From Innoshima Island to Ikuchijima Island

 

I came down the west side of Mount Shirataki and reached the road running along the shoreline of Innoshima Island.

I then headed south to the bridge that would take me over to Ikuchi Island

I have covered the Ikuchi Bridge previously when I walked the Shimanami Kaido, so if you want any specs please check this link.

To get to the path for pedestrians and cycles to access the bridge meant passing under the bridge. Fortunately for pedestrians there was a short-cut so I didn't have to follow the very long and shallow-sloped cycle path.

An unusual little "park" made by someone local methinks.

Ikuchi Bridge only has one level so pedestrians are are in the open and can enjoy the views a bit better.

Once on Ikuchijima I headed around the north coast of the island, avoided the main attraction of the island, Kosanji, and headed towards Kojoiji Temple, my destination.

The last two photos in those post were not at a religious site, rather outside a stonemasons factory....

The previous post in this series on day 12 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the hundreds of statues atop Mount Shirataki.

A Seaside Walk from Onomichi to Innoshima

 

Late August, and day 12 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, and the next temple is located on Innoshima Island in the Inland Sea.

From Onomichi I take a sunrise ferry across the narrow channel separating Onomichi from Mukaijima.

Then I hug the coast road around the western side of the island.

I have walked this before when I walked the whole length of the Shimanami Kaido, but this time my route will differ after I cross over to Innoshima.

What is noticeable is the much bigger tides than what we get on the Japan Sea coast...

On the Inland Sea low tide reveals mud flats extending some way out.

I am passed by several cyclists clad in spandex and going hell-for-leather.... obviously going to do the 70k crossing to Shikoku in one day....

I reach and pass under the bridge that connects Mukaijima Island with the smaller Iwashi Island.

I carry on down the west coast and enjoy the views which are fairly typical for a lot of the Inland Sea area....

As I head around to the south side the bridge over to Innoshima comes into view.

It's a pretty major bridge, a suspension bridge about 1,339 meters long with a central span of 770 meters.

When it was built in 1983 it was the longest centre span of any suspension bridge in Japan.

Pedestrians and cyclists cross on the lower level below the road section. It was also the first suspension bridge on the Shimanami Kaido.

A very curious sight awaited on the opposite side, last photo.

I highly recommend the Shimanami Kaido, not least for the amazing views you get from the bridges. Obviously walking is best, but even driving would be worth it if you stopped at all the viewpoints.

The previous post in this series was on Senkoji Temple which I visited the day before.

Scenic Ferry Ride from Tsuneishi to Onomichi

 

After leaving Abuto Kannon, I walked up the west coast of the peninsula until as far as Tsuneishi from where I hopped on a small car ferry heading to Onomichi.

Japan is an archipelago of thousands of islands, and one of the areas of Japan where this is most obvious is the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku.

A good chunk of the shipbuilding industry is centred here as the waters are relatively calm.

This curious piece of architecture is called Ribbon Hall and seems to be used primarily as a wedding chapel at a resort.

Nowadays many of the islands are connected by bridges to each other or two the main islands of Hinshu, Shikoku, or Kyushu,  but small ferries are still needed for the numerous unconnected islands.

Looking back, I had earlier walked past the Utsumi Bridge which connects the Numakuma Peninsula to Tajima Island.

First stop of the ferry was Momojima Island.

The "floating torii" of Itsukushima Shrine in Urasaki was built in 1977 emulating its head shrine on Miyajima.

A small car ferry links Tozaki on the peninsula with Uta on Mukaishima Island.

The Inland Sea, Setnaikai in Japanese, was the main transportation route in historical Japan, a country with many mountains, few wheeled vehicles, and few roads.

Getting closer to Onomichi, the big shipbuilding area lies to the east of the town.

The channel between Onomichi  and Mukaijima is as narrow as a river, but some serious, ocean-going vessels are built and repaired here.

While so much of Japan has been "renovated" there are still remnant of a funkier type of architecture, as below....

The Shimanami Kaido, an expressway that links Honshu to Shikoku via 6 islands, crosses the narrow strait. The small bridge carries non-expressway traffic.

Striking because of its rarity, a domestic house with stylish, modern architecture, rather than the cooki-cutter houses of most of Japan...

Just a few minutes away from the destination....

The final two photos are of the two pilgrimage temples, Jodo-ji, and Senko-ji, that I will visit once the ferry docks.

The previous post in this series was on Abuto Kannon, the striking vermillion temple overlooking the sea.