Japan: cycling the Shimanami Kaido and the Seto Inland Sea

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Osaka

   Kansai International Airport to your hotel in Osaka

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Osaka
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Kansai International Airport (KIX), on its island in Osaka Bay, and a driver meets you in arrivals for the transfer of about an hour into the city. Plan to land by mid-afternoon so you have time to settle in before the evening; the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary. Osaka is a good first night: it is an easy airport, and Shin-Osaka station, where tomorrow's train leaves, is close. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week, how the bikes and the support van work, what to pack for the islands and how the onsen bath goes. Then we walk together to Dotonbori, the canal-side food street under its giant neon signs, for a welcome dinner of Osaka dishes such as takoyaki and kushikatsu at a local restaurant.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Kansai International Airport (KIX)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk to Dotonbori
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the evening briefing

2. Jour 2 : By Shinkansen to Onomichi

   Shin-Osaka to Fukuyama by Shinkansen, then the local train to Onomichi

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Onomichi
   Détail du jour 2

   After breakfast we take the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Fukuyama, about an hour, then a local train along the shore for about twenty minutes to Onomichi, a port town on a narrow strait where the Shimanami Kaido begins. Our van meets us at the station and takes the bags, so we can walk straight out. Lunch is a bowl of Onomichi ramen, a soy broth with pork back fat that the town is known for. In the afternoon we fit the e-bikes, set saddles and take a short test ride along the waterfront. Late in the day, when it cools, we ride the ropeway up Mount Senkoji and walk down the temple path, past small temples, steep stone steps and narrow lanes, with the strait and the shipyards of Mukaishima below. The evening is free to try the waterfront bars and cafés.

   Compris

   • Shinkansen Shin-Osaka to Fukuyama and local train to Onomichi
   • Onomichi ramen lunch
   • E-bike fitting and a short test ride
   • Senkoji ropeway and the Onomichi temple walk with your guide

   Option plus facile : Ride the ropeway down again instead of walking the temple path.

   Option plus active : Walk up the temple path to Senkoji instead of taking the ropeway, about 30 minutes of stone steps, then walk down.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Onomichi

   Activité : About 2 hours on foot on the temple path, mostly downhill on stone steps and lanes.

3. Jour 3 : Shimanami Kaido: Onomichi to Setoda

   Onomichi by ferry to Mukaishima, then by bike over Innoshima to Setoda on Ikuchijima; van back to Onomichi

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Onomichi
   Détail du jour 3

   We start at about 8:30 am, before the heat and the afternoon sea breeze. A short ferry carries riders and bikes across the strait to Mukaishima, and from there we follow the blue line painted on the road, the route marker of the Shimanami Kaido. We ride along the shore of Mukaishima and climb the gentle ramp onto the Innoshima Bridge, a suspension bridge where bikes cross on a deck under the cars. Innoshima has orchards and a quiet coast road; we stop for coffee and the view back to the bridge. Over the Ikuchi Bridge we reach Setoda, where lunch is a long sit-down meal of local fish. In the afternoon we walk Kosanji, a temple of bright copies of famous Japanese halls, and its Hill of Hope, a garden carved from white marble. Lemon sweets are Setoda's other draw. The van returns us to Onomichi for a free evening.

   Compris

   • Ferry from Onomichi to Mukaishima with the bikes
   • Guided e-bike ride of about 30 km over Mukaishima and Innoshima to Setoda, with the support van
   • Sit-down lunch in Setoda
   • Kosanji temple and the Hill of Hope
   • Van back to Onomichi

   Option plus facile : Ride about 15 km over Mukaishima and the Innoshima Bridge, then join the van to Setoda.

   Option plus active : An extra loop on Innoshima to the Innoshima Ohashi viewpoint above the bridge.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Onomichi

   Activité : About 30 km on an e-bike, mostly flat along the shore with gentle ramps up to the bridges.

4. Jour 4 : Shimanami Kaido: Setoda to Imabari

   Van to Setoda, then by bike over Omishima, Hakatajima and Oshima and across the Kurushima-Kaikyo bridges to Imabari

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Imabari
   Détail du jour 4

   After breakfast the van takes us and the luggage back over the bridges to Setoda, about 45 minutes, and we ride from where we stopped; staying two nights in Onomichi is worth that short repeat drive. The Tatara Bridge, a cable-stayed span, carries us onto Omishima, where we stop at Oyamazumi Shrine, a shrine to the god of the sea and mountains. Its treasure hall keeps a large collection of old armour and swords given by samurai over the centuries. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the island. In the afternoon we cross Hakatajima and Oshima on quiet roads past citrus groves, then reach the finale: the Kurushima-Kaikyo bridges, three suspension bridges in a row, about 4 km long, high above the whirlpools of the tidal strait. On the far side is Imabari on Shikoku, our home for the night. Dinner tonight is with the group, to mark the ride.

   Compris

   • Van with your luggage from Onomichi to Setoda, then alongside the riders
   • Guided e-bike ride of about 40 km over Omishima, Hakatajima and Oshima to Imabari
   • Oyamazumi Shrine and its treasure hall
   • Sit-down lunch on Omishima
   • Group dinner in Imabari

   Option plus facile : Ride in the van to Oshima and cycle only the Kurushima-Kaikyo bridges into Imabari, about 12 km.

   Option plus active : Climb by bike to the Kirosan observatory on Oshima, about 300 m up, for the view over the bridges and the islands.

   Activité : About 40 km on an e-bike, the longer ride day, with gentle bridge ramps and short rolling hills on the islands.

