Well today was certainly wet. It started fine… but as soon as the ferry landed at Mukaishima Island the rain started – and out came all the wet weather gear we had in our bags but internally we had been complaining as it was taking up room (knew there was a reason we carted it around).

But hey it’s only water… and we have to ride in it to get where we need to our accommodation on Ikuchijima Island. The morning rain was light (more annoying and lingering), while after lunch it was persistent.

We managed to fine a couple of good coffee shops and lunch stops that kept us going. First up was Seabridge (near the large white dinosaur) – come here for the view and the lemon pound cake and orange juice, it’s fabulous. There are also a large range of books for all ages (yes largely in Japanese).

Next up we stopped at Manda that specialise in fermenting vegetables. The garden features a range of produce… koi fish and a foot bath (not great in rainy conditions). We stopped here for lunch. The root museum is a room where you can look at the roots of vegetables they have planted – impressive!

Next up we stopped along the way at a temple especially for cycling. Which given my incidents in failing off the bike this year I felt I needed a change in luck. It was amusing (probably only to me) it stopped raining when we arrived and started again when we got back on the bike.

Made it across the last bridge for the day… and thought we would revisit a coffee shop we had been to before – but no such luck as it was closed (you really need to pick your days carefully if you do this ride – if there are places you want to visit and they are closed during the weekday). Thankfully all was not lost as there was a coffee shop open at the end of the Shinomachi shopping street. Here we enjoyed a coffee and a delicious lemon pound cake.

Thankfully it was only 7+km to our accommodation along a largely flat road.. as by the time the rain as “atmospheric conditions” was starting to wear thin.

Tonight we are staying in accommodation with home style experience where we get dinner and breakfast included with the cost. Can’t wait to see what the food is like!

Here is a map of the ride today – approx 53+km (depending on what device you want to believe) with an elevation gain of 243meters.