Imabari is about bicycles. Many tourists cycle around Imabari City and the Shimanami Kaido, known as the "holy land for cyclists", and the number of people using rental bicycles is increasing year by year. So Imabari City opened the "i.i.imabari! Cycle Station" in July 2020 as a gateway to the Shimanami Kaido from the Imabari side.

IMABARI LIFE visited the station on a holiday after the rain in early November. It's a very pleasant square. A new tourist spot has opened that you can stop by as soon as you arrive at Imabari Station!

The i.i.imabari! campaign is an activity to spread the addictive charm of Imabari to the world. The overall supervision of the project is Kashiwa Sato, who is also well known as the branding producer for Imabari Towel. The design of the terminal is also supervised by SAMURAI, a creative studio led by Sato. So, we spoke to Yoshihiro Saito, who oversees the spatial design department at SAMURAI.

"This terminal is a place where cyclists heading to the Shimanami Kaido start their journey and stop at the end of their trip, so we wanted to create a comfortable and open deck," said Saito.

Rather than a complex design, a widely open space would be better suited for various uses, such as assembling bicycles, bringing food trucks to hold events, and becoming a place for locals and tourists to gather. With that in mind, a spacious deck and a large table were designed.

The most eye-catching feature in this square is the face-in panel with the i.i.imabari!
logo. Isn't this also available at the Imabari Towel Main Store, City Hall, and SAISAIKITEYA?

"Yes, we have the biggest one here. It's right after getting off at Imabari Station, so we thought it would be a great souvenir of the trip," said Saito.

A place that can be used for any purpose
such as gathering information and rehydration.

Next to the square is a lobby with a large counter. The counter has a water tap, so you can wash your water bottle or rehydrate yourself to dissolve the ingredients in your sports drinks.

"There's electricity, so if you bring in a stove, you can use it as a kitchen. We'd like to hold events here, where restaurants can serve food," said Saito.

In addition, we designed the outside deck floor to be the same color as the lobby floor.

"We tried to avoid creating a boundary between the inside and outside as much as possible. Since it is a public facility, we wanted to make it easy for locals and tourists to enter, not just cyclists. In fact, it seems to be used in a variety of ways, such as tourists gathering information, junior and senior high school students chatting on the deck, and locals eating lunch they bought at a convenience store," said Saito.

Indeed, many people were going in and out of the lobby that day. Among them, we spoke to two people who were intently looking at a map. Where are you from today?

"I came from Chiba Prefecture. I was hiking in Takamatsu until yesterday, but today the weather was nice so I suddenly thought I'd try cycling on the Shimanami Kaido and came here."

Did you already know this facility?

"No, this is my first time here. I called Sunrise Itoyama and they told me they had no more rental bicycles, so they directed me here."

What are your impressions of this facility?

"I was surprised at how clean it is. It's in front of the station, so it's easy to access, and you can't find such a well-equipped facility in other cities!"

One of the two people crossed the Shimanami Kaido last year, but the other is new to cycling. So, shall we go and rent bicycles?

There are 100 rental bicycles here, including cross bikes and light bicycles with baskets.

"At first, there were few users due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but recently, thanks to the GoTo Travel campaign, the number of users has gradually increased, and by the four-day holiday in September, almost all 100 bicycles were gone. We've started to see a lot of cyclists on the Shimanami Kaido again." (Watanabe Seiya, Cycle City Promotion Office, Tourism Division, Industry Department, Imabari City)

It seems that most users enter Imabari on the JR line and use the rental bicycles, but there are also some hardcore cyclists who bring their own road bikes and assemble them here. And it seems that many of the people who use this place also cross the Shimanami Kaido to Onomichi.

After cycling, you can wash off your sweat in the shower room before heading home.

"The shower rooms at bicycle stations are often dark and narrow, like club rooms, but this one is clean and spacious with a vanity area. We hope many women will come," says Saito.

The two people we spoke to earlier were given a lesson by the terminal staff how to ride a cross bike and the route to the Shimanami Kaido. We hope you enjoy your trip!

Also, this place is lit up at night, and some people come in the evening just to see it. The atmosphere changes and is beautiful when the time changes.

Even so, the staff here were very polite in explaining things to users, and they even took photos for them in the photo booth, so their hospitality is very attentive.

"For us, it's just a part of our daily routine, but for visitors, it may be a once in a lifetime experience, so we want them to make good memories," said Nakamura of the Imabari Labor Welfare Foundation, the company that operates the facility.

It's a place where you can feel comfortable at the beginning and end of your trip. When you come to Imabari, please stop by.