Japanese Adventure, Chapter 4 - Day 11. From Kobe to Shodoshima

We set an alarm for 5am this morning as we wanted to allow plenty of time to get to Shodoshima and we were concerned the ferries might be fully booked. It was a beautiful morning to be travelling, our first destination was Sannomiya station in Kobe.

At Sannomiya we caught a local JR train to Himeji, the journey took just over an hour.

From Himeji station we caught a bus to the port.

It had been a while since we'd travelled on a bus in Japan and it can be very confusing so here's a recap. Enter using the middle doors and take a ticket with the stop number on. When you've reached your destination check the price on the screen that's next to the stop number on your ticket. Leave using the front doors and pay at the machine beside the driver as you exit.

As soon as the ferry ticket office opened we were first in line to secure tickets for Shodoshima. The ferry journey taking 90 minutes cost 1,520 yen (about £11).

We boarded the ferry with some food supplies we'd bought in a small shop in the ferry port. 

Getting up so early was possibly slightly over cautious as there was plenty of space on the ferry. Better safe than sorry though, we were just relieved we'd be getting to Shodoshima today!

Shodoshima is the second largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, the name means "small bean island" which refers to the azuki bean. These days though it's better known for the soy bean as it produces lots of soy sauce.

The olive mascot greeted us on board the Olive Line Ferry. Shodoshima is also well known for it's Olive plantations.

This was my breakfast this morning, a beautifully presented bento box I picked up from the ferry port shop costing just 298 yen (about £2.20). This delicious combination featured four different onigiri, fried chicken, meat cutlet, spaghetti, sausage, omelette, potato salad and broccoli.

You could buy food on board the ferry too. These were really crunchy with a slightly sweet soy sauce coating. Once you popped one in your mouth all you could think about was eating another one, seriously moreish!

I spotted this Creme Caramel drink in the vending machine on board the ferry. Give it a shake before opening to break up the pudding inside and enjoy!

The ferry finally arrived at the port of Fukuda which was on a different side of the island to the port we initially planned to arrive at.

The journey from Fukuda port to our guesthouse was quite challenging and involved standing at bus stops in total confusion not having a clue which bus we needed to catch. Thankfully a local shop keeper helped us out and we were finally on our way again.

Sen Guesthouse is where we'd be spending the next four nights, it was located on the south of the Island close to Tanoura.

A Japanese style double room here cost £63 per night and within moments of arriving we realised this was money spent very wisely. The owners Matt and Nori were so welcoming and friendly, they also had an excellent knowledge of the island.

The guesthouse had a large kitchen/diner area which guests could use and on the side of the house was a balcony area with stunning views across the bay.

If you walk down a stairway below the guesthouse you could enjoy the private beach with hammocks. This place was paradise, we loved it!

I wasn't going to be going for a swim in the sea anytime soon though. There was loads of jellyfish in the water and quite a few washed up on the beach too.

The perfect excuse to just sit back on the beach with an ice cold can of Kirin Beer. You could buy these from the guesthouse, this was the perfect spot to relax and watch the world go by.

Getting around the island is possible by bus but there was another option. Sen Guesthouse has bikes which were available to use free of charge, we decided to use them to explore the other side of the bay.

It was possible to reach 7-Eleven in about 25 minutes using the bikes. The journey here took us past soy sauce factories, the smell coming out from them was incredible!

As we cycled back towards the guesthouse a guy in a truck pulled over and stopped us. He wanted to give us an iced coffee each and welcomed us to the island!

The guesthouse balcony was the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

Matt had told us about an Italian restaurant not too far away which sounded really good. He kindly made a reservation for us and we headed over there at 7pm.

Inside we were greeted by the owner and shown to our table on the 2nd floor. There was a set menu option which varied each day, this sounded perfect.

This local beer by Mame Mame had a refreshing citrus flavour.

The first course to arrive included potatoes and leek in a delicious creamy sauce served with homemade flan and a selection of items grown on the island. The homemade sourdough was excellent and perfect to mop up the creamy sauce with.

The main course was pasta served with fresh fish, my wife's contained a selection of vegetables. The flavour of the pasta sauce was exceptional and everything was so fresh.

For dessert a creme brulee made using a hint of sea salt, this was heavenly! After the meal we chatted with the owner of the restaurant who insisted on giving us a lift in his car back to the guesthouse, such a nice guy!

Click here for Day 12

Exploring Shodoshima