Penguin VisualLily🐧We leave for the Seto Inland Sea tomorrow. I’ve arranged the route and bookings: drive through Shikoku and the Shimanami Kaido to Uno Port, visit Teshima and Naoshima by boat, then take the car to Shodoshima before catching an overnight ferry back to Kansai.
With Golden Week traffic, I’ve checked the ferries, parking and museum reservations ahead of time. Angel Road also depends on the tides. This is the plan for now; we’ll adjust for the weather and how tired we are.
We'll leave Kansai in the morning and head west on the expressway. The first day is mainly for getting there, so I haven't packed it with stops. We'll take breaks at service areas or around Awaji Island. In the afternoon, we'll visit Shikoku Aquarium to see 🐧 (and maybe some other creatures Afterward, I'd like to try Takaya Shrine. But I suspect tickets during Golden Week will be first come, first served, and probably gone by the afternoon. We'll give it a go without getting our hopes up. In the evening, we'll reach the Imabari area in Ehime. Dinner will hopefully be the local specialty, Imabari yakitori.
We'll stay near Imabari, ready for the Shimanami Kaido the next day.
The second day is all about the Shimanami Kaido. From Imabari, we'll follow bridges between the islands and roads along the coast, stopping for photographs around Ikuchijima and Omishima.
Then we'll reach Onomichi and spend some time walking around taking street photographs. Lunch could be Setouchi lemon ramen or a seafood rice bowl. Or we might simply walk into a small restaurant that looks good.
Around evening, we'll arrive near Tamano in Okayama Prefecture. We'll stay around Uno Port so it's easy to catch a boat to Teshima and Naoshima the following morning.
The car stays near our accommodation today. We'll get around entirely by boat, on foot and by bike.
In the morning, we'll sail from Uno Port to Teshima. The main stop is Teshima Art Museum. It's one of the places I've been looking forward to most, so I've tried to leave enough time to enjoy it without rushing.
After the museum, the plan is to rent electric-assist bikes and explore the slopes toward the sea and the island's small roads. For lunch, I'd like to find an island restaurant serving local vegetables or a simple local meal.
In the afternoon, we'll continue to Naoshima. After arriving at Miyanoura Port, we'll see Red Pumpkin before heading to the museum area. The main afternoon visit is Chichu Art Museum.
If we still have enough time and energy afterward, we'll walk along the coast toward the yellow pumpkin and take some photographs of the sea and architecture. An evening boat will take us back to Uno Port.
Today we'll take the car across to Shodoshima. We'll catch a morning ferry from the Okayama side and start driving around the island after arriving.
Shodoshima is larger than Teshima or Naoshima, and the places we want to see are farther apart. That's why we're bringing the car this time.
On the list: mountain views, the Olive Park, coastal roads, and Angel Road, the sandbar that only appears at low tide. Besides the route, I'll need to keep an eye on the tides, parking and when we have to head back in the evening.
In the morning, we'll try Kankakei Gorge. If the weather is good, I'd like to take the ropeway up for a view over the Seto Inland Sea and the surrounding islands.
Lunch could be Shodoshima's hand-stretched somen noodles, or something simple at a stop in the mountains or beside the road.
In the afternoon, we'll visit Shodoshima Olive Park. It's known for its white windmill and scenery associated with Kiki's Delivery Service, so it should be a good place for photographs.
Then we'll head to Angel Road. If the tides line up, we'll walk along the sandbar exposed at low tide.
For dinner, I'd like to try the local Olive Beef, or find somewhere quiet to sit down for a meal. At night, we'll head to the port and catch the overnight ferry toward Kansai.
We'll arrive at Kobe Port early in the morning. From there, we'll drive back to Osaka and get home that morning.
There are no more sightseeing plans for this day. Home, sleep, sort through the photographs. Trip over.
I decided against driving all the way back to Osaka from Shodoshima or Okayama on the last day.
Return traffic toward the end of Golden Week is hard to predict, and driving tired is another concern. Instead, the car and its passengers will travel together on an overnight ferry, reaching Kansai early in the morning.
The LUMIX S5 is coming along again, of course. This time I'm leaving the kit lens behind and bringing a Leica Summicron-R 50mm F2 that's older than I am. That should be fun. The light, architecture and coastal lanes on Teshima and Naoshima should be good to photograph, especially in the angled afternoon light.
Most of the island museums don't allow photography inside, so I'll focus on their exteriors, coastal roads, ports, old streets and small details along the way.
I’m handling the route, accommodation, ferries and museum bookings. Hopefully that means the people coming with me won’t have to keep checking maps and boat times. I’d like to spend longer in a few places I’ve only passed through before.
