Trip to Ushimado, Okayama Prefecture, Memories of Mushiage Ride

Ushimado in Okayama Prefecture is called the Aegean Sea of Japan. I had longed to visit this place someday, and last year, at the end of July 2022, I visited with my husband.
日本のエーゲ海と呼ばれる、岡山県の牛窓。いつか行ってみたいと憧れていたこの地を、昨年、2022年7月末に訪ねた。

It all started with an event held our friends. Shota Terazono@shota_terazono, a ceramic artist who owns a Bizen pottery kiln in Ushimado and a friend of my husband's from college, and Saori Bada＠badasaori, a Portuguese food researcher and writer who was my senior when I was working in the magazine editorial department and also my husband's senior at the same company, decided to hold a collaborative event in Ushimado.
きっかけは知人のイベント。夫の大学時代の友人で、牛窓に備前焼の窯を持つ陶芸家の寺園証太さん@shota_terazonoと、私が雑誌編集部で働いていたときの先輩で、夫にとっても同じ会社の先輩にあたるポルトガル料理研究家で文筆家の馬田草織さん@badasaoriが、牛窓でコラボイベントを開くことになったのだ。

I was happy to make this surprising coincidental connection. So let's travel to Ushimado, enjoy the delicious Portuguese cuisine at the event, and bring our bicycles along for the ride! We were so excited that we made plans for a 3-day/2-night trip to Ushimado.
驚きの偶然のつながりが嬉しく、ならば牛窓に旅し、イベントでおいしいポルトガル料理をいただき、ついでに自転車を持って行ってライドも楽しんじゃおう！と、喜び勇んで２泊3日の旅の計画を立てた。

Day 1 was Friday, and we put our bicycles in our wheeled bags and took the Shinkansen to Okayama.
We changed to a local train and got off at Otara Station, from where we rode our bicycle to Ushimado Tepemok, an event space in Ushimado. The distance was about 20 km, but there were surprisingly many ups and downs, partly because we tried to pass through scenic areas along the way. Above all, it was a very hot day, and the heat was hard.
1日目は金曜日、自転車を輪袋に入れて新幹線で岡山へ。
在来線に乗り換えて大多羅駅で降り、そこから牛窓にあるイベントスペース、ウシマドテレモークまで自転車で。20kmぐらいの距離だったが、途中に景色のよい場所を通ろうとしたこともあって意外にアップダウンが多かった。なにより猛暑日で、暑さがキツかった。

We visited the Terazono family in the evening. They showed us their kilns, treated us to dinner, and we had a lively time, with Ms. Bada and her daughter, along with another family participating in the event.
夕方から寺園家におじゃました。馬田さん親子、そしてイベントに参加する別のご家族も一緒に、窯を見せていただいたり、夕食をいただいたりして、賑やかに過ごす。

Arrive at Oodara station
輪行にて大多羅駅に到着

The Terazono family has a studio in the corner of their house. Shota prepared the sashimi with his expert hands and placed it on a plate of his own making.
自宅の一角にアトリエのある寺園家。
慣れた手つきでお刺身をさばき、自作のお皿に盛り付けてくれた証太さん。

A climbing kiln of his own making. People gather here like a festival when they fire the kiln.
自作の登り窯。焚くときはお祭りのように人が集まるのだそう。

The second day, Saturday, was the long-awaited Mushiage gravel ride.
We contacted a fellow cyclist in Hiroshima in advance, and although she was unable to make it that day, she introduced us to a ride leader in Okayama who agreed to organize the Mushiage gravel ride we had wanted to do.
2日目の土曜日は、待ちに待った虫明グラベルライド。
前もって広島の自転車仲間に連絡をしたところ、本人は当日都合がつかなかったものの、岡山のライドリーダーを紹介してくれて、行ってみたかった虫明グラベルライドを企画してくださることになったのだ。

The Rapha Cycling Club (RCC), to which we belong, has members all over the country, and the greatest advantage is that we can connect with cyclists from all over the country through various events.
私たち夫婦が所属しているRCC(ラファ・サイクリング・クラブ)は全国にメンバーがいて、さまざまなイベントなどを通じて、全国のサイクリストと繋がれるのが、なによりものメリットだ。

When we arrived at the Ushimado convenience store where we were to meet that morning, the ride leader was someone we had met at a previous event.
On the contrary, the members who had gathered that day from Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Takamatsu were all well acquainted with each other. We talked about how we had met at that time, and the atmosphere became friendly at once.
この日の朝、集合場所の牛窓のコンビニに着くと、ライドリーダーは顔と名前が一致していなかっただけで、以前イベントでお会いしたことのある人だった。それどころか、この日、広島、京都、高松から集まってきたメンバーは、全員面識のある人たちだった。あのときお会いしましたね、なんて話をし、一気に打ち解けた雰囲気になる。

