When I stumbled on this NHK report about a ferry company ceasing operations, the picture had a familiar vibe, like I'd been there. And I had: this is Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture. Famous for its temples and narrow alleys in the hills (which I didn't visit, it was the end of the day when I arrived), the city now covers some islands of the Seto Inland Sea just opposite. Naturally, these islands are heavily reliant on ferries for quick crossings between the shipyards on Mukaishima and Onomichi town centre.
This was one such ferry: 第拾貳小浦丸, Dai Jûni Koura Maru, or "Ship Little Beach n°12" (note the complicated kanji spelling of the number 12, which would commonly be written 十二), built in 1971 and owned by the Fukumoto Ferry Company - the company that, after 135 years of service on the route, ended operations at the end of March. So I had seen it, though not the precise ship that did the final runs. The reason given for the end of the service is the "aging of the docks", which sounds like maintenance or upgrading was necessary that the company maybe couldn't afford.
Fukumoto is not the only ferry company in the area though. In fact, I rode into Onomichi on a different route, further East, with the Nyû Shimanami above. Nearer to the Fukumoto route, this other ferry, the Mukaishima II, with an interesting pagoda-style bridge was also running.
So I guess I should talk about Shimanami Kaidô next! However, I'll be skipping a post this weekend due to a family occasion. Next post Tuesday or Wednesday.
Shimanami Kaidô: the Seto Inland Sea's cycle* route
*Disclaimer: I took the bus.
While the Seto Ôhashi opened in 1988, and is the only road-and-rail link between Honshu and Shikoku, a second road crossing was completed a decade later, between Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture. Unlike the Seto Ôhashi which has a rather direct, straight-line profile, the Shimanami Kaidô Expressway makes smaller hops from one island to the next, and snakes along, constantly looking for the shortest channels.
The expressway is paralleled by a 70 km cycle path, including dedicated lanes on almost every bridge. The exception is the bridge at Onomichi, hence the official Shimanami Kaidô cycle route includes a ferry crossing to Mukaishima, but from there, it's plain riding all the way to Shikoku.
As stated at the start of the post, I did not cycle this route. I planned to visit Imabari in the morning, and take the bus to Fukuyama, with a walk-around at at least one bridge along the way. I stopped at Tatara suspension bridge, on which the border between Hiroshima and Ehime prefectures is situated. There is a service station (which serves ミカンソフト - mandarin ice cream!) and an observation platform. After that, I decided to terminate at Onomichi instead of Fukuyama, getting off the bus on Mukaishima and taking the ferry. Even as an afternoon bus cruise, it was a very satisfying trip, with lots of spectacular Seto Inland seascapes to take in.
