Exploring Shikoku Day 11
We’re back! Finally, I was able to get back to Japan. This trip was planned out prior to COVID-19 and was put on a back burner until travel was available. At last, we were able to book our travel and make our way over to Shikoku.
Waking up at a decent time, we make our way over to Matsuyama Castle
[松山城]. This is a fantastic castle that is maintained in Ehime. The design of the castle is so fascinating and the defensive nature of the castle is very impressive. To top if off, you can take a cable car or a chair lift to the top of the mountain that the castle sits on.
Next, we make our way to Sunrise Itoyama [サンライズ糸山/今治市サイクリングターミナル] to rent bikes to ride into the first section of the Shimanami Kaido [しまなみ海道]. We went from the bike station to a couple of observation stands and then over to Uma Island [馬島].
The ride was awesome and we were on the Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge
[来島海峡大橋]. It’s the first time that either of us ever rode a bike on a bridge and it was impressive. Also impressive was the elevator from the road on the bridge we were riding on to the base of the strut. We continued to explore the island and saw the Umashima Shrine [馬島神社] before heading back.
There was some time loss to day, as I had to stop to buy medicine from a drug store, and getting a little lost on the way, so we weren’t able to make the Kobou Mizu [弘法水], one of the most delicious spring water fountains in Japan. We ended up going to Marubun Komatsu [マルブン 小松本店] instead.
This was a restaurant that I found out via an STU48 variety show in Ehime prefecture. Marubun Komatsu was famous for using the famous Ehime Oranges in their cooking. Particularly their pasta sauce. So we gave it a try for dinner.
Finishing dinner, we then went to a nearby MEGA Don Quijote [MEGAドン・キホーテ 西条玉津店]. Lynn had some requests from friends back home to bring home some Don Quijote swag, and what better place to get it than an actual store.
That actually brings us to the end of the day, as when we finish we make our way to the hotel in Takamatsu, Kagawa. This will complete our full lap around the island.
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