food

Dinner…

Posted on by helenhmk

We went to Gumbo Hot Shioya. Think Japanese curry but hotter… and add different types of meat. We had spicy corn, mashed potatoes and coleslaw. It tasted great and filling. There was 60’s music playing and photos of the owner’s favourite music groups – it certainly was on theme. Enjoyable. With beer it was around $15 each. Certainly gave energy to walk back up the hill to where we are staying…despite the cold wind!

A good spot for dinner in Imabari …

Posted on by helenhmk

After the long cycle with head-on winds over the final bridge it was pleasing to make it to the hotel as it was getting dark. in searching for dinner Kym found a couple of locations one of them was pizza. Given the tough ride (all that climbing and head wind) we jumped at the opportunity.

The place featured a traditional wood fired pizza open inside the restaurant. While the menu was in Japanese we used the translate functions on our phones to decide on:

  • Salad
  • Prosciutto with buffalo mozzarella
  • Four cheeses pizza
  • Picante (spiced meat with tomato base)
  • Bottle of red wine
  • Dessert- yuzu ice cream and chocolate cake

The experience was a delight – it reminded us of Etica our favourite pizza place in Adelaide. Even down to the music on the playlist (what is it with Phil Collins..?!!). h

The pizzas themselves were perfect, and great flavour of the toppings. Four cheeses include a blue cheese (oh!). To top it off we had dessert – the ice cream at the perfect amount of citrus… ah. It was a perfect end to a great meal.

The pizza maker was Daniel who had moved to Imabari from Sydney. He mentioned he had cycled the Shimanami Kaido – twice in one day! (That is at least over 140km in a day) Truely amazing – and a super impressive effort.

When next in Imabari we really recommend this place for dinner – especially if you cycled, as it’s a great reward for getting to the destination… and will certainly replace all the carbohydrates used on the ride.

Made it.. to accommodation

Posted on by helenhmk

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.

Seasonal dessert…

Posted on by helenhmk

With the onset of winter it’s chestnut season. Best way to consume these is with a Mont Blanc in yanaka ginza

The store is Waguriya and it is the only place you should eat them. In the centre is meringue (not sweet) and over the top is creamy chestnuts. The second chestnut dessert is freshly made upon ordering and is warm when provided… guaranteed not to last long.

Don’t read the reviews online about the shop – negative ones are from tourists expecting over sweet desserts who have no appreciation for this timeless classic.

You will likely need to queue to get in.. but it was worth the 30 minutes we waited.

Cycling pt3

Posted on by helenhmk

Once we left the cycling path we headed up a slight hill towards Tamako (lake – man made reservoir). The view was spectacular..!

The area had walkers, cyclists, and dog walkers. Also a great spot to watch the autumn leaves….

From here we went towards the baseball field… and the path/road continued up – as it often does in Japan, and we continued up towards a temple.

… and one of the great advantages in temples… is food. Mayumi had planned our lunch stop at a hand made udon noodle place on site. The dish featured fresh vegetables, meat and a warming meat broth, which matched with the noodle was heaven!

Best udon noodles!
Boss cat

After we headed back down the hills through a few tunnels (used in making the reservoir) an headed back towards Kichi-joji and there around 5:30ish and headed to Yakitori for dinner.

It truely was a delightful ride. We did approximately 40.3km… thanks to Mayumi for taking us in her favourite route!