your birthday suit with complete strangers. To date that courage has not emerged, and the splendid setting and amazing history of Dogo Onsen is not enough to alleviate our shyness. S&C on the other hand have only been in Japan for 5 minutes and they are dipping more than their toes in the water of public bathing, albeit at 6:00am when there is hardly anybody else about. Still, braver than us for sure.

Matsuyama also has a very impressive castle and very nice gardens which keep us well occupied and entertained. It also has some excellent shopping arcades, which go for what seems like miles. S has become quite fond of these arcades and seems very happy flitting from one shop selling sweet Japanese treats and handicrafts to another. It is along one of these arcades that we went searching for dinner, but nothing was really taking our fancy, so we headed down a side alley, with promising signs of some authentic eating houses. A couple of forays into smoke filled dens suggested that we had discovered a level of authenticity that we were perhaps not ready for. We returned to the safe haven of the shopping arcade.

Takamatsu is a little grittier than anywhere we have visited in Japan to date, and it certainly does not seem to be a tourist magnet. But it is not without its attractions. We are here because the Shikoku Mannaka Sennen Monogatori tourist train into the Iya Valley leaves from here, as does the ferry to the Naoshima art island, both highly anticipated elements of our itinerary.

The Shikoku Mannaka Sennen Monogatori train is an absolute delight. It is a pleasant and picturesque journey on a very spacious and nicely decorated train, where we are seated at a dining table and fed very nice food for the duration of the journey. These things all add significantly to the value proposition, but the true delight came from the people involved. All the staff on the train and on the platforms (and there were many of them) either loved their job, or were incredibly well trained in looking like they loved their job. Always smiling, anticipating your needs and eager to please. In addition, everybody along the whole line seem to have been coached to wave happily and vigorously en masse as the special train passed by. Farmers in their fields waved, scarecrows in their field waved, cyclists stopped their bikes and waved, children lined the balconies of their schools and waved, diners in restaurants stopped eating and waved. It was wonderful. After reaching our destination in the Iya valley we spent A couple of hours exploring and taking a boat trip down the river before catching a normal train back to Takamatsu. A very nice day.

By pure luck we arrived in Takamatsu during the Setouchi Trienalle, which is an art festival held every three years on the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, all of which are within coo-ee of Takamatsu. As a result, Takamatsu seems to be the main point of coordination, and they buy into the festivities as well.

On our free day in Takamatsu, Beth and I choose to spend time exploring Takamatsu, whilst S&C had a grand time taking a ferry boat ride out to one of the smaller islands to check out its permanent art scene as well as exhibitions set up for the Trienalle. Beth and I spent a bit of time in the beautiful Ritsurin Gardens including two stops for tea and a sweet treat, both times with glorious garden views. We also took a funny little trolley car train ride out to Yashima on the outskirts of Takamatsu to visit the Shikoku village, an outdoor museum featuring historic buildings either relocated from other areas of Shikoku or built on site in the traditional style. It was fascinating and a lot of fun, it also helped to build up rather a large number of steps.

28 – 29 April Naoshima

Naoshima is one of those art islands in the Seto Inland sea, and we are to spend 2 nights there in the appropriately named “Quaint house Naoshima”, a delightful old style Japanese house in an old part of the main town. We have two galleries to visit, as well as many art installations scattered around the island. In addition to the art, the island itself is very beautiful and has some fascinating old districts which scream out to be explored. We kept ourselves very busy. Walking between sites of course is most important, and again we accumulate lots of incidental steps.

The galleries that we visited at Benesse House and the Chicu Art Museum were very nice, but being a bit of a philistine, I couldn’t help but think that the real art was the buildings the purported artworks were housed in. Both places were magnificent buildings in gorgeous settings. To be fair, most of the art was pretty good too.