Well me made it to Imabari today – here is how today went.

Leaving our accommodation around 8:30 we headed off towards Imabari. The forecast for today was originally supposed to be to be around 16 degrees with some showers.

The first section towards the bridge we had to go over was fairly flat.. and as it was not raining, and breakfast was fuelling us we stopped for a few photos along the way.

The paths up to the bridges generally are not too steep – around 3-5% incline. They also tend to go in large loops.. making it easier. As it’s citrus growing area – there are a LOT of fruit trees and fruit themed seats in the area.

As you go along this bridge there are clap sticks part way through – this is the purpose of those sticks. They are at each tower.

“Beneath the main tower is a sign noting the “flutter echoes” (“dragon’s roar”). If you try facing the sky and clapping your hands, you’ll hear the sound of your hand clap echoed back.”

Half way the prefecture changes from Hiroshima to Ehime..

On the other side of the bridge is the cyclist rest stop (also highway stop for cars) which has a wide range of produce from the region. As a cyclist you can pick up a wide range of “shiminami gear” and take a break. We enjoyed mochi and mandarin juice – mum it reminded me of your mandarins!

Given the weather.. (the sun was out by this stage) we were enjoying ourselves but Kym as route leader reminded us we had a way to go and we wanted to avoid the weather so we got back on the bikes.

Kym had been doing research the previus night for a place to stop for lunch – and found Fuu, which means wind. It specialises in okonomiyaki. They had different styles available (Kansai/hiroshima and green onion style) and you could choose the style of toppings. We also chose to have miso soup.. given the ind was cold. The food was the perfect antidote for being on the bike for the morning. While we were the first ones in – it really filled up with the local workers for the lunchtime crowd.

We got back on our bikes and headed towards Imabari.

Ideally we wanted an afternoon coffee – but when you are riding mid-week you are not always fortunate in what is available – but we did find this van. Kym of course ordered a curry bread roll (oh it was super tasty) and we all had coffee and watched the other cyclists ride past… the. It began to rain. Out came all the wet weather gear.. again and we pushed on to our destination.

When it’s raining you just want to get to the end, especially when the wind is blowing. However it began to clear up / and this always puts cyclists in a good mood as you begin to enjoy yourself again and want to do other things – today was no exception. We decided to go up Kiro-San. Kym and I had done this before and to be honest we should have remembered what it was like.. but let’s just say it was steep.

As we were going up, the weather experience was similar to “four seasons in one day”. It was fine, then sunny… rain and when we were very near the top hail started (could it get worse..?).. and very, very cold wind. We stayed there long enough to look at the view.. and the. Get back on the bikes to go down and onto the final bridges Kurushima Kaikyo Bridges, as there are three segments.

We did not take a lot of photos on the final bridge section as the wind was that strong, at one point it nearly stopped us cycling – in addition to the noise from the wind vibrating through the bridge cables. Oh it was so loud, after about 30 minutes we were pleased to have made it to the other side given the high winds. From there it was a criusey ride into Imabari, where we made it before the next lot of rain – hooray!

This is the third time Kym and I have done this route – and it is a true delight (even despite the wind). The scenery.. the light and the way it transforms how the mountains around the region look.. even despite the wind and rain it was truly worth it… and so glad we made the effort to do the ride again. There are always things we think – if only we had more time to explore the other islands.. or places along the way (as there is quite a lot here if you choose to explore) we have well and truly left something for next time 🇯🇵❤️🚲😉