Yesterday’s riding took a backseat to sightseeing, visiting Michi-no-ekis, meeting people and to just being tourists. We had a great day, but we didn’t get very far. We discovered that accommodation possibilities are not as available on a Sunday as many close for the day. So, our next option was to ride until we found a place to wild camp. As it was getting to be dusk, we had some challenges. However, luck was with us as we found a great spot with lovely bathrooms and electricity for charging our bike batteries and phones. We usually find that if we don’t overreact, something will turn up.
Our place to camp tonight…close to the water lined with palm trees.
“Home is where you lie your head”. We are very happy to have found such a well equipped spot for our night of camping. Despite knowing that we are allowed to camp wild wherever we please (within practical considerations for locals), we still try not to draw too much attention to ourselves. We appreciate that this is possible
We are very grateful for this building which houses a bathroom block. We will discover in the light of day that this park is the grounds for a pool and slide complex. It is closed for the season but they keep the bathrooms open.
The women’s bathroom…nicely decorated and the nice touch of tiles featuring Minnie Mouse. The men’s bathroom has tiles of….you guessed it…Mickey Mouse.
As we found while camping yesterday, it really cools down at night and the ground is very wet with dew. Nonetheless, we had a good nights and awoke to a beautiful day. We only have another island and 2 ferries to reach Onomichi, so it will be a short day of riding. We’ll sightsee a bit in Onomichi, stay over and then head back to Imabari.
The bridge which will take us to Onomichi is different than the other 5 bridges. The bike lane is on a level below the cars.
We are having a great ride along the coast. Most of the stairwells in the breakwater are occupied by people fishing. They appear to be set up for the day.
Several car and bike ferries offer transportation to Onomichi. The organizers recommend not to use the final bridge as the road and approach is too narrow and dangerous for bikes.
We do love dogs and we have a soft spot for golden retrievers (miss you Mochi!) we were so impressed, the woman simply gestured and the dogs knew how to position themselves and pose for the photo.
We found a gem of a hotel in Onomichi, the Onomichi Kokusai. The price was right, it was elegantly appointed and they had a special secure spot for bicycles.
