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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/BusinessSuspicious44 on 2025-05-26 11:05:10+00:00.
I just did a Shimanami Kaido cycling trip and wanted to share my notes.
I chose to go in the middle of May after golden week but before the summer rainy season (5/17-5/19). Worked out pretty well. I got some rain on the last day but mostly had sunny, moderately hot weather.
The route I chose was to go from Imabari to Onomichi. The primary reason was b/c it simplified the transfer inbound significantly. I was coming from NYC and the two itineraries looked like the following:
- JFK to HND to KIX, Bus to Kobe, Shinkansen to Fukuyama, Local train to Onomichi (about 2.5-3.0 hrs extra transfer time after the airport)
- JFK to HND to MYJ (Matsuyama)
Matsuyama turned out to be a very pleasant city. I enjoyed Dogo Onsen and visiting the castle via the ropeway.
The night before I started the ride, I transferred via train to Imabari and stayed at the JR Clement Inn ($40/night w/breakfast). This made for a very stress free first day. While it is possible to do the 1.5hour transfer in the morning, I opted for doing it the night before b/c there’s a 10AM cut off for picking up your bike and shipping your bags via Sagawa.
Sagawa luggage transfer worked without any issues. I dropped it off at the JR Clement Inn in the morning and had it delivered to the Sakura Hotel in Onomichi two days later. Note that the luggage did come on the scheduled day around 6PM as described.
Picking up the rental bike in Imabari went smoothly, but it did take more time than expected. It was a two person operation and took about 40ish minutes to get my bike. There were ~6-7 people in front of me in line at 8:15AM.
The ride was very enjoyable. Beautifully maintained roads, plentiful rest areas, good food and chill vibes. I decided to do the ride over three days.
- Day 1 - Imabari to Omishima - 33 miles - went around the top of Omishima which had nice views of the sea.
- Day 2 - Yumeshima Kaido ending in Setoda - 47 miles - the Yumeshima Kaido route around the smaller islands to the east was fun, albeit a bit hilly (short climbs). Really nice views and less cyclists and cars.
- Day 3 - Setoda to Onomichi - 27 miles - easy ride for the last day. I did a side trip to loop around Iwashi Island before heading in.
Misc. Tips
- Gear-wise, I got the cross bike and rode with a small backpack and 10L saddle bag. I didn’t use Sagawa between hotels.
- Omishima Brewery was great. A good beer after a day of riding is nice.
- Suminoe Ryokan in Setoda - a little old, but very nice ryokan. Vibes were good and it was very well run. The innkeeper (woman) spoke good English and explained everything well.
- Hassakuya sweets shop near the Innoshima bridge was a treat. Worth a stop to get some fruit filled mochi.
Overall, I highly recommend doing the Shimanami Kaido. It turned out to be a very enjoyable trip that wasn’t too hard to plan.