Text and photos by: Tim Muzik
Welcome to the second post in our cycling series! My wife Rachel and I recently moved to Fukuoka, and we’ve been exploring Kyushu’s best cycling routes ever since. This time, we’re taking a relaxing ride through Itoshima, visiting the God Stone of Power and Hakoshima Shrine. Don’t forget to check back for more rides as we continue uncovering Kyushu’s hidden gems!
We’d love to hear your feedback, suggestions, or requests for future rides—feel free to email us at cycling@fukuoka-now.com
Route Overview
Highlights: The God Stone, Hakoshima Shrine, Izumigawa, and Marukumayama Tumulus
Length: 47 km
Climbing: 143 meters
Konbini Calories: 4.5 Pizza Buns
Difficulty Rating: Easy
GPX File: download
Today, we are heading out on what might best be classified as a “mini-adventure.” We’ll be taking our folding bikes through the Itoshima rice fields to Kamiari, the God Stone of Power, and the beautiful Hakoshima Shrine. This ride is accessible to anyone with a free afternoon and a mamachari with sufficient air in the tires—no need to get suited up in lycra for this one!
Starting the Ride: Itoshima’s Backroads
When planning a mini-adventure like this, it’s best to choose any random interesting location you can find on Google Maps within a reachable distance and attempt to take as many backroads and paths as possible. When cycling through Itoshima, avoiding National Route 202 is recommended. While this road is safe enough and very efficient, it’s much more interesting to look for small rice farming roads that run somewhat in the desired direction of your destination.
Funnily enough, these short rides often end up taking longer than 100 km loops because the pressure of a long journey doesn’t weigh on your mind, allowing you the freedom to stop at random points of interest that you might usually pass by.
Shimoyamato Station to Nagatare Point
The ride starts off by hugging the Chikuhi Line as it leaves town, passing Meinohama and Shimoyamato stations. An added benefit of heading west is that the sun will be at your back, lighting up the landscape in front of you. Leaving Shimoyamato station, the green face of Mt. Nagatare will be lit up and speckled with box-shaped houses, giving the feel of a scene from Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo. It’s also here that you’ll cross the train tracks for the first of a dozen times on this ride. If you’re lucky, you’ll get stopped by its crossing and get to wave at the happy people on their way to Karatsu.
On the way out of town, there’s a destination local bakery, Matsubokkuri Pan. This bakery is one of the best around, not only due to its consistent opening hours and quality goods but also due to its proximity to Ikinomatsubara Forest Park. Throughout Japan, coasts are lined with pine forests known as matsubara. These are an important part of Japan’s environmental heritage, as they provide a stunning landscape while also offering erosion protection and windbreaks. It’s a perfect spot to enjoy the spread of baked goods you just picked up—lunch in the pine forest from Pinecone Bakery!
Rounding Nagatare Point: Geological Wonder
Heading toward Itoshima along the coast from the pine forest, you’ll round Nagatare Point. While this point is likely seen as a bit of an inconvenience—albeit a beautiful one—by most cyclists due to the tight shoulder space and fast-driving cars, it is actually a Natural Monument of Japan. It’s a unique mica-bearing pegmatite dike and a key location for studying the region’s geology. There are a number of prominently displayed boulders that highlight this, but most people who pass it will be distracted by the views of the Fukuoka skyline down the coast.
Hidden Gem: Marukumayama Tumulus
As you navigate through the backroads around Imajuku and Susenji stations, you’ll come across a great hidden gem: the Marukumayama Tomb. This is one of six keyhole-shaped tombs in the area and is extremely well-preserved, considering it was built in the 5th century—around 1,500 years ago. It’s great stops like this that’ll make you glad you brought the slow bike and aren’t bound to the pedals with noisy and slippery cycling cleats.
The Itoshima Rice Fields
Feeling like an explorer and Japanese historian, take that enthusiasm south toward the Itoshima rice fields. Here, you’ll find beautiful flat roads surrounded by rice, chives, soybeans, and barley fields, all in the shadow of the Raizan mountains to the south. The roads take you through small communities filled with traditional Japanese houses and obscure farming equipment. A slow descent brings you past the Queens Hill Country Club and very close to the main destination for this adventure: the God Stone of Power.
The God Stone of Power: A Sacred Site
In Japan, power spots are sacred places believed to hold spiritual energy, where people go to connect with nature or the divine. This particular power spot in Itoshima comes in the form of a massive 4-meter by 16-meter stone next to Kamiari Shrine. Leave your bike (or car) behind and make the short trek on foot through the bamboo forest that surrounds the stone. The sight of this massive stone sitting atop a small mound is impressive, and you will immediately be in awe of the power it most certainly holds. On this particular day that Rachel and I visited, we were surprised by a large frog that popped out from beneath the stone. After a brief moment of terror and a scream, we appreciated that this must be a very special frog and apologized for startling him.
Visitors of the stone are instructed on how to extract its power through a short breathing routine. With deep breaths and open arms, you can bring the power of the stone home with you to ensure success and health for your future. Fukuoka Now has a much more in-depth article about the stone for those wanting to learn more. After a final bow to the stone, you’ll leave feeling rejuvenated and ready for the next sight on this route: Hakoshima Shrine.
Hakoshima Shrine: Coastal Beauty
Hakoshima Shrine needs no introduction to Fukuoka residents. Anyone who has driven the coastal road between Itoshima and Karatsu will have stopped to check it out or quickly pulled out their phones as they sped past, wishing there was a place to park. This shrine, located on a rocky island that juts out from the coast, is marked by a white torii gate and massive sandy-colored boulders. Traveling by bike makes it easy to quickly ditch your wheels and climb up to the shrine above. Locals believe that visiting this shrine brings good luck and prosperity. With the luck from the God Stone fresh in your system combined with this, you might want to go buy a lottery ticket!
The Return Journey: Izumigawa River and Kaya Mountain
After taking in the beauty of Hakoshima, it’s time to head back toward Fukuoka. The best route can be found by tracing the Izumi and Raizan Rivers. Heading toward the fields of Itamochi, you’ll be rewarded with views of the stunning Kaya Mountain. If it’s summer, you’ll also see the vibrant colors of Hamabou shrubs that line the river.
A Big Boy Finale: Fami-Resu Culture
There are many scenic roads to choose from as you near the coast, but Rachel and I were very fortunate to pop out of the fields at one of Japan’s finest fami-resus: Big Boy. I have a deep love and fascination with Japan’s fami-resu culture and will often “coincidentally” plan bike routes that happen to end at one of them. After a bit of persuading, I convinced Rachel to settle on Big Boy as our lunch spot, where I eagerly attacked the salad bar and famous Big Boy curry.
It seems the luck bestowed on us from the God Stone and Hakoshima Shrine was fully in effect!