I am pleased to report that we had pretty good weather for the three days of riding on Fukue Island. Cold but not wet with some wind gusts – but not too bad overall.

We used Goto city as our base for a three loop rides.

Our rides suggests that there are plenty of quite back roads to ride on. Where we experienced a national main road they had well made bicycle/pedestrian paths alongside – including through the two tunnels we took. Overall I consider the routes to be generally safe.

There are whole island touring routes that I would certainly like to come back to do. It requires more time than we had. Also, accomodation on the other side of the island would require more planning especially if you’re an English speaker!

Day 1

The first day involved a ride out to Tomie Town a fishing village with 6,000 residents. With a stop along the way for bread, cakes and coffee at wondertrunk&co travel bakery.

The return leg came back via the airport.

The total distance of the route was 32.5km with 470m of climbing. The routes on Strava are available in two parts.

• Part A – https://www.strava.com/routes/3300751943357724364
• Part B – https://www.strava.com/routes/3300754113720293398

Day 2

The second day was a loop route that visited Dozaki Church Museum. “Dozaki church is a full-scale, redbrick, gothic-style church built in 1907 and dedicated to the 26 Martyrs of Japan by Bishop Cousin in 1908. As it was the first church built after the ban on Christianity was lifted, it became a model for other churches built in Goto. … The church is now a museum displaying many items relating to the history of Christianity in Goto. These include items which held significance for the Hidden Christians. In 1974, the building was designated a Tangible Heritage of Nagasaki Prefecture.”

There was also plenty of seaside and hillside scenery. There are some good food options along the way. But check to see if they are open when you plan to be there. We enjoyed pizza and pasta at Gino.

The route is 37kms with 597 metres of climbing. The route is available on Strava – https://www.strava.com/routes/3300766070992615422

Day 3

Our final day was shorter to make sure we could get back to the ferry in time. This time we cycled along a sea wall and then around Minodake, the lava coast and around Onidake. Helen has already told you about it and shown you a bunch of photos!

Officially the route is 25.6km long with 351 metres of climbing. It’s available on n Strava – https://www.strava.com/routes/3300774653980567244