Shinanami Kaido Blog

We flew out of Newark at 10AM ET for a 14 hour direct flight to Haneda (HND), then were supposed to have a connecting flight to Hiroshima at 3PM JST.

Turns out — when you go from an international flight to a domestic flight, you have to go through customs and collect and recheck in your luggage, so we had to delay our flight to 6PM.

Youna couldn’t sleep so we took the 7AM Shinkansen to Onomichi-Shin. It’s fast like a cheetah.

The rentals at the Giant store went mostly to plan, but unfortunately the bike rack we brought was not compatible. So we went with option B which was to carry our lives on our backpacks. It wasn’t too bad today, but let’s see how this fares for our long days on the saddle.

Our hotel for tonight is at the top of せんこじ(Senkoji park) in a traditional Japanese style room with futons on tatami. It’s cute!

First day of the tour!

We rode inland from Onomichi along the coast then cut inland towards Higashiroshima. The first third weaved through fast, flat roads through industrial warehouses along the water. Then cutting inland, we rode along a busier expressway for a few miles along slightly uncomfortable traffic. After stopping by Higashiroshima for lunch, we headed south along beautiful rice plantations to end at our accommodation in a traditional Japanese style homestay.

By raw numbers, today shouldn’t have been too bad. But the harshness of the sun among the 84F humid weather wore us down considerably. Tomorrow, we climb Mount Noro and descend the mountain down to Kure, where we begin the Tobishima Kaido.

Today‘s route took us from the outskirts of Higashiroshima to Kure through the Noro-san mountain pass. The first few  miles were on an uncomfortable two lane bidirectional roads, but we were rewarded with a stunning climb and descent up and down the mountain. From the top of the mountain at an overlook near a temple, you can see the entirety of the Tobishima Kaido which felt like a great precursor for the days ahead.

Tonight’s stay is at cat cafe nyan nyan hyutte, which has 20 cats roaming around. My eyes are slightly swollen as I write this, but I’m now best friends with ねる, who is the sweetest black cat you’ll ever meet.

Tomorrow, we tackle the Tobishima Kaido. It’s supposed to rain all day tomorrow, but what’s a bike tour without some challenging weather.

Today, we rode the Tobishima Kaido! It starts close to Kure and runs along a set of westward islands. From Okamura island, we took the ferry one stop to Omishima island, where we rode a few more miles to our lodging for the night.

Initially, the weather looked dire, with consistent rain for the whole day. But aside from some light drizzles and a bit of wind, today was perfect. 

The Tobishima kaido is stunning. You ride across small islands, passing by cute port towns along the way as you smell the crisp sea breeze. After some of the traffic in Higashihiroshima and Kure (to a lesser extent), the emptier roads were much appreciated.

Tomorrow, we ride down the Shinanami Kaido to Imabari then take the coast all the way to Matsuyama. It should be relatively flat and fast, so we are hoping on having some time to explore the city. We ride on!

Today, we rode down from Hakata island, one of the islands along the Shinanami Kaido, across the island peninsula then down the coast to Matsuyama. The Shinanami Kaido, especially the last bridge into Imabari, is gorgeous. I’m so excited to ride the full length of it this Saturday.

We stayed at おばちゃん (oba-Chan) の家 last night. For a homestay meal, it felt like we were at a meal at a Michelin restaurant. Sea bream rice, ginger pickled cucumbers, blow-torched tuna sashimi. Then some amazing sautéed horse mackerel for breakfast.

Pretty flat day. Some headwinds along the coast, but pretty manageable. I’ve started adding mandatory snack and sunscreen breaks every hour to keep our stores topped off.

We stayed near the Dogo onsen, which is apparently the oldest Onsen in Japan. For dinner, we ate at a local yakiniku joint and maybe drank and ate a bit more than we should have.

Tomorrow, we sleep in and continue northward back to Imabari.

じゃ^_^

Today’s route is a shorter route that takes us from Matsuyama up to Imabari. It’s a more direct route than yesterday, but we pay for it with two moderate grade mountain passes. It’s a stunning route with some fun winding descents on quieter traffic roads.

The weather was unpleasant today; 84F and humid, and there were a few stretches on the climbs that we were totally exposed to the sun. We were generous with breaks today, and the vending machines along the climbs delivered us delicious drinks that helped us cool down.

Youna rode strong today. She climbed fearlessly and had a monstrous pull from the tip of the second climb all the way to Imabari. I was glad to have her help today.

Tomorrow on the final day, we ride the Shinanami Kaido. It feels like the victory lap of the tour we started a few days ago.

I’m writing this in the hotel room an hour after we made our final turn into the Giant store in Onomichi to return our bikes.

What I love about bike touring is how much both the lows and the highs work in tandem to make an epic experience. I think about how we missed a turn to end up onto an expressway, where we frantically exchanged Google translate with a friendly passerby before deciding to hop a fence. I think about being tired and hungry and walking along a busy road to a Family Mart to have a dinner of champions of a convenience store Katsu and eggs. I think about being on the verge of heat exhaustion and climbing a mountain with trucks whizzing by.

But then I think about the adrenaline as we make our epic descent down a winding road from the top of Mount Noro. I think about the kind おばちゃん who served us sashimi, katsu, and ice cream as we waited for the ferry after the Tobishima Kaido. I think about the refreshing bath at the Dogo onsen after a long ride down to Matsuyama.

All of these random stories and experiences make the adventure, and adventure isn’t an adventure without a little bit of risk.

After the tour we head to Fukuoka and base ourselves in Tenjin for a couple of nights to explore the city.

Another day in Fukuoka before we continue west toward Nagasaki.

We stay near Nagasaki Station for easy tram and train access around the city.

A second night in Nagasaki to see more of the city and harbor area.

We return to Fukuoka and stay steps from Hakata Station and the Shinkansen for the trip home.

Early morning flight at 7:50 AM from Fukuoka Airport (FUK) direct to JFK.