Either way you travel, the Kurushima Straits Bridge in Imabari on the island of Shikoku is a spectacular start or end to your journey along the Shimanami Kaido.

Imabari Along the Blue Line

From the Yoshiumi Iki Iki Kan it is about 12 km by bicycle to the official end of the Blue Line at Imabari Station. About half of this distance is the ride up to, across, and down from the Kurushima Straits Bridge.

Actually a series of three bridges that island hop across the swirling Kurushima Straits, it really is an impressive feat of engineering. It is also very pretty. You can gaze out at the bridge and watch an array of vessels, from tiny fishing boats to some of the world’s biggest ships, go back and forth below it for hours. The peaks of the Ishizuchi mountain range towering above the city of Imabari can be seen on clear days.

When riding the curving ascent and descent to and from the bridge, please be aware that locals often do their morning and evening walks on this path, so please ride in single file and be sure to keep to the left.

Be sure to stop at Itoyama Sunrise on the Imabari side of the bridge to get your souvenir shot of the big SHIMANAMI sign with the bridge as its backdrop. Itoyama Sunrise has a cafe-restaurant (with great views) and also offers simple accommodation.

From Itoyama Sunrise, you soon join a main road into the center of Imabari City, so please take care in the additional traffic. The cycle terminal in Imabari is located right next to Imabari Station and showers are available for a small charge.

Imabari Beyond the Blue Line

Either way you travel, the Kurushima Straits Bridge in Imabari on the island of Shikoku is a spectacular start or end to your journey along the Shimanami Kaido.

Imabari is also home to one of Japan’s ”three great water castles” with the moat filled by the sea. The castle buildings themselves are a recent reconstruction, but it is a very pleasant place to spend some time and looks particularly nice illuminated after dark.

Imabari is a no-nonsense shipbuilding town and its people are fuelled by some typically down to earth soul foods. Chief among these iss yaku-buta-meshi – a rice bowl topped with strips of grilled pork, fried eggs and sweet-and-sour sauce.

Another favorite is chicken, prepared local style. Imabari-style yakitori dispenses with skewers and cooked on a hotplate and pressed with a steel lid to speed up the cooking process. Served quickly, it is what many locals order as soon as they sit down, along with the drink of their choice. If you are still hungry, try senzanki, Imabari’s take on karaage fried chicken.

Further afield, you can get a taste of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage by touring Imabari’s six pilgrimage temples. Temples 54 to 59 are Enmeiji, Nankobo, Taisanji, Eifukuji, Senyuji, and Kokubunji.

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