   

5. Jour 5 : Imabari Castle and on to Matsuyama

   Imabari to Matsuyama by van

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Matsuyama
   Détail du jour 5

   A slower morning. We hand back the bikes and walk to Imabari Castle, a shore castle whose moat is filled with sea water, so you may see sea bream and other sea fish swimming below the walls. Then it is about an hour by van to Matsuyama, the largest city on Shikoku. After a lunch of taimeshi, sea bream cooked with rice, we ride the ropeway or the chairlift up Mount Katsuyama to Matsuyama Castle, one of the castles in Japan that still have their original keep. From the top floor you look over the city to the Inland Sea and the islands we cycled. We drop down to the Dogo Onsen area, where we stay two nights. In the early evening, after the day visitors thin out, we bathe at Dogo Onsen Honkan, the old wooden bathhouse, then dinner is free in the arcade.

   Compris

   • Imabari Castle
   • Drive from Imabari to Matsuyama with your guide
   • Taimeshi lunch in Matsuyama
   • Matsuyama Castle with the ropeway or chairlift
   • Bath at Dogo Onsen Honkan in the early evening

   Option plus active : Walk up to Matsuyama Castle on the footpath instead of the ropeway, about 20 minutes uphill.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Dogo

   Activité : About 2 to 3 hours on foot, with stone steps inside the castle.

   

6. Jour 6 : Ishiteji and a free day in Dogo

   Dogo Onsen to Ishiteji and back on foot

   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Matsuyama
   Détail du jour 6

   Today is unhurried, the rest day after the ride. After breakfast we walk with your guide about twenty minutes east of Dogo to Ishiteji, temple 51 of the Shikoku pilgrimage of 88 temples. Its gate and halls are old, and pilgrims in white still pass through with their staffs and bells; your guide explains the pilgrimage, which circles the whole island and takes most walkers several weeks. Behind the main hall a short dark tunnel leads to a hillside of small shrines. We walk back through the Dogo arcade, where you can try botchan dango, three-coloured rice sweets, and the rest of the day is yours: a second bath, the Dogo Onsen Annex Asuka-no-Yu, the Shiki memorial museum to the haiku poet Masaoka Shiki, or a nap. Your guide has suggestions for dinner tonight.

   Compris

   • Guided walk to Ishiteji, temple 51 of the Shikoku pilgrimage
   • Walk through the Dogo arcade

   Activités en option

   • Half-day trip by train to the old merchant town of Uchiko (ask your guide; confirmed on the day)
   • A morning e-bike ride along the Matsuyama coast (bikes hired locally)

   Option plus active : Take the optional morning e-bike ride along the Matsuyama coast before the Ishiteji walk.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Dogo

   Activité : About 1.5 hours on foot, with some steps at Ishiteji.

   

7. Jour 7 : Across the Inland Sea to Hiroshima

   Matsuyama Kanko Port to Hiroshima Port by high-speed ferry, then the Peace Memorial Park

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Hiroshima
   Détail du jour 7

   After breakfast a transfer of about 30 minutes takes us and the bags from Dogo to Matsuyama Kanko Port, outside the city centre. Instead of a long drive back over the bridges, we cross the Seto Inland Sea by high-speed ferry from Matsuyama Kanko Port to Hiroshima Port, about 70 minutes past the islands. Another short transfer takes us and the bags from the port to the hotel. Lunch is a sit-down meal near the Peace Memorial Park. In the afternoon your guide walks the park with you: the Genbaku Dome, the ruined exhibition hall listed by UNESCO in 1996, the Children's Peace Monument with its paper cranes, and the Cenotaph aligned with the dome and the flame. We give the Peace Memorial Museum a good two hours; it is hard to see and worth it. In the evening we eat Hiroshima okonomiyaki together, layered with noodles and cabbage on the griddle in front of you.

   Compris

   • Transfer from Dogo to Matsuyama Kanko Port
   • High-speed ferry from Matsuyama to Hiroshima
   • Transfer from Hiroshima Port to the hotel
   • Sit-down lunch in Hiroshima
   • The Peace Memorial Park with your guide: the Genbaku Dome, the Children's Peace Monument and the Cenotaph
   • Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
   • Okonomiyaki dinner

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free before dinner

   Activité : About 3 hours on foot in the park and museum.

   

8. Jour 8 : Miyajima early and home

   Hiroshima to Miyajima by train and ferry, then back to Hiroshima Station

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   We leave the hotel early for Miyajimaguchi and take one of the first ferries across to Miyajima, about ten minutes, before the day-trippers arrive. From the boat you see the great vermilion torii of Itsukushima Shrine standing in the water, or on the sand at low tide. The shrine, listed by UNESCO in 1996, is built on piers over the bay, and in the morning its long corridors are quiet. Deer wander the lanes, and Omotesando street opens for grilled oysters and momiji manju, maple-leaf cakes. We are back in Hiroshima by late morning, and your guide sees you to Hiroshima Station by about 1 pm. From there the Shinkansen reaches Shin-Osaka in about an hour and a half, with Kansai International Airport an hour or so beyond. Book a flight from Kansai after about 6 pm, or from Hiroshima Airport after about 4 pm.

   Compris

   • Train and ferry to Miyajima, and the Miyajima visitor tax
   • Itsukushima Shrine with your guide
   • Return to Hiroshima Station

   Option plus active : Stay on Miyajima and walk or ride the ropeway up Mount Misen, travelling back on your own.

   Activité : Book a flight from Kansai after about 6 pm, or from Hiroshima Airport after about 4 pm.

   

Faune et météo : Spring and autumn bring mild riding weather, with cherry blossom on the islands in early April and clear autumn days into November. June can be wet in the rainy season, and a typhoon in September can stop ferries or close the bridges to bikes; then we ride that day in the van and reshape the plan.

• Osaka1 nuit
• Onomichi2 nuits
• Imabari1 nuit
• Matsuyama2 nuits
• Hiroshima1 nuit