I usually tried to avoid using similar pictures for back to back days, but for the Shimanami Kaido I’ll make an exception. These bridges are just so much fun to ride over. You get incredible views of the Seto Inland Sea from up there. This is the last and longest bridge of the route at over 4 km long. While going up to the bridge I met up with 2 other American bicycle tourists that are also heading towards Kagoshima, so we rode together for the rest of the day. Being able to speak English with fellow cyclists for the first time on the trip was a nice change of pace from trying to get by with my broken Japanese!
Day 72 – Matsuyama, Ehime
I’ve used a lot of pictures of castles for my picture of the day, so today I really mixed it up and used a picture FROM a castle. Yeah, that’s a change. In the morning I did the short hike up to Matsuyama Castle which is built up on a mountain overlooking the city. The views of the city with the sea in the back were incredible, and the castle was pretty cool too. Inside the castle was a lot of hands-on experiences which made Matsuyama Castle quickly become one of my favorite castles. After enjoying the morning up in the castle, I continued south west along a really nice coastal road with ocean views.
Day 73 – Ikata, Ehime
Japan is made up of 4 main islands, which means to cycle across the country you have to either cross some big bridges or take some ferries. There aren’t any bridges from Shikoku to Kyushu, so the only way is by ferry. Technically this would be “cheating” so I have no choice but to use the shortest possible ferry, which means going out to the end of the remote Sadamisaki Peninsula. I wasn’t expecting to see much because it was so far away from anything else, but the views along the way were incredible. The road that goes to the end of the peninsula climbs up over the mountains, so the entire route had views like this on each side. After reaching the ferry, I crossed over to Oita Prefecture in Kyushu.
