Namikata

September 27, 2018

We worked until the last minute before checking out the hotel this morning. Then we set out on some quiet back roads that took us above the outskirts of Imabari where we came upon a small michi-no-eki next to an onsen. After that we dropped down into Imabari, which lay between us and our intended destination which was a small cape north of the city.

At the michi-no eki near an onsen, there is this feature that issues steam at regular intervals.

The castle at Imabari lies within quite an impressive moat and was very easy on the eye. I guess if we hadn't visited Himeji Castle a few days ago we would have stopped in for a look.

Imabari Castle nestles inside an impressive moat.

There is a small park cum campsite at the cape near Namikata although when we arrived it appeared that the it closes at the end of August. There were municipal staff cutting grass and clearing weeds but the facilities are pretty run down. Undeterred, we spent a relaxing afternoon here before cycling back to the nearest konbini to buy some food for supper and breakfast tomorrow morning.

The campsite does have showers, which miraculously were not locked so I made use of the facility to clean up after we got back from our shopping.

We have settled in to a small shelter on a knoll on the cape which has lovely views over the Shimanami Kaido over which we cycled last year.

The Shimanami Kaido over which we cycled from Shikoku to Honshu last year.

As the sun set, the view became quite magical and we enjoyed our evening beer and supper in an almost perfect setting.

Today's ride: 44 km (27 miles)
Total: 2,547 km (1,582 miles)

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