Ohshima 2 days cycling (D-8)⭐️⭐⭐️⭐⭐️ ‘22.21st-22nd,May
This route(D-8) is in Area-D “Tokai". See Area-D map / See Japan map
Sight & Entertainment ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Food & Drinks ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Easiness ⭐⭐⭐
Road condition ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Safety ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
【Day 1】
1 week weather forecast had said it would rain on 21st, May but we believed it would not rain till evening and gathered at Takeshiba passenger vessel terminal in Tokyo at 7:30AM. We were on board the ferry(Seven island, pic.1) and it departed at 8:30AM. The ferry was jet vessel and reached Ohshima within 2 hrs. The arrival port is up to weather condition. Today’s port was the north one(Okada port), not Motomachi port which was our prediction. Then we assembled our bicycles at Okada port and started at 10:45AM. We strongly recommend clockwise round as the island people also says. In the beginning, we should climb a steep slope to reach the circular road for 1km. then rode on a comfy road with beautiful sea and mountain view for 2-4km, after which we faced steep slopes to the top of cliff. On the cliff, most roads had shade of forests which made us comfortable.
The pic.2 is the entrance point toward “Ura-sabaku"(black desert) which is lava plain connecting to top of island, Mihara mountain. We picked up some pebbles here and were surprised with the lightness of that weight. All pebbles here are made of lava. After this point, soon a downhill starts and Fudeshima(penetrated lava stone above the sea, pic.3) suddenly appears in front of us when you come to the bottom. We never see such dynamic and unusual sight in our main land. You can enjoy another aspect of this sight in the point pic.4. You can come close to the sea level and watch strange shape of lava strata.
Now we had to search a lunch spot but we didn’t want to deviate the circular route. So the Sushi restaurant “Ozeki" on our route was nice for us. We ordered “Bekko-Zushi(pic.5)" which is a special Ohshima sushi with raw fish dipped in soy sauce with island chili. The taste of chili was very special and yummy.
Restarting at 2:00PM, we rode toward Motomachi. On the route, there is a dynamic pressed strata cross section(pic.6) which is the climax of this route.
We reached Motomachi around 3:30PM and still had time to our dinner, I dropped in a hot spring “Gojinka Onsen" then went to my guest house(pic.7). There are few large scale hotels here and relatively many guest houses with shared bathroom like my room.
We held dinner at “Kappou Ichimatsu“. I chose this restaurant because it serves many island’s fish dishes and Ohshima Shochu(Japanese distilled spirits, pic.9) as well, which was the deciding factor for us. The green bottle one “Moriwaka" taste was stronger than the right one. We drank too much… When we left the restaurant at 10:00PM, nobody was walking in the town and finally the rain was falling.
【Day 2】Hill climbing to Mihara volcano
The weather forecast told us it would be clear. We started at 9:00AM to Mihara mountain hill climbing. The slopes about 5-10 degrees continue till the outer rim of a crater. Though it was tough riding, sometimes in the mid of the slope, we could see the wonderful contrast of green forests and blue ocean(pic.10), and the song of bush warbler healed our fatigue.
After reaching the outer rim, flat roads continue till the observatory. Horses were grazing in a pasture(pic.11), and we could see the marvelous sight of Motomachi and Izu peninsula(pic.12). Then finally we reached the observatory for Mihara volcano(pic.13) at 10:30AM. The view of caldera which had been covered with green in 30 years was spectacular. It’s 2km walk from our point(pic.13) to the crater but we had to go back to catch 3:30PM ferry. There was a souvenir shop here and we just ate milk ice cream.
The downhill was scary but it seemed a few minutes to reach the town. After picking up our luggage at our hotel and eating lunch in the town, we headed toward Okada port–the port is decided in the morning– through Sunset palm line, east coast. As you can see my pictures(pic.14-16), the road continues along the coast, which was too comfortable to forget the scene.
We dropped in “Buratto House" a kind of roadside station near the airport where you can buy local vegetables and dense taste milk. From there to Okada port, there were still up and down but just 3km.
<Transportation Info>
*From Tokyo: Takeshiba passengers vessel terminal, Tokai-Kisen Ferry (Seven island) 8:30AM → Ohshima (Motomachi or Okada) port 10:45AM ¥8,410+¥1,000(large luggage like wheel bag)
*To Tokyo: Motomachi or Okada port, same ferry 3:30PM→ 5:15PM Takeshiba terminal, same price.
< Other info>