It was hot. But the seaside path is bright, the sea breeze escaping, and invigorating.
After a short up-and-down forest road, we finally entered an unpaved section.
As we pedaled up the long gravel road, turning the pedals as we went, we could see the sea right next to us and rows of square rafts of oyster farming.
Beyond that point, it became a large rocky area, and we got off our bikes and pushed those and walked.
暑かった…。けれど、海辺の道は明るく、潮風が抜け、爽快だ。
短いアップダウンの林道を抜け、いよいよ未舗装区間へ。長い砂利道の登りを、くるくるとペダルを回しながら進むと、すぐ横に海があり、牡蠣の養殖の四角い筏が並んでいる。その先は大きな岩場になり、自転車を降りて押して歩いた。

We returned the way we came, near the entrance to the dirt road, and crossed over to Nagashima. Lunch at Sazanami Cafe, a cafe with a view at Nagashima Aiseien, a national sanatorium for leprosy patients.
来た道を未舗装路の入り口付近まで戻り、長島へ渡った。国立ハンセン病療養所「長島愛生園」にある眺めのいいカフェ、さざなみハウスでランチを。

The ride was about 60 km long and gained about 1,200 m in elevation, but the terrible heat and sloping gravel included made me exhausted.
距離は約60km、獲得標高は1200mほどのライドだったが、ひどい暑さと斜度のあるグラベルを含んでいたこともあり、ヘトヘトになった。

Right next to the white gravel road is the ocean.
白いグラベル道のすぐ横は、海。

From left, @pellecats who guided us on this route, @steve.bluetree, myself, @shimanami_blue who is a guide of Shimanami Kaido, @kojiro214.
左から、今回ルートを案内してくださったライドリーダーの＠pellecatsさん、@steve.bluetreeさん、私、しまなみ海道のガイドをされている@shimanami_blueさん、＠kojiro214さん。

Cross the Oku Nagashima Bridge to Sazanami Cafe with a great view. Nagashima Island has been known as "the island of isolation" since the 1930s, when two national sanatoriums for leprosy patients were opened there under the government's isolation policy. The Oku Nagashima Bridge, built in 1988 to connect the island with the mainland, has been called the "Bridge of Human Recovery" and has created many exchanges, and efforts to eliminate discrimination and prejudice against people affected by leprosy are still ongoing on Nagashima. 邑久長島大橋を渡り、眺めのいいカフェ、さざなみハウスへ。 長島は1930年代、国のハンセン病患者隔離政策の下、２つの国立ハンセン病療養所が開園され、「隔離の島」として知られてきた場所。1988年に建設された本土と島をつなぐ邑久長島大橋は「人間回復の橋」と呼ばれて多くの交流を生み、長島では今でもハンセン病患者に対する差別や偏見をなくすための取り組みが続いている。
さざなみハウス

View from the observatory in the Usimado olive grove
牛窓オリーブ園の展望台からの眺め

Usimado Tepemok was originally a medical clinic that has been remodeled and is being used as an event space. The ride leader had been here on business when it was a hospital. He was deeply moved by the fact that the space had been transformed into a completely different and modern space, while utilizing part of the old hospital.
ウシマドテレモークは、もともと診療所だったのをリフォームしていてイベントスペースとして活用されている。ライドリーダーは病院だったころに仕事で来たことがあったそう。古い病院の一部を活かしながらも、まったく違う、モダンなスペースに生まれ変わっていることに感慨深げだった。
Ushimado TEPEMOK

The third day, Sunday, was a day of events in the afternoon.
In the morning, we took a ferry from Ushimado to Maejima Island and circled it.
3日目の日曜日は、午後からイベントの日だった。
午前中は、牛窓からフェリーに乗って前島に渡り、ぐるっと一周。

Back at Telemoke, people gathered and smelled the delicious food. Portuguese cuisine prepared by Ms. Bada and the dishes by the chef of Osteria Luce, an Italian restaurant in Kita Senju, making the most of the seafood from the sea and mountains of Ushimado, were beautifully presented in a bowl by Shota Terazono.
テレモークに戻ると、人が集まって、おいしい料理の匂いがする。牛窓の海の幸、山の幸を生かして、馬田さんがつくるポルトガル料理と、北先住にあるイタリアン、オステリア ルーチェのシェフの料理が、寺園証太さんの器に、美しく盛られる。

Although we were not able to relax much due to the bullet train on the way home, we enjoyed the delicious food and the pleasant atmosphere to the fullest before heading back home.
We pedaled our bicycles again to Saidaiji Station, put those in our wheeled bag, and boarded the train.
帰りの新幹線の都合もあり、あまりゆっくりできなかったものの、おいしい料理をいただき、楽しい気分を存分に味わってから、帰路へと向かう。
西大寺駅まではまた自転車をこぎ、輪行。

It was a trip blessed with the generous air of Ushimado and wonderful people.
牛窓の大らかな空気と、すてきな人たちに恵まれた旅だった。

Maejima is a small island, about 5 minutes by ferry from Ushimado, with a circumference of about 8 km. It is somewhat up and down, but you can ride a bicycle comfortably
牛窓からフェリーで約５分、前島は外周約８kmの小さな島。
ややアップダウンが多いが、自転車で気持ちよく走れる。

Italian and Portuguese dishes served at the event (left); Percebes, perfect with wine(right).
イベントでいただいたイタリアとポルトガルのおつまみ（左）、ワインにぴったりのカメノテ（右）

photo by Tatsuhisa Yogi, Chie Ikumi      text by Chie Ikumi