[Honjima Island Cycling] A history and nature cycling trip around the island.

It takes about 35 minutes to reach Honjima by the local ferry from Marugame port in Kagawa. While sailing to Honjima, you will find the cluster of small islands make for a beautiful and scenic view along the way. The bike rental service was located right at the waiting room on the left side of the Honjima Ferry Terminal. We could start cycling right away after an easy registration and clear instructions.
We decided on the 16 km long cycling course which circles the island, and allows for stopping by interesting historical sites while riding along the coast. This is an easy course for beginners, taking about 2 hours at a slow pace. But if you don’t feel confident with a standard bike, electric ones are also available at the ferry terminal service.

After a 5-minute ride along a gentle slope from the Honjima Ferry Terminal, we came to the historic site of Shiwaku Kinbansho. This building was once a government office where senior officials, called toshiyori, selected from among 650 captains in the Shiwaku archipelago, took turns administering state affairs. The current building was reconstructed in 1860. The white earthen walls of the Nagaya-mon gate, the main building, and the official document storage building are all that remain from olden times. The main building displays official seal letters and sea route maps given by the warlords Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

After Shiwaku Kinbansho, we continued along in an easterly direction which brought us to a spot with a spectacular view of the Seto Inland Sea and the Great Seto Bridge. This dynamic scenery made us want to stop pedaling and take a deep breath! After absorbing the scenery for a while, we headed for the traditional town of Kasajima Machinami Preservation District. This area has been designated as a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, due to a line of historical buildings built from the late Edo period to the pre-WWII time.

The Yoshida Residence was the must-see place in the district. This 100-year-old building was crafted by carpenters from the Shiwaku islands, and great attention was paid to every aspect of the house. There was a beautiful ramma decoration panel with implanted handguards, tsuba, from Japanese swords, a 2-meter-long corridor made of a single knotless cedar, and ceramic toilets from the old days. A Japanese classical aesthetic was also evident in the hanging scrolls of Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800), a painter from the Edo period, though only a replica is currently on display.

Our bike ride continued on after our visit to the Yoshida Residence.
The northside of the island was hilly, making for a good exercise. Further on, we came to Yagama Beach, a great place to take a break, with toilet facilities, too. As we approached the west side of the island, the road went back to one of gentle slopes. We enjoyed the view then of the island cluster along the Seto Inland Sea.
Continuing on the south side, we came upon Honjima road’s steepest hills, riding up and down until we reached the port! This cycling experience provided a wonderfully memorable time, diving all the way into the history and nature of this ancient and beautiful land.