The Road to Bunny Island: Cycling Ikuchijima and Omishima

What?
Ikuchijima (生口島) and Omishima (大三島) are two neighboring islands along the famous Shimanami Kaido route (しまなみ海道), which connects two of Japan’s major islands, Honshu and Shikoku, via a myriad of smaller islands in the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海). On Ikuchijima, I visited Kosanji Temple (耕三寺) - big, impressive, and unique thanks to its "Cave of 1,000 Buddhas" and the remarkable marble art installation known as the Hill of Hope. Omishima is home to several museums, of which I only visited the Tokoro Museum Omishima (ところミュージアム大三島), a small building housing some intriguing modern art installations while offering beautiful views over the Inland Sea. Of course, as these islands lie along the Shimanami Kaido, cycling is the main attraction. The many small cafés and shops run by young entrepreneurs along the route show the popularity of the cycling route.
Where?
If you're cycling the entire Shimanami Kaido, you'll usually start either in Onomichi (尾道) or Imabari (今治). I, however, took the train from Osaka (大阪) to Mihara (三原), a stop on the shinkansen line, and from there caught the ferry to Setoda Port (瀬戸田港) on Ikuchijima. While Ikuchijima is located in Hiroshima Prefecture (広島県), cycling onward to Omishima takes you into Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県). My destination for the day was Sakari Port (盛港), Omishima's northernmost port, from where I would take the ferry to my next destination: Bunny Island.
URL
Japan Guide (Kosanji) Tokoro Museum Omishima

Travelling in July (and, by extension, August) is never a good idea in Japan. With temperatures climbing to 37°C and a healthy dose of humidity, it's a recipe for exhaustion. But I needed the break from work, and exhaustion seemed the better choice.
Being the outdoorsy type, I planned some island hopping, cycling, and walking. The hope was that a gentle sea breeze would take off the worst of the heat.

On my first day, I took an early morning ferry from Mihara to Setoda Port on Ikuchijima. I planned to rent a bicycle there, cycle a section of the Shimanami Kaido to the next island, Omishima, then leave the famous cycling route behind, circle the island, return the bike at Sakari Port, and continue by ferry to Okunoshima, better known as Bunny Island.

But before looking for a rental bike, I visited Kosanji Temple, just a few hundred metres from Setoda Port.

What can I say? It is impressive. One of the more unique temples in Japan. But also... a little grotesque.
It's mesmerizing, but at the same time I think most people will notice that it's... commercial. A bit too much so. It lacks a real soul. And when I found out the temple had been built by a multimillionaire with an extreme mother complex... well, it didn't exactly improve my perception.
That being said, it is worth visiting.
The grounds are enormous and contain just about everything a tourist could hope for—and then some. Five-storey pagodas, colourful gates, lotus-filled gardens, a cave stretching deep underground with well over 1,000 Buddha statues, and an artistic journey from hellfire to redemption. There's even an outrageously over-the-top depiction of Buddha's paradise unlike anything I've seen before.
Seriously, it's all there!
But again, while undeniably impressive, it lacks... soul. That's the word. Still, that certainly doesn't mean it isn't worth the visit.
And then there's the Hill of Hope. Located on the same grounds, it's once again an over-the-top creation... of... something. Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure what. Nevertheless, despite the obligatory sweets and ice cream shop, it somehow feels more authentic, more sober, and more real than anything else on the temple grounds.
So yes, I absolutely recommend coming here, if only for the sheer size of the place, the Cave of 1,000 Buddhas, and the Hill of Hope.

Afterwards, I went to rent my bicycle. I used an unmanned rental service that’s available pretty everywhere in Japan, which conveniently lets you return the bike at a different location, provided there's another cycle station.
Cycling part of the Shimanami Kaido was super fun, but if you do it, I'd recommend bringing your own bike if possible. My rental bike's saddle was adjustable; the handlebars weren't. The result? A painful neck and back thanks to an unnatural riding position. And that's without mentioning the bike itself, whose chain skipped all over the place. I consider myself lucky it survived until the end of the day.

A very small ferry to take me to Setoda Port on Ikuchijima.

This five-storied pagoda is apparently a copy from another temple.

Paradise underground.

The marble glittering in the burning sun.

Perhaps I pushed it a little too hard. These rental bikes don't really seem built for climbing. Then again, if you're renting bicycles along the Shimanami Kaido, you can reasonably expect people to ride them... well... uphill.
Once I crossed the bridge between Ikuchijima and Omishima – incidentally also crossing the border between Hiroshima and Ehime Prefectures – I left the official cycling route and headed across the island from east to west to visit the small Tokoro Museum.
It’s possible to combine this with two other museums nearby with a special ticket, but my buttocks were sweaty enough and my neck and back almost blocked, so I politely declined, considering I still had another hour of cycling ahead of me before reaching Sakari Port.
In hindsight, I should at least have visited the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, as it’s a mere three-minute walk away. But I thought it was farther away and I didn’t trust my bicycle; it seemed to break down before I did.

The Tokoro Museum itself is charmingly small. And I do mean small. You'll probably finish the entire museum in 15 to 20 minutes, even if you take your time.
That doesn't mean it isn't worth the detour.
Unfortunately, I can't show any photos because of the (rather idiotic) photography ban, but I thought the art installations, the building itself, and especially the combination of the two were absolutely spot on. I adored the view over the Inland Sea from this box-like museum. It was well worth the modest entrance fee and even the somewhat gruesome bicycle ride to get there.

Heading towards Sakari Port, I followed the coastal road. Around the Shimanami Kaido, roads are generally very well maintained for cyclists, but this stretch was clearly too far removed from the main route and noticeably more worn down.
On the other hand, that also meant there were far fewer cyclists and cars. I could stop whenever I liked to admire the Inland Sea and Omishima's neighbouring islands.
And, perhaps more importantly, it gave my neck and back the occasional chance to recover.

By the time I arrived at Sakari Port, I was obviously hot, sweaty, and tired. Still, I must say I found the heat surprisingly bearable. The islands are wonderfully green and, just as I'd hoped, a constant gentle breeze drifted in from the sea.
So I pulled out my book, sat down, and settled into island rhythm. After all, the next ferry wasn't due for another fifty minutes.