Bicycling Japan 2024: Day 2-3 (Ushima to Imabari & Back)

I'll be staying on my uncle's remote island for several days, during which I promised myself I wouldn't be cycling. But...never say never. 

Day 2

There's only 15 people living on the island we're on, so of course there's no grocery store. So the next morning, we ferried it to the next island, did a little essentials shopping and then asked the store clerk if there were any cafes nearby. To which (bless my people, really, they're like beyond nice) she left the cash register, walked out the store with me to show me how to get to the place.

Biked to Cafe Shozan, and enjoyed some yum coffees and ended our mini cycling day. 

Day 3

Jason was heading off to a conference in Imabari and once again, I got convinced to cycle with him from Miyakubo Port (Oshima) and over the bridge. 

It was actually not too bad. What we thought would take 1.5 hours only took roughly one hour. 

Bridge connecting Oshima to Imabari

Cycling on the dedicated cycle lane.

We dropped by the the bicycling information center to make sure there were lockers to store luggage (yes), and ate amazing curry bread at the Little Mermaid bakery.

 Checked out the outside of Imabari Castle...

... and met up with Jason's colleague at our initial cafe destination...only to find it is closed every Wednesday and first Tuesday (today!) of every month. Arg. After several attempts, we finally came across an unassuming cafe Chiru Chiru, in a very sad covered shopping area, which turned out to be very charming and retro. It's run by a (likely) 80+ year-old lady, and there were three to four 77+ regulars hanging out.

Post cafe, we checked out the Imabari Towel Museum, since why not? 

Armed with a map from the information center, we set off.

I'm going to take a little detour here to discuss the "Japanese way" of directions. Street signs don't really exist here in Japan (big cities like Tokyo and Osaka kind of cater for Westerners and do label their major arteries but really, there's not much). I'm not sure if maps truly exist. Or rather, I'm not sure if the majority of the population knows how to use maps. 

The way Japanese provide directions is like so:
"You see that red awning there? You're going to take the street after. Then go three streets over, make a left at the green medicine sign. Keep going, you should see a udon restaurant to your left. There, you're gonna go a little ways and make a right. Then past the..."

 

Can you find the street name? Answer: it doesn't exist! 

So of course, the map we got provided at the Information Center was...not intuitive. I tried asking a kind old lady for directions to "highway 390" and tried showing her the map. Not only did she refuse to look at it (I was trying to shove the map in her hands and she vehemently waved it away), she didn't know what I was talking about. 

"Highway what?"

"390"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Where are you trying to go?"

"The Towel Museum" 

"Oh! That's in the direction of Asakura. You don't want to go that way, you want to go that way. Towards the mountains."

ok.... Mountains. Except there are like, mountains surrounding us. 

After several wrong turns, we reached our destination:

In the middle of the mountains, a chateau - I mean towel museum.

As with all Japanese, I too am obsessed with Moomin Troll. So of course, I don't ask questions when there's a big random Moomin statue and just bee-line for a photo op.

Not quite sure if I have words, but it was an odd place. What I will say is that it had the world's best soft serve ice cream. Like WOW. 

I then made the trek backwards but cheated and took the speed ferry from Miyakubo to Tomoura, then biked a bit across the island to Miyakubo and the ferry back to Ushima. 

...and taking advantage of evening sans vegetarian husband, made myself a trad Japanese dinner.