This is part two of our Shimanami Kaido cycling adventure. Go back to part one.
Ikuchijima Island
After crossing the Ikuchi Bridge we found ourselves on Ikuchijima Island. Here is Diana looking back at the bridge we just crossed.
A pleasant road followed the shoreline. At a row of palm trees we stopped for a break and soaked up the sunshine. We reflected upon the fact that mid November is a cold, dark, and depressing time back home in Canada, but a perfect time of year for traveling in Japan.
We passed Kousanji Temple. It’s a major tourist attraction, but with a 1400 Yen admission fee we decided to skip it. Here I am stopped by an orange grove.
Ahead was Tatara Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge with a span of 1480 m. It was so big that I couldn’t fit it all into the frame even at 24 mm focal length.
Approaching the Tatara Bridge deck.
Ohmishima Island
We had booked a house to stay for the night. The “Benton Homestead” was a traditional 1950s Japanese house lovingly restored to its original glory, with plenty of period detail. The owners/restorers were a couple from Oregon who now live and work on Ohmishima. We had a nice chat with Dani, one of the owners. Quite an adventure, moving from Portland to a small Japanese village!
In preparation for our stay at the house, we stopped by a convenience store and picked up some supplies for dinner and breakfast. We didn’t feel like going out after a long day of cycling, and instead we wanted to enjoy the house. Here is Diana at the house.
1950s style kitchen
Upstairs tatami room
The next morning we woke up to overcast skies. A bit of drizzle had fallen overnight. But it wasn’t cold, and there was no wind, so the weather was great for cycling. Here is Diana looking back at the Tatara Bridge which we crossed the previous afternoon.
A short bike ride took us to the next bridge: Ohmishima Bride, an arch bridge with a span of 328 m.
View from the bridge deck.
Hakatajima Island
One of the many orange groves along the way. The fruit looked ready for picking.
We stopped by a village shrine. It was a peaceful place. We said a few prayers to the ones we lost in 2024.
Sandy beach.
The Hakata-Ohshima Bridge. Diana is standing on the box girder section, which spans 325 m and connects to a small island. The pillars in the distance are a suspension bridge with an additional span of 840 m.
Ohshima
Looking back towards the bridge we just crossed.
On an interpretive sign: “Shimanami Cycling Greet Your Adventure with a Reverberating Smile”. Diana and I both had reverberating smiles on our faces. We were having a lot of fun on our trip.
After a short coastal section the trail turned inland. By now we were getting hungry for lunch, and I spotted a drink vending machine beside a seemingly abandoned shop. We sat down, got a drink from the machine, and resigned ourselves to having a quick snack. I decided to have a peek in the shop, and lo and behold I saw a table with superdeluxe bento boxes on it, in an otherwise empty space. I tried the door and it was open. When I stepped inside, the shopkeeper came out of the back and gestured for me to sit down. I went to get Diana and we both picked out a bento box that appealed. What a stroke of good fortune!
After lunch, the bike trail steepened and we climbed up a hill. A fast downhill brought us to a village which clearly was suffering a depopulation problem. Many houses were vacant.
One more hill brought us to the seaside and a view of our last bridge: the Kurushima-Kaiko Bridges. This multi-span suspention bridge system has a combined span of 4105 m. Yes it is more than 4 km long. Amazing!
Another view of the Kurushima-Kaiko Bridges.
Shikoku
We rode our bikes across the Kurushima-Kaiko Bridges. Being up there on the bride deck felt exposed, like we were way out there. It was exhilarating. The scale of the bridge was hard to capture with my camera. At the end of the bridge we turned right and rode up a steep hill to a view point. Time to ponder which way we’d come. To give you an idea of scale, the ship underneath the bridge is a sizeable ocean-going vessel.
Did I say the bridge is large? The Shimanami-Kaido is an audacious engineering marvel.
On the other side of the hill we got good views of the shipyards outside of Imabari.
The end of the bridges isn’t quite the end of the cycling route – the center of Imabari is still 6 km away. Imabari is a gritty, industrial city and the way into town isn’t particularly pretty. It is the anti-climax, so to speak. However, downtown Imabari does have a castle which is worth a look.
We handed in our bicycles at the rental shop in the station square, and then took each other’s pictures. We were feeling pretty good about our ride!
Logistics
For logistics on the Shimanami Kaido, see part one.
Ohmishima is the halfway point of the trip. There are several possibilities for accommodations here. We stayed at the Benton Homestead, which we booked on airbnb. Highly recommended.
In Imabari we stayed at the Shimanami Prime hotel. Highly recommended.
To get back to Honshu, we took a bus to Fukuyama. It goes across the bridges and as such it provides a second look at the scenery. Another possibility is to take a train to Okayama. There are no direct connections to Onomichi.