A Fun Ride Around Shika-no-shima Island with My Granddaughter

 

Saturday, April 26, 2025

This was my first time riding around Shika-no-shima Island and Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park with my granddaughter.

She was on her Brompton bike, "Pota-kichi," and I was riding my Bianchi Lepre, "Pyon-ko."

It’s common for me to take the Brompton on a car trip, but this was the first time for the Mini-Velo Bianchi.

After some trial and error, figuring out how to remove the front and rear wheels and pack them into the bike bag, I finally managed to fit both bikes in the car.

It seems like my granddaughter didn’t eat breakfast, so we stopped for a quick bite at "Hato-ba Chaya" in Hatsu.

The hot sandwiches there are so good!

We had a nice little strategy meeting while looking out over the sea.

On the way, we stopped by Fujidera - Joko-ji temple in Eguchi, Munakata, to check out the wisteria just about to bloom.





We parked at the Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park parking lot, set up the bikes, and got ready to ride.



This time, I gave my granddaughter an action camera with a neck strap, asking her to film whenever she wanted. It was a fun new idea — let’s see how it goes!

At first, I was a bit worried because we had to ride on some busy roads.

But once we turned onto the shaded path, the view opened up, and we could see Hakata Bay to the south and Genkai-nada to the north.

In the middle of it all, we could spot Shika-no-shima Island, with the sandbar stretching out into the sea — it looked a bit like Fukuoka’s own "Mont Saint-Michel" (maybe I’m exaggerating a little).



We could hear my granddaughter saying "Wow, so beautiful!" over and over again.



Shika-no-shima Island is famous for the "Golden Seal," so of course, we stopped by the ferry terminal where there’s a huge monument of it.



We started our ride clockwise, and even though it was her first time on a Brompton, my granddaughter seemed to be handling it well.


Our first stop was "Kin-in Park," where we decided not to climb the long stone stairs to conserve energy. 



Next up, we visited "Mongol Mound," a historical site related to the Mongol invasions.

She seemed really interested and read all the information signs carefully.



The next section of the ride was a gradual uphill, followed by a steep section.

When we reached the "Kyuka-mura" (Resort Village) sign, I couldn’t resist the urge to push my bike, but I wasn’t alone — it looks like my granddaughter was ready for a break too!



We encouraged each other with the promise of ice cream at a hotel lobby down the hill, and my granddaughter was off ahead of me in no time.

We continued the ride skipping the way to the top of the island to "Shio-mi Park" and the lookout.

The ride was mostly flat, and from behind, I could see my granddaughter cruising easily in a heavy top gear on her Brompton.

Meanwhile, I was struggling just to keep up on my lighter gear.


Before we knew it, we made our way back to the "Shika-Umi Shrine," known for its dragon god power — definitely a spot to recharge our energy.



We finished our tour of the island, passed by the newly cleared electric pole removal construction on the Shika-no-shima Island Bridge, and took the bike path to Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park.

Inside the park, the nemophila flowers were in full bloom! We rode along the gentle park paths, and when we stopped to take a closer look, the hillsides were covered in soft, light blue flowers.





Next, we checked out the rose garden.





 

By then, we were getting hungry.

There was a shop selling Sasebo Burgers, so we grabbed a special burger and some Natchan orange juice for each.



After lunch, I took a well-deserved break and finally used the folding chair I’d been carrying around all day on the back of my Brompton.



It was time to head back. I didn’t think too much about it and took the nearest exit from the parking lot, only to find it was the road heading to Shika-no-shima Island.

Perfect! I’d been hoping to stop by "Shio-mi Park" on the way back.

As we drove up the steep hill, I was glad I hadn’t tried to ride up that slope earlier!




Back home later, I checked the action camera footage and found that my granddaughter had captured almost the entire 90-minute ride.

There were some shaky moments, but the camera’s neck strap kept everything pretty stable.

The original footage was over 60GB, but I managed to make a much smaller file and saved it on a USB drive, just in case.

I also gave her the connector to plug it into her phone.

That evening, she must’ve watched some of the footage because she texted me saying, "I was so moved!" and added, "Let’s go again sometime!"

Looks like I really need to keep my energy up for our next adventure together!