EN: First day of my bike trip started with an average weather, but I have to admit that I was lucky, since there was a storm circling around without actually hitting me. As I had mentioned before, I checked out of my hotel, got my large luggage shipped by Kuroneko Yamato to Shimanami Ryokan on Hakata island and I was ready to go. I rented a bike and I met a German girl who I undertook the first part of the route together with, which was a very nice addition to my little journey.
First we took a ferry from Onomichi to Mukaishima island, it was a working day, thus only young school students were traveling with us. We then continued to Innoshima island, where we got lost for a bit (not really using a GPS, just following the route signs on the road), then we reached Ikuchi island, where we headed to famous Kousanji temple. That is where by poorly maintained bike broke, but fortunately there was a bike stop nearby (you can drop off and rent a bike on various places along the cycling path) and I got a better one.
Kousanji temple was simply amazing. I have to say that after all those years living in Japan and visiting plenty of temples I was kind of bored of them, but this one was spectacular, different, with a cave and beautiful design. Then we continued to Omishima island and our route split on Hakata island, where I stayed over in a nice and comfy ryokan.
SK: Prvý deň môjho výletu na bicykli odštartoval v priemernom počasí, mal som ale šťastie, keďže neďaleko sa krútila búrka, ktorá ma ale ani raz nezasiahla. Ako som už spomenul v predchádzajúcom príspevku, ráno som si nechal odoslať moju veľkú batožinu doručovacou službou Kuroneko Yamato, prenajal som si bicykel a mal som to šťastie, že som počas odosielania batožiny stretol nemecké dievča, s ktorým som odjazdil prvý deň.
Najprv sme sa na trajekte previezli z prístavu v Onomichi na ostrov Mukaishima, keďže bol pracovný deň, veľa cyklistov sme o pol ôsmej ráno nestretli, iba školákov. Pokračovali sme na ostrov Innoshima, kde sme sa na chvíľu stratili (GPS sme nepoužívali, iba náveste priamo na ceste), presunuli sme sa na ostrov Ikuchi, kde sme si to nasmerovali do slávneho chrámu Kousanji. To bolo zároveň miesto, kde sa mi pokazil bicykel, našťastie iba o 100 metrov ďalej bola jedna z cyklistických staníc (v ktorých môžete vrátiť alebo prenajať bicykel, na celej ceste po ostrovoch je ich niekoľko), dostal som bicykel, ktorý bol v nepomerne lepšom technickom stave.
Chrám Kousanji ma príjemne prekvapil, musím priznať, že po pár rokoch života a cestovania po Japonsku ma už chrámy začali nudiť, no tento bol unikátny. Bola v ňom jaskyňa, jeho farby boli skvelé, architektúra a dizajn celej záhrady okolo neho tiež. Napokon sme sa vybrali na ostrov Omishima a potom sa naše cesty rozišli na ostrove Hakata, kde som mal rezervovaný ryokan.
